Editing Shard End (section)

===Development in the 1970s===
After the estate of the 1940s had been constructed, a large swathe of green land remained along the River Cole valley, this was called 'The cow fields' and in the early 1950s local people - particularly at the 'Bailey bridge' end of Shard End Crescent - would have cows grazing on the fields there. This rare open space in a city provided valuable recreation space for the new and young population of Shard End.

During the late 1970s, however, this tract of land was almost completely built upon and the area lost much of its charm. Since the building of this development, and a sharp decline in employment levels during the 1980s, Shard End has seen a marked increase in the problems typical of urban areas in large cities.