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The Jewellery Quarter sits close to Birmingham's city centre and has been a manufacturing centre, for both companies and individual artists, for more than 200 years. Shops started to appear in the1970s when manufacturers decided to sell to individual customers. "I think we will start to lose some of the very skilled people that are here, everybody works together," said Rachel Morrish, jewellery maker, who feared the sale will damage the industry's ecosystem. "Although you might see one door, there could be six or seven people behind it, all with different skills, and we all interact with each other." If one person goes, it has an effect on everyone, she said, as setters, polishers, mounters, engravers and enamellers all worked together. There were other plots of land around the Jewellery Quarter the council could sell that would not impact businesses, said Ms Morrish. The freehold of properties on Vyse Street and neighbouring Hylton Street are being sold for £750,000, with the marketing board outside stating that businesses are not affected.
