Birmingham Street Commissioners

The Birmingham Street Commissioners were created in Birmingham, England by the Birmingham Improvement Act 1769 (Long title: An Act for the laying open and widening certain ways and passages within the Town of Birmingham, and for cleansing and lighting the streets, ways, lanes, and passages there, and for removing and preventing nuisances and obstructions therein.). Subsequent Improvement Acts of 1773, 1801, and 1812 gave increased powers to the Street Commissioners. In 1812, they became responsible for the repair and drainage of roads.

The Street Commissioners (elsewhere also called Improvement Commissioners or Pavement Commissioners) were given the power to ensure clean streets and to provide lighting by oil lamps. Roads could also be widened by the demolition of buildings and removal of cellar entrances.

The Board of Street Commissioners consisted of fifty residents, unpaid, each of whom owned property with a rateable value of over fifteen pounds. They included Sampson Lloyd (banker), John Taylor (banking partner of Sampson Lloyd), Dr. John Ash (founder of the General Hospital), solicitor and benefactor George Barker, and John Baskerville (printer). Replacement commissioners were chosen by the commissioners themselves.

The 1773 Act gave powers for the widening of Moor Street, Smallbrook Street, New Street and parts of Colmore Row (previously called Ann street).

One of their early targets was the control and reorganisation of the markets, moving them towards the area now known as the Bull Ring. In 1817, the Smithfield Market was created on the moat of the old manor house. This handled cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, hay and straw.

In 1824, they purchased the Manor and rights to the markets from the lord of the manor.

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