Editing Balsall Heath (section)

===Red light era===
[[Street prostitution]] first appeared in Balsall Heath during the 1950s. Property values fell, attracting Birmingham's poorer migrants. By the 1970s, the area was notorious for [[robbery|street robberies]] and [[drug dealing]]. Cheddar Road was the centre of a red-light district worked by 450 women. About half of the 50 houses on this road had prostitutes advertising themselves in the windows, similar to [[De Wallen|Amsterdam]]. It was labelled Britain's busiest cul-de-sac.<ref name="Sky">{{cite web |author=Crabtree |first=David |date=14 February 2011 |title=Big Society Alive and Kicking in Inner City |url=http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/15929966 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304193144/http://news.sky.com/story/836938/big-society-alive-and-kicking-in-inner-city |archive-date=4 March 2014 |access-date=5 November 2011 |publisher=Sky News}}</ref> This period of the area's history is depicted in the 1980 film ''[[Prostitute (1980 film)|Prostitute]]''.

In 1986, an organisation called ANAWIM was formed by the [[Sisters of Charity]] to provide outreach support to the prostitutes.<ref name=bh308>{{Cite news |title=ANAWIM Celebrates Silver Jubilee | newspaper=The Balsall Heathan | number= 308| date=November 2011| publisher=St. Paul's Community Trust}}</ref>

In September 1992, a report was published encouraging the formation of a zone of tolerance towards prostitution in Balsall Heath. This was opposed by residents and a local police inspector. In the following year Samo Paull, a woman working as a prostitute, was abducted from Balsall Heath and murdered.

In 1994, residents began to organise street patrols forcing the prostitutes and street criminals out of the area. These patrols had the qualified support of the police but were regarded as [[vigilante]]s by some. There was an immediate two-thirds reduction in street and [[window prostitution]].<ref name=Sky/> By November 1995, they had been almost eliminated.

The area has enjoyed a slow revival. House prices are now similar to those in other inner-city areas, while the crime rate is among the lowest.