Streets at new development named in memory of former leader of Birmingham City Council

Theresa Way and Stewart Close are located at our Yardley Wood Road development on the site of the former Billesley police station which closed in 2019.

The streets were named after Theresa Stewart, a local councillor who represented Billesley on Birmingham City Council for 32 years from 1970 to 2000.

During her career she was also the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and remains the first and only woman to have led Birmingham City Council.

Members of her family joined us at an official ceremony to mark the naming of the streets which sit at the heart of our 29-home development.

We worked in partnership with Wonderful Homes to build the development.

Our Director of Sales and Programme Delivery, Michael Park, said: “We’re thrilled to name two of the streets at our new development in memory of Theresa Stewart and ensure that her impact is remembered for years to come.

“She had such a big impact on the local community and we’re proud to unveil the new street names – having members of her family present made this even more special.

“Our Yardley Wood development is all affordable including a mix of rent to buy homes and social rent, which is typically around 40–60 percent of the local market rate. One of our key objectives is to build homes which meet the needs of our region, and we’re pleased to be working with our partners to do this at our Yardley Wood Road development.”

Councillor Stewart’s family said the street naming was a fitting tribute to her years of service.

Selina Stewart, Councillor Stewart’s daughter said: “It’s lovely to have the two roads named after mum in the Billesley ward.

“She worked incredibly hard and was well loved in the ward. She was very concerned about the decline of homes for social rent so having these homes here with her name on it, in the ward she represented, would have been really important to her.

Councillor Stewart held her role as a local councillor for 32 years before retiring in 2002. She passed away in 2020.

Councillor Phil Davis, who represents Billesley on Birmingham City Council, said: “We are grateful to be able to remember Councillor Stewart and are thankful for her service to the people of the Billesley Ward.

“We think she would have been pleased to see this development of affordable homes built, decent affordable housing is still a pressing need as it was when Councillor Stewart was in office.”

Andy Evans, Managing Director of Wonderful Homes, added: “We are delighted to have partnered with Citizen to transform the derelict former Billesley Police Station site into an attractive, high-quality affordable housing development.

“It was a tremendous honour to be invited to name the new streets after Councillor Theresa Stewart, in recognition of her outstanding and dedicated service to Birmingham and the ward of Billesley."

The development is a mix of one, two, three and four bedroom homes and will provide energy efficient family housing for our customers who will live there.