Free cholesterol testing still on at Sainsburys!

Sainsbury's Acocks Green is offering free cholesterol testing - there should be another week left of the offer. I was asked to be the guinea pig.

Despite my pathological fear of needles, I took one for the team and had one of the pharmacy team gently used a captive needle to get a blood sample which is popped into an electronic reader. The pharmacist then looks at the results and gives you some relevant advice. If they need to, they will refer you to your GP if the results show something that needs further attention.


For the record, my cholesterol was - surprisingly - within recommended limits. Thanks to Sainsburys for asking.

Warwick Road Acocks Green Improvements Consultation

The initial plans have been put out to consultation for the major improvements to the Warwick Road through Acocks Green as part of the Local Sustainable Transport Funding scheme. We're going to see about £1.7 million spent on this part of the scheme alone and it represents years of work by members of the community and a successful bid to a government fund for this and several other schemes around the city.

There are more extensive plans for the whole of the Warwick Road from the Stratford Road junction down through to Solihull. Over the next couple of weeks, we'll also see the plans to rework the Stockfield Road/Warwick Road/Fox Hollies Road junction, which has not proved effective since the last remodelling.

The pictures to the left show the main area that we're talking about - from Station Road up to just past Woodcock Lane. The existing dual carriageway will be reduced to a single carriageway - with the central reservation removed (the mature trees in the middle will be felled, but more trees will replace them along the roadside) and pavements widened. This will have the effect of removing the bottlenecks at either end of the dual carriageway and smoothing out traffic flow along the road length. The intent is to make Acocks Green a more attractive place to shop and to open a shop - we want to capture the trade that just passes through our village and finds it too hard to stop. To that end, there will be more on street parking and the Station Road car park (actually correctly termed the Warwick Road car park, according to the council) needs to have improved access.

As you know, we're currently updating the street furniture around the Green and this theme will be continued along into the eastern end of the shopping area. The stretch will also be relit at the same time as this programme is carried out - Amey are aware of this and have also held off work to the pavements pending this work, following my intervention.

Pedestrians should find it a nicer place to be, with wider pavements and easier crossing points. In particular, the residents of Woodcock Lane will find the shopping centre more open to them, as they will have new refuges to allow them to cross safely over the new single carriageway, rather than being unable to dash across the dual carriageway.

I hope that the principles of the project will get widespread support, although the details still require work. These are the initial plans and that there have already been some changes proposed following site meetings involving the design team, CENTRO, NXWM, Cllr Stacey and myself.

Proposals to ban right turns out of Woodcock Lane and Oxford Road are set to be dropped. We objected to this as the traffic volume is relatively low and it would make it difficult for residents to turn into the city (Oxford Road residents would have to go north and either out towards the Coventry Road or turn down Dudley Park Road and make a complete turn of the Green to join the Warwick Road city bound. There is relatively little traffic coming out of Woodcock Lane, as there is no southbound access across the rail bridge for vehicles.

Relocating the bus stop which serves Iceland. This was proposed to be relocated to the east outside the old convent building, now part of Archbishop Ilsley. We objected to this as it would mean a significant gap between bus stops (the next city-bound is down in the Green) and would force passengers with heavy shopping to drag it up the hill and over the Sainsbury's driveways. The stop will be retained roughly where it is now, but will be extended to take two buses and there will be a taxi drop-off and pickup point in front, instead of additional car parking spaces on that side of the carriageway. This supports current usage of that stretch of road.

Relocating the bus stop in front of the Spread Eagle. The plans see this moving east to a spot roughly in front of the NatWest bank. Again, this would mean a large gap between the earlier stop outside Wilkinsons, especially as the stop has already been relocated east once in the past few years. The stop will again be retained where it is, but marked out for two buses. On both of these, we've also insisted on the continued use of the Kassel kerb to help passengers board buses safely.

There is another item for consideration - what we do with Station Road. Part of this is to improve access to the Warwick Road car park, off Station Road and to do this, a scheme is being considered to change the flow along Station Road, which is currently one-way for the entire length from Dudley Park Road down to Warwick Road. The current suggestion is to make Station Road two-way from Warwick Road to the car park and maintain the one-way flow as it is now along the remaining length. This is, however, up for discussion and views of users and residents are being sought to find the best possible answer.

Other issues - I think the scheme needs more to support cycling in Acocks Green and I'd also like to see the 20mph limit extended onto the residential roads coming off the Warwick Road. It seems rather inconsistent that under the current proposal, drivers are limited to 20mph through the shopping area, but if they turn down Victoria Road or Mallard Close, they can accelerate to 30mph past the schools.

Cllr Stacey and I have raised our concerns about the poor quality of the proposed consultation process, which was originally due to finish at the end of this month. As a result, the consultation will now close on the 16th August and we have pushed the design team to stage two public events at Acocks Green Library on Thursday 8 August and Saturday 10 August. Copies of the plans will be available there in advance for you to look at and Ian Jeffries has very kindly offered space in his shop window to display them as well.

If you want to have a look at them now, you can go to the BeHeard website, view the plans and submit your comments. Your views and opinions are vital. This is one of the biggest investments in Acocks Green in decades and we want to get it right. So, let's have your opinions. If you want to send them to me as well, I'd be really interested to see thoughts and comments.

We are up against the clock, however. The rules of the government grant (which can only be spent on these projects) say that the work has to be completed by the middle of 2015, so work is likely to start during the spring and early summer of 2014.

Whether you write, email, call or pop along to one of the events - make sure your voice is heard!

Acocks Green Police News

Latest news from the police in Acocks Green on recent crime.

We had ten thefts from motor vehicles, down nine month on month and down two year on year. Two were thefts from insecure vehicles, one was the theft of a spare wheel from underneath a van parked on Sainsburys' car park, five were thefts of number plates and one was a case of petrol siphoning.

There were two robberies - the same as last month and this time last year. One was the theft of a mobile phone from a teenager on Alexander Road and the other was robbery from a cigarette delivery van outside a shop on Shirley Road. We also had two cases of theft from the person, one of which was a distraction theft in a pub in Acocks Green. Please be aware that there seems to be a small spate of this sort of non-violent theft across the constituency as it has been reported at more than one meeting. There was also the theft of a mobile phone by a cycling thief on Fox Hollies Park. Please be careful - don't have your mobiles on display and be aware of who is around you.

Last month saw eight burglaries - two down on the previous month, but three up on the same month last year. These were across the ward, including Sorrell Drive, Mayfield Road, Broomhall Crescent, Woodberry Road and Victoria Road. A couple of these were down to insecure front doors and two saw cases of 'lock snapping', where a specialist tool is used to allow the lock to be forced open. Three of the burglaries took place at night, but five happened in the daytime - so do remember to keep doors and windows secure.

Turning Acocks green

Pictured left is one of the new bollards that forms part of the major refresh of the street furniture - benches, bollards and bins - in the Acocks Green Village. This has been delivered by your Labour team, who had to argue hard with the our own Deputy Leader to ensure that we could deliver this investment in our local town centre. Even in these tough times, we've got to ensure that this remains an attractive place for people to open businesses and for us to shop in.

Don't forget, we've got more improvements coming with £1.7 million to be spent on improving the Warwick Road through the Village over the next couple of years.

Add to that the work to be done on Acocks Green Station - thanks to a decade of hard campaigning by local people desperate to see access to the platforms improved and we've got some good news to come for our area.

Watch this space!

Good news for Acocks Green

It has been a busy few weeks, but there is some excellent news about projects in the pipeline for Acocks Green.

Firstly, after discussions with the Deputy Leader of the Council, we've secured funding to refresh some of the street furniture around the Green itself - replacing the range of bollards with a single type, repainting in new colours and generally sprucing the place up. There were plans to repaint the lamp posts as well, but this has been scrapped, as the posts are due for replacement over the next two years or so and we can put that money to work elsewhere. That work will be done over the next few months.

Secondly, there's £3.4 million to be spent on the Warwick Road from the junction with the Stratford Road through to Solihull and half of that will be spent reworking the stretch between Station Road and Woodcock Lane right here in Acocks Green. We'll be consulting in detail over autumn 2012 with various local groups and also at the Ward Committee in September, so do make sure you get along to that.

Essentially, the plan is to de-dual the carriageway at this point, widening pavements, decluttering, reducing road speeds and increasing parking facilities along the road here. We'll also be looking at making the slip road in front of the KFC (on the stretch between Mallard Road and Oxford Road) much more of a public space to support the farmers' market or any other events that might occur. To improve access to the car park, we're also looking at improving traffic flows along Station Road and the junction with Sherbourne Road/Oxford Road/Dudley Park Road - but this will be done in full consultation with residents in that area.

Expect more details over the coming months - we'll make sure that you are kept up to date with progress, but the intention is to consult this autumn, finalise the designs and tender the work out in 2013 with the aim of work being carried out and completed for the Christmas season in 2014.

Finally, we're also hoping to see some exciting work done to tidy up the junction of Olton Boulevard East with Summer Road, Shaftmoor Lane and Spring Road as part of the Morrisons building programme, as well as improvements along Spring Road and the addition of pedestrian crossings. Watch out for more on that over the next few weeks. That work is on the books for completion within the next twelve months.

Aside from that, we've got a number of smaller projects much further advanced - the Shirley Road/School Road island is installed, we've got raised crossings being installed along Pemberly Road over the summer and there will also be some major work done this summer on Yarnfield Road in front of the school to make that safe for children and parents. Also, we're still pressing forward with work to calm traffic along Arden Road - we'll be discussing that with Highways over the coming weeks.

So that's a number of major investments in your ward over the next couple of years - we really are working to make things better.

Planning Applications to 2 June 2012

Just the one again (none last week)

2012/03596/PA - Archibishop Ilsley Technology College & Sixth Form Centre, Victoria Road

Erection of single storey office extension and external covered walkway


You can find the details by inputting the reference number into the Council online database here

If you have any comments, you can submit them online - feel free to pass your comments on to me.

House of Play and Education celebration.

At the House of Play & Education award ceremony last week with Michael Sharman (HoPE), Saine Grandison - one of the successful course participants, Emma Payne from the Birmingham Play Care Network and myself. Really good to applaud a successful local project and look forward to working with them in the future

Policing Update

Just a quick update on the policing front in Acocks Green, following the latest round of resident's meetings. Incidentally, you can keep up to date on the local neighbourhood team's public engagements here.These meetings are your chance to sit down with the local officers in your immediate area and talk about the issues that affect you. Do try to get along to the next meeting near you.

The police report that while crime is generally down in Acocks Green, there have been a few issues. Car crime - mostly theft from motor vehicles - has spiked lately, but much of this relates to theft of numberplates and a spate of thefts of wing mirrors from the new Mini. The plates are used to clone cars for use in crime or for use in petrol station forecourt drive-offs.

The Mini mirror thefts are simply because the mirrors are relatively easy to remove and fetch a good price - the BMW original part apparently retails for £300 a time, so a few thefts can prove very profitable for the offenders. There was a burst of these thefts, but they seem to have stopped lately.

The police also advise of a problem affecting thefts of BMWs, where the thieves lie in wait and when the driver leaves the vehicle and locks it using the remote fob, they use specialist equipment to capture the signal and either jam it to prevent the vehicle locking or alternatively to clone it to allow the car to be unlocked later.

The village has also seen a number of attempted purse dippings, particularly affecting our older residents, with at least one attempt stopped because of the sharp eyes of a shop assistant. We've got a good shop radio network and they do pass information between stores and to the police, so the message is that if you come to Acocks Green, we've got our eyes on you.

In other good news, eleven drug warrants have been executed in recent weeks in Acocks Green, shutting down four cannabis factories and removing over 100 fully-grown plants. Two people have been arrested in relation to offences relating to the supply of cannabis. In one, they found some outbuildings converted to a factory. The police say that where the producers used to use large properties or even factory units to produce cannabis on an industrial scale, they are now using multiple smaller locations to protect their crop against police activity.

The police need your help - these warrants all arose out of community information and they ask that you keep your eyes and nose open. Signs include permanently closed upstairs curtains, a strong smell of cannabis, excessive condensation, strange patterns of activity or people moving unusual equipment in, often at odd hours. If you see anything suspicious, you can either let the police know directly or call - anonymously - Crimestoppers on 0800 555 1111.

More generally, the police have offered some general crime prevention advice - make sure that you keep windows closed and back doors locked. The most recent burglary in this area was through an open window. In this current hot weather, if you must keep a window open, make sure that it is a high one and well away from a flat roof or drainpipes. As always, don't leave items on display - make sure that you even remove the satnav holder from the car, as thieves will break into vehicles assuming that the satnav itself is hidden in the glove compartment.

What have I been up to?

Just to let you know what I've been doing over the past couple of weeks.

There's been a fair bit of councillor induction. The Tuesday morning after the election saw most of the councillors turning up to accept their office and 'swear in' before the Chief Executive, plus complete some of the basic administration - security passes, photographs for the website, etc. There's also been an induction programme for new councillors, covering council finance (an interesting session, but not because of the information passed to us, more about what wasn't said), the structure of council meetings, childrens' services, the constitution and codes of conduct.

Last Thursday saw me at part of this induction, then straight back to a police tasking meeting, with Friday bringing a brief lunchtime event at the launch of the new Solihull Heights apartment complex on the Coventry Road and then councillors' surgery in the evening at Archbishop Ilsley school. Saturday brought the first part of the Labour Group AGM and Sunday morning saw me on Noor TV, debating the Queen's Speech with John Hemming.

Monday was busy - Yardley Labour Group pre-meeting in advance of the constituency/district committee meeting planned for the 24 May (but now cancelled), then a return to the council house to sort out my CRB form, more induction training and then part two of the Labour Group AGM.

Tuesday saw some IT setup being done. While councillors are entitled to a laptop, printer and wireless card, I've chosen to cut costs by using my own laptop and I have only taken the printer and the council Blackberry mobile phone.

Tuesday evening I was down at St Mary's for the Housing Liaison Board meeting and Wednesday had the final part of the induction training and then back to Acocks Green for Ward Advisory Board, where we considered a tranche of applications for the Community Chest funding. All around this, I've been picking up casework by phone and email, working on fixing problems and getting back to constituents.

Next week sees the City Council AGM on Tuesday, a couple of community events on Wednesday and a meeting as a school governor on Thursday, but that diary is subject to change...

Planning Applications - to 12 May 2012

Just the one:

2012/03214/PA - 51 Hazelwood Road
Erection of two storey side and rear extension

You can find the details by inputting the reference number into the Council online database here

If you have any comments, you can submit them online - feel free to pass your comments on to me.

Diary Date - Acocks Green Neighbourhood Police Residents' Meeting

Thursday 10 May
7pm - 8pm

Baptist Church, corner of Yardley Road / Alexander Road

A chance to meet the local policing team, talk through any issues or concerns and feed your views into the tasking process.

Bringing out the big guns in support

Sion SImon, John O'Shea, Waseem Zaffar and the team

Liam Byrne, John O'Shea, Lu O'Shea and Chris Dalton

I've been really lucky to have the support of a number of high profile campaigners and MPs over the course of this campaign. Today, we were out on the Gospel estate with Liam Byrne, MP for Hodge Hill, member of the shadow cabinet and potential candidate for Birmingham mayor (if the voters support the idea tomorrow. Last week, Sion Simon, who has run a fine campaign over the past couple of years to push the idea of an elected mayor for Birmingham, joined the fray on a very wet evening. And before that, Shabana Mahmood, MP for Ladywood, came down to help find more Labour voters.

John O'Shea and Shabana Mahmood

Thanks to all of them - and to those who have been on the campaign trail with me. I'll write up a fuller list of thanks later on (Cllr Stacey and Chris Dalton, my agent, are at the top of the list). Whatever happens tomorrow, it has been great working with all of you.

We've had a great time out on the doorstep and the phones, talking to voters - talking to real people about their problems and their worries and explaining what Labour want to do to make Birmingham better. Tomorrow, it will be over to those people to decide who represents Acocks Green - will it be the Liberal Democrat who has voted with the Tories since he was elected in 2008 or the local candidate who promises that Birmingham will be better with Labour?

Clegg's man or YOUR man - that's the choice.

Not on my turf

Just a couple of examples of graffiti that has sprung up in Acocks Green recently - I can only guess at the words behind APL, but the swastika makes the meaning clear.

I reported it last week and it was cleared well within 24 hours. Top marks to the graffiti clearance team. Just another benefit of me living on the patch....

Also on the radar was a fallen branch from a street tree on Dolphin Lane, a result of Sunday's high winds. Cllr Stacey had that cleared quickly, allowing the homeowner to get out of their drive again. It looks like some work will be required to the tree to make it safe, but the immediate problem has been solved.

Estelle Morris back in Yardley

We had a really good day with a series of doorstep sessions across Yardley on Saturday and were delighted to have Estelle Morris join us. She's still held in very high esteem in the constituency, despite having stood down as the MP in 2005 - she is much missed by many and is always a popular figure on the doorsteps.

We're even picking up new members and helpers as a result of our campaigning in Acocks Green.

Some great photos of Acocks Green...

Can be found here.Some parts haven't changed in layout much in over half a century - others, more so!

Welcome to Acocks Green

This poster has appeared on the Yardley Road, just by the border into the ward.

There's only one party that cares. 

On the campaign trail

Last week, we took advantage of the good weather to get out and about and knock on some doors on the Stockfield estate. It was particularly good to have the excellent Steve Bassam (@stevethequip on Twitter), leader of the Labour Lords, along to lend a hand and he was certainly quick to dash up and down the paths, shaking hands and digging out the potential voters.

As is common, we found voters furious at the Lib Dems for their post-election behaviour - 'Never again' is a very common refrain.

We'll be out and about across the ward in the run up to election day, so do stop and say hello, even if we aren't knocking on your door.

Planning Applications to 11 February 2012

2012/00822/PA - 909-911 Warwick Road, Acocks Green
Change of use from public house (Use Class A4) to car sales business (Use Class Sui Generis)
A4 is "drinking establishments". "Sui Generis" are uses that fall outside any other class of usage and stand on their own. This again relates to the old 'Britannia' pub opposite Stockfield Road.

2012/00667/PA - National Express West Midlands bus garage, Fox Hollies Road
Installation of solar panels to bus depot roof
Solar panel installations don't usually require planning permission for domestic properties, but they always do for commercial buildings. This is quite a hefty installation - 200 panels totalling 49 kW and taking full advantage of the Feed in tariff scheme.

Cold weather payments triggered for Acocks Green

The first cold weather payment of this winter should be in the accounts of eligible claimants within 14 days. There's no need to claim it - if you are eligible, you should receive the extra £25 regardless.

Those eligible are those on the following benefits:

• Pension Credit
• Income Support*
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance*
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)**

*Income Support and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance

If you receive Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, you will get Cold Weather Payments if you also have any of the following:

• a disability or pensioner premium included in your benefit
• a child who is disabled
• Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
• a child under five living with you 

**Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

If you get Income-related ESA, you will usually receive Cold Weather Payments if you also have any of the following:

• the support or work-related component of ESA
• a severe or enhanced disability premium included in your benefit
• a pensioner premium included in your benefit
• a child who is disabled
• Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
• a child under five living with you

You can find more information here.

Acocks Green Police Station Update

Talking to Cllr Jones about the police station

I'm delighted that we have an ongoing commitment from the Police Authority to a policing presence in Acocks Green. This morning, I had a brief street meeting with members of the local community, Cllr Stewart Stacey and Cllr Bob Jones, the chair of the West Midlands Police Authority Finance and Resources Committee to discuss the future of the Edwardian police station in Acocks Green. A report in the Birmingham Mail this week said that Acocks Green police station - along with Steelhouse Lane and Erdington - could be under threat of closure. Despite the dramatic headline, that isn't quite the story.

Cllr Jones, me (windswept) and Cllr Stacey

 Unsurprisingly, this has caused some considerable concern in the community and Cllr Stacey and I thought it was right to arrange a quick, informal meeting of interested parties to understand what lies ahead and how we can influence the decisions.

The Finance and Resources Committee has submitted a report to the full Police Authority for approval. At this stage, it only authorises further work to examine options. Cllr Jones was quite clear that no decision has been taken at this stage and in any case, the spending isn't planned in until 2014-15.

It is possible that the station will move to a different, central, high profile location within the ward - possibly co-located with another public service - and the site opened up for development as housing. There is no site proposed for relocation and it is hard to see where one could be found that would meet the demands of being central.

That is an option where we would need to be alert to the preservation of a striking building that exemplifies the Victorian/Edwardian attitude to the importance of public services. It sits in the middle of a proposed conservation area, which illustrates the growth of suburban Birmingham around the rail network. In fact, if you look at the coat of arms just below the roofline, you can see a badge emblazoned with the Worcestershire pears. The station was built as part of an unsuccessful campaign by Worcestershire council to win hearts and minds and keep the Yardley area within their county - there's a similar former police station on the Coventry Road that has now been converted to a pub and also bears a similar shield.

Around the corner on Alexander Road is a fine example of how these buildings can be preserved. The tiny fire station was surplus to requirements in the 1980s and was initially scheduled for demolition to provide additional space in the police yard. Cllr Stacey was just on the planning committee at that point and recalls that they rejected that plan, so the building is now converted for use as an architect's practice - preserving the street scene and an historic building.

 It is also open to the service to refurbish the existing site, which is too large for their planned requirements, and seek additional tenants for the unused space - perhaps an NHS commissioning group or other suitable tenant could take up part of the site.

This is an issue that will remain on the political radar for some time to come and I was really pleased to get assurances from Cllr Jones that the future of the police in Acocks Green is specifically assured - we just now need to secure the future of this building.