The first thing you notice about Soho Road is the energy. Traffic crawls bumper to bumper as buses rumble through one of Birmingham‘s busiest shopping districts. Shoppers weave between packed stores, cafes spill onto the pavement, and traders greet customers as the sound of chatter competes with passing sirens and delivery vans squeezing through narrow gaps in the traffic.

Amid the lunchtime rush, volunteers in fluorescent jackets quietly work their way along the pavement armed with litter pickers, watering cans and black bin bags. Hanging baskets are watered, flower beds are weeded and overflowing bins are emptied as they work to brighten a high street that has spent decades battling a reputation for prostitution, drug use and crime.

For a moment, it feels like a place on the rise. Then you turn into one of the side streets. The carefully maintained flower displays quickly disappear. Mattresses lean against garden walls. Black bin bags split open across cracked pavements. Broken furniture, old televisions and discarded household waste sit piled outside terraced homes. Some windows are permanently covered with dark tinting or heavy curtains, while residents quietly point towards properties they claim see a steady stream of visitors arriving during the early hours of the morning.

The contrast between the thriving high street and the neglected residential roads could hardly be starker.

Standing beside another pile of fly-tipped rubbish, a council street cleaner who asked not to be named gestured towards nearby streets.

“You’ve got people coming in and out of those houses in the early hours,” he said, pointing towards several properties just off the main shopping street.

Referring to what he believed was prostitution in the area, he also described the practical consequences his team faces every day. Dumped furniture, hazardous waste and household rubbish regularly have to be cleared before many residents even begin their day.

“It’s fine during the day,” said Carol, 61. “But at night it’s dangerous. There are prostitutes on the streets.”

Her partner, Torbas Sinclair, 64, said he was once assaulted inside a local shop in what he believes may have been a case of mistaken identity. Although he still visits the area regularly, he said the incident has stayed with him.

Their concerns were echoed by others who spoke to the Daily Express. Some described avoiding certain streets after dark, while others believed the area’s long-standing problems with crime and anti-social behaviour had never fully gone away.

Last year those fears were brought into sharp focus after the murder of 41-year-old Shara Millar, whose body was found in nearby Smethwick after she had been picked up on Soho Road by her killer. West Midlands Police said convicted murderer Tanveer Singh had travelled to Soho Road looking for sex workers before fatally attacking Millar. The force says it continues working with partner organisations to support vulnerable women involved in sex work while pursuing those who exploit them.

Official figures also show crime remains a significant issue across the wider Handsworth area, with violence and sexual offences among the most commonly recorded crimes.

Yet spending time on Soho Road reveals another side to the story. While some residents describe feeling frightened, others are determined not to let the area’s reputation define it.

Every few weeks businesses, volunteers, Birmingham City Council staff and police representatives come together for community action days aimed at making the area cleaner, greener and safer.

“Our aim is to keep the area vibrant because it’s such a multicultural hub,” Aisha Zulfcar, social media manager for the Soho Road Business Improvement District (BID) said.

“We have our own security team, our own cleaner and volunteers who help pick litter, water the plants and keep everything looking its best.

“Soho Road has had a negative reputation in the past and we’re trying to revive it.”

As she speaks, volunteers continue collecting litter while shoppers walk past without giving them a second glance.

For Zulfcar, improving Soho Road is about far more than appearances.

“Safety is a big part of what we do,” she said. “We understand families are coming here to shop and enjoy themselves, so that’s our priority.”

Businesses have direct contact numbers for the BID’s security patrols, while officers regularly patrol the district to reassure traders and visitors.

“Every business knows they can contact us if there’s an issue,” she said. “We’re trying our best to improve the area day by day.”

For every resident who speaks of fear, there is a business owner eager to tell a different story.

Standing outside a row of busy shops, Soho Road BID vice-chair Mani Gill sweeps his arm along the bustling high street.

“This road isn’t dying,” he said. “Quite the opposite.”

Pointing to what appeared to be an empty unit opposite, Gill said appearances can be deceptive.

“People think shops are empty, but they’re not. That one’s already been taken by H&T Pawnbrokers. They’re just fitting it out.”

According to Gill, demand for commercial space remains strong, with prospective tenants waiting for units before they become available.

“Every single unit is on a waiting list,” he said. “People are waiting to come to Soho Road to open businesses.”

Visitors travel from across the country to browse bridal boutiques, jewellers, clothing stores and restaurants, spending thousands of pounds on weddings and celebrations.

“Families come from London, Scotland, everywhere,” he said. “People spend a lot of money here. If the area’s run down, it doesn’t just affect residents, it affects businesses too.”

To help tackle that, the Business Improvement District funds its own cleaning teams, security patrols and environmental improvements.

As Gill spoke, a compact electric buggy stopped beside an overflowing litter bin before moving on.

“That’s our cleaner,” he said. “When the council empties the bins first thing in the morning, they’re often overflowing again by lunchtime because it’s such a busy road. We employ our own cleaner to keep everything looking tidy.”

Gill acknowledged there were still problems with anti-social behaviour but insisted the area was improving.

“I wouldn’t say it’s unsafe. Families come here during the day. Yes, incidents happen, but incidents happen in city centres as well.”

He added that businesses have also been encouraged to act as safe spaces for women and young people who feel vulnerable.

“If a student feels uncomfortable, they know there are shops they can go into where staff have been trained to help them or raise the alarm.”

Nearby, pastor and teacher Raja Jagirdar believes too much attention is paid to Soho Road’s problems and not enough to those trying to solve them.

“There are complaints and there are issues that need addressing,” he said. “But at the same time people are reporting problems and working together to improve the area.”

He pointed to recent Trading Standards raids on shops selling illegal vapes as an example of businesses working alongside authorities.

“There are always going to be people trying to make money in the wrong way,” he said. “But there are also lots of people trying to do the right thing.”

Brad Woods, assistant operations manager for street cleansing at Birmingham City Council, said the busy high street and surrounding residential roads require different approaches.

“The high street has litter pickers, sweepers and bins emptied throughout the day,” he said. “The side roads are where you tend to find the fly-tipping.”

He said Birmingham’s long-running bin strike had placed extra pressure on services but insisted hazardous waste remained a priority.

“If there are needles or dangerous items, they’re removed as quickly as possible,” he said.

As the afternoon wears on, the volunteers finish watering flower beds before loading bags of litter onto their buggy. Just a few hundred metres away, another pile of dumped rubbish waits to be collected.

The contrast sums up Soho Road.

It is neither the lawless street some outsiders imagine nor the polished success story its biggest supporters would like it to become.

Instead, it is a place where thriving businesses sit alongside deprivation, where thousands come to shop every week while some residents remain fearful after dark, and where volunteers, traders and community leaders are trying to change a reputation built over decades.

Whether those efforts will be enough to convince everyone that Soho Road has turned a corner remains the question hanging over one of Birmingham’s best-known streets.

A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: “We understand the concerns some residents have raised about safety on Soho Road and we are working closely with West Midlands Police, Soho Road BID and other partners to address community safety issues and antisocial behaviour in the area.

“Soho Road is a key focus for the West Local Community Safety Partnership, which brings agencies together to coordinate activity and respond to local concerns. Our Community Safety Officers carry out regular patrols and engagement work with businesses and residents, while our Intervention Officers work alongside specialist support services including Trident Reach, Change Grow Live and the Turnaround Project.

“A Public Spaces Protection Order remains in place until 2027 and is enforced in partnership with West Midlands Police. We are also supporting Operation Fearless, which launched in May and has already delivered positive results and received encouraging feedback from the local community.

“We welcome the valuable work being carried out by Soho Road BID to improve the local environment and provide additional reassurance to businesses, residents and visitors.

“While challenges remain, we are committed to continuing our work with our partners to make Soho Road a safer and more welcoming place for everyone.”

West Midlands Police were approached for comment.