NW	NE	SOLIHULL	56	55th
SW	SE	16 Poplar Road, Solihull, West Midlands B91 3AB 021-705 1806	SU	1938

The Bank's 1933 Annual Report commented that:

Negotiations have been successfully concluded for the establishment of a Branch or Branches of the Bank in the area of the Solihull Urban District Council, and it is to be hoped during the present year to make such provision.Those negotiations followed the passing of a consensual vote by Solihull’s councillors at a meeting on April 4th 1933. Not all the councillors, however, were in favour of the Bank establishing branches in Solihull, as the following newspaper report of the council meeting shows:

 

Although there was a big majority at the Solihull Urban District Council meeting yesterday in favour of consent being given to the Birmingham Municipal Bank to establish a branch bank in the Solihull area, the spirited discussion on the matter was marked by a vigorous attack on Birmingham’s alleged annexation designs. 

Councillor R J Turner, who proposed that consent be given, said that a good many ratepayers in the district were already contributors to the bank, and therefore anything the Council could do to assist the ratepayers should be done. Councillor F J Ward seconded.

Councillor Lieut-Col W T Brain, former Postmaster-Surveyor of Birmingham, vigorously opposed the idea. It seemed, he said, to be quite smart on the part of the Birmingham Municipal Bank to offer to give facilities for the payment of water rates, but that was no justification for pushing a branch on Solihull. “We want to keep Solihull as Solihull,” declared Lieut-Col Brain. “We don’t want Birmingham to come into it. It is another attempt on the part of Birmingham to get their foot in. It is the thin edge of the wedge, and we should resist it. We don’t want anything that belongs to the municipality of Birmingham.”

Councillor H W Nock also opposed, and pointed out that there were branches of four large banks in Solihull. They had saving associations and the Post Office Savings Bank. The Municipal Bank, he thought, enabled the Birmingham City Council to borrow money at low rates and spend more freely on things they could do without in Birmingham. He believed they went into a lot of schemes because they could borrow money. “Birmingham,” declared Mr Nock, “has even municipalized the building of its banks. It is finding outlets for the sons and relatives of a good many officials and leaders in Birmingham, and from that point of view it is a good thing, but from the point of view of the country I don’t think they should be allowed to go any further.”

Councillor T Scott said Birmingham was looking ahead in the Solihull district. Birmingham electricity, Birmingham gas and Birmingham water were already in Solihull, and now Birmingham wanted Solihull’s money. In districts that were now part of the city Birmingham first got in with sewers and with water.

Councillor H Pedley remarked that Solihull took Birmingham water, gas, and electricity because it suited them. Councillor B Davis pointed out that Mr Neville Chamberlain had recently said that the Municipal Bank was one of the finest things done for the country. It had been a wonderful thing for Birmingham. There were millions of the money of workers invested in the bank, and use at a low rate of interest for the purpose of developing Birmingham.

The Chairman (Councillor C Robinson) said that the thin end of the wedge referred to had been in the district a long time. He was not afraid of being absorbed by Birmingham. He had seen two large absorptions by Birmingham, and the absorption was very much to the interest of the districts absorbed. “If the time comes that we have to be absorbed by Birmingham it will be to our advantage. “But I don’t think the time will come if we show ourselves capable of governing ourselves well. I think we are fortunate in having a neighbour like Birmingham.” He added that if the Municipal Bank was wanted it would prosper; if it was not wanted it would die a natural death.

In replying to the discussion, Councillor Turner said the annexation and amalgamation of all the outlying areas around Birmingham had been to the welfare and for the good government of those districts. There was no doubt some of them would see the time when Solihull would be annexed. There was no city in the world better managed than Birmingham.

The motion to consent to the bank was carried by 14 votes to five.

 

The following year's Annual Report then stated that:

 

In the 1930s, the population of Solihull was growing as people moved into the town from Birmingham. Housing expanded in the town by infilling between the three major roads that ran through the borough: the routes from Birmingham to Coventry, Warwick, and Stratford. The two main shopping areas for the town were established in Solihull's town centre, and (3 miles away) at Shirley.

 

 

below:

Site for new premises (previously:  Harold Nock - Estate Office)

Below:

Councillor Miller (right of doorway) officially opens the new office. The Lord Mayor of Birmingham (Coun. E R Canning) is on the left of the photograph. Others present are Coun. Wilfrid Martineau (double-breasted suit) and J P Hilton (extreme right of photograph)

Below:

The crowd assembled to witness the opening ceremony

 

 Mondays ..... 10:00 to 14:30 and 18:00 to 20:00
 Tuesdays .... 10:00 to 14:30
 Saturdays .... 10:00 to 13:00
The two branches were operated by the same staff, as each was opened on three days a week; Shirley was open on Wednesdays to Fridays.

 

The Bank's 1937 Annual Report stated that:

Premises have been purchased in Poplar Road, Solihull, with the object of providing more accommodation than is possible in the existing temporary premises. When the new premises are ready daily Bank facilities will be arranged. These premises were the Estate Office of Harold Nock; they were purchased for £2,500 and reconstructed by George Webb & Sons who tendered the lowest cost at £2,494.

 

The reconstructed premises in Poplar Road were formally opened at 5:30pm on Wednesday, July 20th  1938 by the Chairman of Solihull District Council (Councillor H W Miller), in the presence of Members of the Solihull Council, Members of the Birmingham City Council, and others who included C H Cook (Clerk to Solihull Council), C R Hutchinson (Surveyor), C H Budd (Treasurer), H Parker (Rating and Valuation Officer), the Rev A E Fraser (Rector of Solihull), J B Surman (architect for the new premises), S Freeman (builder), Frank Wilde (valuer) and B Hunt. Mr Miller was presented with a souvenir of the occasion by Councillor W Martineau, acting Chairman of the Bank. Daily banking facilities were provided as from that date - the address of these new premises was 31 Poplar Road. The new premises commenced with nearly 2,000 accounts (with balances amounting to £180,000) opened in the temporary premises; the first account in the new location was opened by Mrs Miller on behalf of the Solihull Maternity and Infant Welfare Association. Following the formal opening ceremony, the branch stayed open for business until 8pm.

 

Speaking at a social occasion at Solihull Council prior to the opening of the new premises, the Lord Mayor (Councillor E R Canning, JP) recalled the history and progress of the Bank, and then advised factory and office workers who had an interest in holiday and Christman clubs that they would be wise to see that the weekly collections are handed over to the care of the Municipal Bank. Every year when holiday times come round there are one or two cases where members of 'diddlum clubs' lose their money and hope of a well-earned holiday. Their distress was very real and it could be averted if their savings had gone into the bank. He stated that the success of the Municipal Bank was due largely to the personal interest that Birmingham men and women have in it. The amount of money saved by the working classes is remarkable and is a guarantee of the future security of the country, he concluded. Mr Miller spoke of the Municipal Bank's 'simplicity of operation - it gives a fair rate of interest, and behind it is the guarantee of one of the greatest cities in the world'.