Aston is an area with a long and proud history and is now a bustling urban neighbourhood. However, the Aston Pride area remains one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in Birmingham and nationally with high levels of unemployment and economic inactivity, levels of educational attainment (for both children and adults) lower than the city average along with high levels of crime and poor health. Poor urban fabric and pressure on the delivery of local services have exacerbated the problems.

Lying to the northwest side of Birmingham City Centre, the Aston Pride regeneration area, according the 2001 census, has a population of just over 17,300 people in approximately 5,900 households.  Overcrowding in the area is at a rate of 10.2 per cent, which is considerably higher than the national rate of 1.8 per cent and the Birmingham rate of 3.6 per cent.

In terms of ethnicity, the Asian/Asian British population is the largest non-White group in the area accounting for 55.1 per cent of the population.  A further 15.4 per cent is Black/Black British.  This compares to Birmingham as a whole, where the figures are 19.5 percent and 6.1 per cent respectively.  The unemployment rate of 20.9 per cent amongst 16-74 year olds in the Birmingham Aston NDC area is far above that for Birmingham (9.5 percent) and nationally (5 per cent).  A unique feature of the regeneration community is the relatively young population – almost one in three of the population is aged under 16 years, as opposed to one in five in Birmingham as a whole and nationally.

The current Aston Pride Delivery Partnership was established in 2003 with 17 board members. The new partnership board has been operational for just two years and indications of recovery are now becoming apparent.