Yardley, Birmingham

Yardley is an area in east Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee.

Birmingham Yardley is a constituency and its Member of Parliament is Jess Phillips, elected in May 2015.

Yardley's main shopping area is known as Yew Tree, named after the yew that stood, originally to the south of the roundabout, outside what was then Boots, then on the roundabout at the junction in the centre of Yardley. It was damaged during work to the roundabout, and as a result was removed. It was later replaced by another tree located in the centre of the island.

Yardley once had a local pub owned by the brewery company Bass, called The Yew Tree. It was run by the Williams family who had lived there for over 20 years. It was shut down in June 2000 after being stripped of its liquor licence and told by police that it was a magnet for crime. It was subsequently subject to two arson attacks. One of the fires caused an adjacent road, Stoney Lane, to be closed to traffic for one day. The pub was later demolished and replaced by a Co-op supermarket and new restaurants. A new Yew Tree pub has now opened within the premises.

At a Council Licensing meeting on 5 September 2011 Wetherspoons was granted a licence to convert the former Woolworths premises at 140 Church Road to a pub. This will help to replace the many local pubs closed over the years The Swan on the Coventry road, The Ring O'Bells on Church Road, and others. It was expected that the premises will open in the next six months or so. The licence was granted despite local concerns over noise, nuisance, anti-social behaviour and delivery vehicles blocking alleyways. A resident Rob Clark had told the committee that neighbours in the Grove were anxious about disturbances. He said: "There have been problems with anti-social behaviour before, it needs CCTV cameras and some lighting."I am sure we can work with Wetherspoons to get this done." The committee was also concerned by nuisance from smokers under a canopy on the front pavement. But the company argued that its staff are all trained in dealing with problems and that there would be regular checks. Wetherspoons also promised CCTV and lighting to the rear of the site to prevent problems.

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