Estate & Letting Agents In Solihull

Solihull is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, sitting eight miles southeast of Birmingham and roughly 14 miles west of Coventry. It lies within the historic Forest of Arden, on the banks of the River Blythe, and has been designated largely as green belt – three quarters of the wider borough remains open countryside, a fact that continues to define its appeal.

The town’s name is thought to derive from the Old English phrase “soily hill”, a reference to the heavy clay soil that made this elevated ground particularly muddy for early settlers. It appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a small rural settlement, and by 1242 had grown sufficiently to be granted a weekly market charter. The founding of St Alphege Church, the imposing red sandstone parish church at the centre of town, marks the point at which modern Solihull began to take shape.

Solihull largely avoided the industrial transformation that swept through neighbouring Birmingham. Its landowners, many of whom had settled precisely because of its relative quietness, steered development in a different direction. By the Victorian era, it had established itself as a prosperous address for Birmingham’s professional classes, with wide, tree-lined streets of substantial houses built for those who worked in the city but wanted something greener to return to.

Solihull is exceptionally well connected by road and rail, making it one of the most straightforwardly commutable towns in the West Midlands.

• Car & Road: The M42 is Solihull’s most significant motorway link, running through the borough and connecting directly to the M40 (for Oxford and London), the M5 (for the South West), the M6 (for the North West) and the M1 (for the North East). The A41 runs from Birmingham city centre directly into Solihull town centre, and the A34 provides a further route south. London is approximately 110 miles away, reachable in around two hours in normal conditions via the M40.
• Train: Solihull railway station is served by Chiltern Railways and West Midlands Trains, with trains to Birmingham Moor Street taking around 8 minutes and services running every 20 minutes throughout the day. Connections to London Marylebone are available via Chiltern Railways, with journey times of approximately 90 minutes. Dorridge station, in the southern part of the borough, also provides rail services and is among the busiest stations in the West Midlands.
• Bus: NX West Midlands operates frequent bus services connecting Solihull town centre to Birmingham, with journeys taking approximately 34 minutes. Local routes serve surrounding areas including Shirley, Knowle and Balsall Common. Solihull is a PlusBus area, meaning rail ticket holders can add unlimited local bus travel.

Property styles: Solihull’s housing stock is varied and, at the upper end, genuinely impressive. The most sought-after streets — Ashleigh Road, Widney Manor Road, Beechnut Lane — are lined with substantial Edwardian semis and detached homes, many featuring bay windows, generous plot sizes, and original period detailing.

Timber-framed Tudor-style buildings survive in the town centre, notably along the High Street, alongside Victorian terraced housing and a significant supply of post-war semis in areas such as Shirley and Olton. Purpose-built flats are concentrated mainly around the town centre, offering a more accessible entry point to the market.

Key streets: Ashleigh Road, which was featured on Channel 4’s Britain in 100 Homes as an example of Edwardian architecture, remains among the most prestigious addresses in the town. Widney Manor Road and Beechnut Lane similarly attract buyers looking for substantial period homes within comfortable reach of the centre. For family buyers, the areas around Tudor Grange Park and those within catchment for the town’s highest-rated schools are consistently in demand. Find out more about the best streets in Solihull and Solihull property types in our dedicated articles.

Developments: The most significant regeneration project currently underway is the Mell Square redevelopment. Planning approval for the scheme was granted in February 2026, with developer Muse Places Ltd delivering a 10-year programme that will deliver up to 1,600 homes alongside new retail, bars, restaurants and public spaces on the 6.4-hectare site at the heart of the town centre.

Phase one demolition is scheduled to begin in June 2026. Separately, the HS2 Interchange station, under construction within the borough, is expected to drive significant economic and residential demand

Solihull’s town centre balances a polished retail offer with the kind of everyday infrastructure that makes it genuinely practical to live here, not just visit.

• Shopping: The town centre is dominated by two distinct retail destinations. Touchwood (Warwick Rd, B91 3GJ) is the larger of the two, housing over 80 stores across 650,000 sq ft, with anchor tenants including John Lewis, Apple, Zara, H&M and Next alongside more than 20 restaurants and a Cineworld cinema. Mell Square (B91 3BG) has served the town since the 1960s and currently houses Marks & Spencer, WHSmith and a range of high street retailers, though it is due to be comprehensively redeveloped from 2026 onwards. For independent shopping, the village of Knowle (a short distance to the south) offers a good selection of independent shops, a butcher, a baker and a gallery. Exact shops within these areas frequently change, so always check the website to find the most up to date selection.
• Eating & Drinking: Touchwood’s restaurant offer covers everything from Wagamama and Pizza Express. The High Street and surrounding streets offer a further spread of cafés and independent restaurants. Solihull’s pub scene includes traditional options across the borough’s many villages, with Knowle and Dorridge both well regarded for their pubs.

Places Of InterestSolihull’s historic core and wider borough contain a genuinely varied set of landmarks, from a medieval parish church that has shaped the town’s skyline for eight centuries to one of the largest motorcycle collections in the world.

• St Alphege Church: The red sandstone parish church at the heart of Solihull dates to the 13th century, with its 51-metre spire visible from considerable distances across the town. Named after the Archbishop of Canterbury martyred in 1012, the church contains significant medieval stonework and stained-glass windows. It is the most historically important building in the town centre and the point around which the medieval settlement first took shape. Find out more here.
• The Manor House: Built around 1495, this timber-framed Tudor building is the oldest surviving structure on Solihull High Street and is Grade II* listed. Despite its name, it was never the home of the Lord of the Manor. It has served as a doctor’s surgery and private residence across the centuries and now operates as a restaurant, making it one of the more accessible pieces of medieval architecture in the borough.
• Packwood House: A National Trust property a short drive south of Solihull town centre, Packwood is a timber-framed Tudor manor house set within famous grounds. The yew garden, planted in the 17th century, is traditionally said to represent the Sermon on the Mount. Visit the National Trust page for opening times and admission.
• National Motorcycle Museum: Sitting within the borough near the NEC, this is the largest collection of British motorcycles in the world, with over 1,000 fully restored machines spanning more than 170 different manufacturers from 1898 to the present day. Brands including BSA, Norton and Triumph are all represented, and the museum draws around 250,000 visitors annually.

Solihull has one of the strongest subregional economies in the West Midlands, with a significantly higher GVA per capita than the regional average and consistently low unemployment figures.

The borough’s largest employer is Jaguar Land Rover, whose global headquarters and primary manufacturing plant are based on Lode Lane in Solihull. JLR employs tens of thousands of people across engineering, design, manufacturing and management roles, and its presence has drawn a significant cluster of automotive suppliers and related businesses to the wider area.

Birmingham Airport and the NEC are also major employers within the borough, together supporting thousands of jobs in aviation, logistics, hospitality, events management and retail. University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust operates across the borough, providing a further significant employment base in healthcare and related services.