Bit of a rush this week (sorry for the lack of posting this earlier in the week - been rather hectic)
2013/00643/PA - 61 Kilmorie Road Erection of two storey side extension and single storey front and rear extensions
2013/00728/PA - 20 Dudley Park Road Erection of 3 storey detached block utilising roof space to provide 7 assisted living flats (Use Class C3)
2013/01184/PA - 58 Olton Croft Erection of single storey rear extension and creation of patio area
2013/00474/PA - 132 Yardley Road Installation of a footway crossing (dropped kerb)
2013/01198/PA - 93 Hazelwood Road Erection of two storey rear and single storey side and rear extension, forward porch and new double pitch gable ended roof
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.
Tyseley Mon - Fri: 0700 - 0900 Sat/Sun: CLOSED Sorry. Your Labour team has backed local residents consistently on this issue, but the Liberal Democrat transport minister didn't listen to us.
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.
Here's a sample of work scheduled and completed across the ward recently thanks to the intervention of the Labour team.
Faulty street lights
On the Shirley Road/School Lane roundabout, at the junction of Shirley Road and Dolphin Lane, Oakhill Crescent, Yardley Road (including the belisha beacon), Westley Road, Flint Green Road, Shirley Road.
Damaged bollards repaired
Warwick Road/Westley Road junction (at the Green roundabout), Station Road/Oxford Road/Sherbourne Road junction.
Potholes
A couple of impressive examples of this species appeared - one particularly deep one on the Warwick Road lozenge roundabout opposite Lincoln Road North and another on the junction of Stockfield Road and Warwick Road, both of which were genuine hazards to road users. Both have been fixed.
Other issues
Elsewhere, Amey will also be repairing the damaged trip rails on Warwick Road opposite Stockfield Road.
A couple of weeks back, I was walking down Dudley Park Road and noticed that a deep hole had suddenly opened up in the footpath just by the junction with Station Road. This was quite an urgent risk, given that it was potentially a serious trip hazard for any pedestrian, so I had the Amey hit squad out that same morning to perform a fix. The drainage team will need to have a look, as a void appears to have opened up beneath the footpath, so this might not be a permanent repair.
A defective road sign on Weston Lane is to be realigned and adjusted to protect cyclists. This isn't part of the patch, but has been raised by a constituent, so I've raised it and Amey will be out to fix it. The sign warns drivers turning into Weston Lane from Battery Way to expect cyclists crossing the junction following the cycle route down into the dead end. Sadly, it was installed too low on the pole and has been turned round so that drivers can't see it.
We've also got a problem with blocked gullies around the Spring Road station. Amey have been to have a look and the problem is actually with a blocked public sewer, which is maintained by Severn Trent. They've flagged it and I'll chase it myself with a contact with Severn Trent.
Elsewhere, working with the landlords of the flats on Sherbourne Road, we had the access drive extended slightly to allow our bin wagons to be sure of access to the bin stores, as there was a period of several weeks when we weren't able to clear rubbish. An untaxed vehicle was parked on the private drive and prevented our trucks getting close enough to safely manoeuvre the large wheeled bins - the crews were trying daily at one point.
Quiet again on the planning front with a single application - although a decent sized one.
2013/01113/PA - 75 Woodford Green Road, Hall Green
Erection of two storey and single storey extension to rear
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.
As from this week, the green waste collection across Birmingham restarts. It will happen on the usual cycle, so if you have your recylates collected this week, your first green waste collection will be next week. If you had your recyclates collected last week, then this should be your first green waste collection of the new season. There will be no charge for the service this year.
Thirty thefts or attempted thefts from vehicles, lately with nineteen occasions where items were actually taken. Satnavs are particularly popular, so please take care to remove them and their associated cables to avoid tempting thieves - even the circle on the windscreen where the bracket was fitted can be a temptation, so wipe it down! Thirty is eleven up on last month and seventeen up on last year. VWs continue to be a target, as their locks are vulnerable to brute force attacks and there have also been six break ins on vans, including a number of catalytic converters stolen from vehicles parked at a garage. It appears that the actual value of those is quite limited as stolen goods, but the damage caused is expensive to fix.
We had three incidents of damage to vehicles, one which was domestic related and one as a result of a snowball being thrown at a vehicle. Additional officers were on duty in the Green around 3pm on school days during the snow and they spent their time speaking to those involved in throwing snowballs at passing vehicles. During the cold snap, officers carried out early morning patrols watching out for vehicles left unattended with their engines running to deice. On one occasion, they found 16 of them - all vulnerable to theft and none of them insured if they had been stolen.
There's still a problem with theft of wing mirrors from the BMW Mini - an experienced thief can remove them in about half a minute and as they retail for £300, can be used to turn a quick profit. One of the PCSOs has also reported that there has been a spate of thefts of the old style Mini across the force - so look after those classic cars!
Last month saw ten burglaries, three down on last month, but three up on last year. Most of these involved forced entry through back doors or windows, some of them using the resident's own garden tools to smash through the plastic panel on the door.
There have been a number of drive-offs or 'bilkings' from the Meir Stones petrol station by the bus garage. The retail radio system used in the Green has been extended to the garage and to Lidl and this will hopefully speed up the flow of information to the police.
One concern in December was a small number of robberies around Acocks Green Recreation Ground and along Broad Road. Acting on intelligence received, a suspect has now been arrested, charged with two offences and remanded in custody. The robberies have ceased.
Finally, the police have also executed three drugs warrants on properties in Tean Close, Onslow Road and industrial premises on Reddings Lane. All three came from tips from members of the public and resulted in the confiscation of a number of cannabis plants.
This new scheme - backed by Birmingham City Council and Solihull Council - will allow residents to share in a bulk buy scheme for domestic energy. Householders have a four week switching window starting last Monday and running through to Sunday 17 March to register. You can find out whether you can save money on their energy bills before deciding to sign up quickly and easily on line or on the phone.
The campaign has negotiated three tariffs – for pre-payment, direct debit and green energy options. As an added bonus the more people who sign up, the greater the cashback style discounts they will receive on their first bill. The national pilot "Together" campaign saw 1,000 people in Cornwall save an average of £133 on their annual bills.
The switching window opens on Monday February 18 and closes on Sunday March 17.
If you live in Acocks Green, South Yardley or Stechford & Yardley North, you may be eligible for help with the costs of public transport to get to interviews or even for up to eight weeks after you've got that job through the WorkWise scheme. This could be a free, unlimited day pass for bus, train and tram across the Midlands to get you to an interview or a pass to help you through the first two months of a new job.
Buying a ticket for tomorrow was restricted to after 4pm at one station and unavailable at others. Information buttons often failed to provide anything about ticket validity - get this wrong, and you could get a fine or miss your train altogether.... Which? executive director Richard Lloyd told us: 'Ticket office hours are being cut, often leaving people with little choice but to use a machine. It is only fair that machines sell exactly the same tickets as websites or ticket offices. We are calling on the train companies to update their machines and also make it crystal clear how, when and where tickets can be used.'
Remember that ticket office cut - it was a decision taken by a Liberal Democrat minister where he could genuinely have chosen to help the people in Acocks Green. He chose not to. At least he had the good grace not to turn up for a photo opportunity.
2013/00789/PA - 42 Victoria Road Erection of detached structure to side
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.
We now have a revised closure date for the repair works required to the library. It was planned for Saturday 23 Feb, but it now looks as though the library will close on the 28 March.
Works are planned to start on the 2 April and complete on the 21 June.
In the meantime, South Yardley Library will be opening extended hours to support residents of Acocks Green:
Cabinet on Monday agreed that South Yardley ward committee - comprising three locally elected councillors (two Labour and one LibDem) review the Oaklands Recreation Ground steering group to ensure that it is still fit for purpose to develop the ground for the future. Seems reasonable that we maintain democratic control over a £3 million spend. (This isn't within Acocks Green, but may become an issue within Yardley)
Cabinet has also agreed to preserve the Housing Liaison Board structure to engage with tenants and leaseholders - although they do need to be genuinely representative of the tenants and leaseholders within their area. Acocks Green has a strong HLB and I'm pleased that we'll be continuing it.
Also great to see Cabinet supporting a Birmingham Jobs Fund to support Birmingham's young people into work, following policies suggested by a policy commission comprising the council, local employers, voluntary groups and government. This fund will take money from the ward-committee community chest budget, but this contribution has the potential to make a real difference to the economic clout of Birmingham - with funding starting as soon as April this year. In some wards across Birmingham, a quarter of young people are out of work - totalling 15,000, with 3000 of them out of work for more than a year. Birmingham is lucky to have a young population and we need to ensure that they are placed to drive the city forward economically. What we can't tolerate is a future where we have some wards that are the worst affected in the country and we have to prioritise our spending.
Fox Hollies Green Neighbourhood Forum Open Public Meeting Wednesday 13 February 2013 - 7pm
The Oaklands Primary School, Dolphin Lane
Items on the agenda will be
Community First Fund
Police Report
Issues of local concern
Yes, I know this clashes with the Yarnfield meeting, but Cllr Stacey will attend this one and I'll be along about 8pm! We have yet to master omnipresence, but being in two places at once is manageable.
Yarnfield Police Meeting Wednesday 13 February 2013 - 7pm
Scout Hut, behind Scanlon's on Spring Road
Meet with the local policing team for the Yarnfield and discuss issues of importance for the neighbourhood.
2013/00643/PA - 61 Kilmorie Road
Erection of two storey side extension and single storey front and rear extensions
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.
The whole length of Avery Drive is due to be resurfaced over the three weeks starting on the 8 March 2013.
Residents should have received a letter by now informing them of the planned work
The work should not stop access to your home at any point, but please be aware that you don't park vehicles on the road outside your home while the contractors are working on that stretch of pavement.
I don't think it applies to any properties in Avery Drive, but if a dropped kerb is required to allow access to parking on the front garden of your home, then this can be installed for just £150. Existing dropped kerbs will be reinstated. Please bear in mind that you will have to have planning permission to install hard standing on your garden.
The Post Office are seeking to relocate Acocks Green post office into another local retailer as a franchised office. This would, it can be assumed, then result in the closure of the existing site.
However, they are clear that if a partner cannot be found, then the current post office will be maintained.
There will be a 6 week consultation prior to any move and while people will not be able to object to the principle of the closure/relocation, you will have an opportunity to object to the new location on the grounds of practical issues like parking, etc.
This is slightly more reassuring than the original spin, but will still require close monitoring and might mean another unoccupied store front in Acocks Green, which is never a good thing.
A rather worrying article here which mentions the future of Acocks Green Post Office. The headline suggests closure may be a risk if the Post Office cannot find a commercial partner, but further down the article, it says that if no partner can be found, the office will remain. I'll try to find out more information on this, but it is a worrying development.
Despite government pressure on Birmingham City Council's capital spending, Cllr Stacey and I can confirm that we have protected the money put aside to repair the roof of Acocks Green Library.
The closure date has been confirmed as Saturday 23 February to allow for preparatory work to allow the contractors to start on the 4th March. The work to the roof and skylights should take about 12 weeks in all.
Cllr Stacey and I will be keeping a close eye on the works.
In the meantime, South Yardley Library will be opening extended hours to support residents of Acocks Green:
Mon 9am to 7pm
Tue 9am to 5pm
Wed 9am to 5pm
Thu 9am to 7pm
Fri 9am to 5pm
Sat 9am to 5pm
Stewart and I put a lot of effort into trying to sort out an alternative service in Acocks Green, but were unsuccessful in securing a suitable location, despite some advanced negotiations.
2013/00510/PA - 31 Edenbridge Road
Application for a Certificate of Lawful Development for a proposed dormer window to rear and roof
alterations to side to form gable end
2012/07891/PA - 3 & 12 The Willows
Erection of detached garage to front of No. 12 The Willows and creation of 2 no. off street parking
spaces for No. 3 The Willows
2013/00136/PA - 1296 Warwick Road
Retention of two self contained flats
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.
Our local depot reports this morning that all black sack collections outstanding from last week were completed by the end of Saturday.
We are still outstanding the recyclate collections for last Monday and Tuesday, plus some from Wednesday (including my own road). This will all be completed by close of play this Wednesday.
City wide, that means we've caught up on a quarter of a million black bag collections and the vast majority of the 350,000 paper and plastic/glass recycling collections.
Again, sorry for inconvenience, but we are getting there!
Apologies to those of you who have had delays to your bin collections over the past few days. Unfortunately, the bad weather meant a huge backlog of rubbish to be collected and it has taken until now to get back largely on track. Some areas that have been raised with me - Francis Road, Gospel Lane, the Stockfield Estate and the Warwick Road - have been cleared of black bag waste today. Crews will be working late tonight and across the weekend to clear remaining rubbish and it is hoped that black bags will be gone by close of play on Saturday, with outstanding recyclable collections cleared by the end of Sunday.
In this situation, collections are placed in priority order with black bag waste being the highest priority, given the likely contents.
There will be a few problems outstanding as we start next week, but we should have the collection back on track by about Wednesday. Additional street cleaning resources will be put in place over the next week or so to tidy the ward up.
Again, apologies, but we are getting back to normal now.
Nothing last week and then we get this little lot.
2012/08372/PA - 10 Botteville Road Change of use from dwelling (C3) to residential institution (C2)
2012/07821/PA - 1091 Warwick Road Erection of conservatory to front and single-storey rear extension (This is the former Pasta di Piazza restaurant on the same run of shops as Pizza Hut, beside Acocks Green Primary School)
2013/00071/PA - Aldi Foodstore Ltd, Warwick Road Installation of full height new shopfront to front elevation and new rendered finish to existing brickwork panels
2013/00319/PA - 8 Olton Croft, Land adjacent Erection of a 3 bedroom detached dwelling house
We've done our best to maintain black bin bag collections on the main roads across the ward and Acocks Green, but many of the side roads have simply proved too treacherous for the heavy bin wagons and our crews to operate safely across the week. As the weather conditions have changed over the weekend, normal collections will resume this week and missed collection will be collected as normal, although we will try to prioritise missed recycling collections from last week.
Sorry for the inconvenience caused last week, but the weather was exceptionally poor and persistent and we have to put the safety of the public and our crews as our top priority.
CLOSED (via Disruption in Birmingham)
Acocks Green Primary
Cottesbrooke Infants (NOT Juniors)
Holy Souls
The Oaklands
Ninestiles (via school website)
Archbishop Ilsley (via school website)
All Solihull Schools confirmed closed.
I would expect other schools to be added to this list tomorrow morning, so check local radio stations, follow @BCCDisruption on Twitter or on their website. The site will be busy and despite extra capacity being added, can be expected to be rather hard to access. Twitter has proved really helpful in terms of getting information out there.
Decisions on emergency closures are taken by the head teacher and governing body of each school, as they are deemed best able to understand the local situation in regards to the school site, transport for pupils and staff or even the roads around the site. The local authority can in exceptional cases, enforce closure on voluntary controlled and community schools, but not on academies or voluntary aided schools.
The current forecast is that the light snow will persist until the small hours of Monday and there is a chance of further snow on Tuesday, although that forecast will firm up one way or the other as we get nearer. Ice is certain to remain a problem, however.
2013/00001/PA - 295-297 Fox Hollies Road Installation of replacement shop front and security door to rear
2013/00031/PA - 438 Fox Hollies Road Erection of first floor side/rear and single storey forward extensions
2013/00135/PA - 86 Hazelwood Road Erection of single storey rear extension
2012/08447/PA - 47 Hazelwood Road Erection of two storey side 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.
You have until Thursday to make any comments on a premises application under the Licensing Act which could see the Red Lion reopen as a pub. The applicants - the Hairy Lemon Pub Company - are looking to open to serve alcohol Sun - Thu from 10am to half-midnight and until 1:30am on Friday and Saturday. They are also applying to have live or recorded music until midnight Sun-Thu and until 1am Friday and Saturday.
2012/07891/PA - 12 The Willows
Erection of detached garage to front of No. 12 The Willows and creation of 2 no. off street parking spaces for No. 3 The Willows
2012/08224/PA - Outside 31 Shirley Road
Replacement and upgrade of existing public telephone kiosk with new kiosk and the addition of an ATM machine
2012/08333/PA - Acocks Green Bus Garage
Installation of automated sliding vehicle gate and security fencing.
2012/08304/PA - Flats at Aspen Close & Sorrell Drive, off Hazelwood Road
Erection of bow top fencing and brick piers along the frontage
2012/08512/PA - 43 The Avenue
Erection of two no. 3 bed semi detached dwelling houses
2012/08516/PA - 41 Mayfield Road
Erection of two storey side extension and conversion of single dwelling house into 3 self-contained flats
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.
To all my constituents, council colleagues (of whatever political hue) and particularly to all those who are working over the holidays to keep us safe and keep the infrastructure running - my best wishes for a happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
You may be aware that Eric Pickles offered a £250 million fund open to competitive bids from local authorities, ostensibly to help councils restore weekly bin collections - which Eric believes are a basic human right. The fact that best estimates suggest that it would cost something over £500 million to restore weekly collections may explain why only a single council actually bid to do that - Blackpool. Other local authorities have either used the cash offer to "protect" weekly rounds or to add something else to existing fortnightly collections. Birmingham submitted a bid for £29.5 million of that fund, that will increase the frequency of recycling collections for the quarter of the city that recycles the most, expand the rewards scheme, modernise our collection fleet and bring wheeled bins to about 90% of homes in the city. Although 40 bids were turned down, we had a bid sufficiently good enough to be allocated full funding as it delivered across the board exactly what the government wanted - Birmingham's bid received high praise for this. This will cover the capital costs of the service transformation.
We've committed to consulting with residents as to how the scheme is introduced and to trialling it in two wards, to ensuring that it isn't a 'one size fits all' offer, so that where wheeled bins are entirely inappropriate, they will not be used. Assisted collections will be maintained, so that people who currently get help with handling their bin bags will get help with their wheeled bins (every round has a list of them, usually with a few more that the crews know about as well). Waste disposal has always been changing. BBC Four have had a couple of excellent programmes on recently about how we've dealt with rubbish, from the days when the old metal dustbins really did only contain dust, as food waste was put into bins for pig swill, through the expansion of rubbish as the economy recovered post-war and consumerism took hold, right through to the arrival of the black bag and their replacement by wheeled bins.
I happen to believe that this will be good for Birmingham for a number of reasons, so I was disappointed to see the Liberal Democrat motion at the last council meeting, even more disappointed at the speeches and then at the call-in to scrutiny committee from the Tories last week. From the sound of it, you would believe that the 80% of authorities (including Solihull, Walsall, Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Lichfield and Coventry) that use wheeled bins must have descended into some post-apocalyptic hell, where the few bins not blazing in the street are being used to help burglars enter your home. Still, given their current rate of electoral descent, you aren't surprised at seeing the Liberal Democrats leaping aboard any bandwagon that trundles past. Their reports don't match the reality of anywhere I've ever lived or been that has these bins. Indeed, on a fact finding expedition into the dystopia that must be Solihull since wheeled bins were introduced back in 2009, I didn't have to negotiate rows of aflame bins or dodge hordes of burglars leaping down from conveniently placed chunks of moulded plastic. Friends living outside Birmingham's borders confirm that my experience is not unusual.
Yes, some people will set some bins on fire - West Midlands Fire Service currently attend ten fires a day involving rubbish. Yes, some will be used to facilitate entry to properties by thieves - who currently manage it anyway. I note in passing that one police team in wheelie-bin infested Solihull have just reported that they've managed a whole month without a burglary from a property being reported.
Will they obstruct the streets? Their physical footprint is very similar to the recycling boxes that are currently used, so if left out they will offer the same level of obstruction. Visually, they are more intrusive, but shouldn't we balance that against the wider public good of increased recyling?
Their objections entirely fail to address the funding gap. We know that by the end of the decade, if we do anothing, we will face an £8 million gap in the finances of this service alone. We currently spend £1 million a year on bin bags - and residents add to that with the bags they buy themselves. If anyone tells you that they want to retain bin bags - as the Yardley Liberal Democrats decided a couple of weeks back - then they also need to tell you what other service should be axed to pay for it, as we face a bleak funding future from a brutal and uncaring Tory/Liberal Democrat government. I'd rather see us spend that £8 million on services for those most in need than on continuing a failing system. Currently, we spend about £75 per household on bin collection - this will cut that cost to under £40 per property.
I've praised the work that was done to improve recycling in Birmingham over the past decade - including that by the last administration - but we can't rest on our laurels. We send very little to landfill, largely because we send it to Tyseley to be burnt to generate electricity. We currently have a waste system not fit for the future - an elderly fleet of vehicles, with breakdowns causing missed collections. Our streets are strewn with rubbish, feeding a growing population of rats, all because of ripped bags spilling their contents onto the highway. Rubbish collection is our most visible service and the £29.5 million from the government allows us to invest in it and turn it round.
Contrary to some views, this isn't a hasty decision. Way back in 2007, a council review suggested using smaller wheeled bins for weekly residual collections and noted that
giving residents a 140 litre wheeled bin for recycling would “considerably increase capacity.” Indeed, the report proposed constituency-level pilot programmes, but failed to actually put any money into them. The new plans envisage a standard 240 litre wheeled bin for recycling – an even greater
opportunity for improving volume, especially when allied to the incentive
scheme and weekly recycling collections for a quarter of the city. We have
learnt from the 80% of councils that collect from wheeled bins – their
experience is that these are safer for our workforce, they increase the volume
of recycling, they are cheaper to operate and they help keep the streets
cleaner. The same report raised two objections to wheeled bins - one of the capital expenditure, which this bid will resolve - and one of the potential for them to increase the volume of waste disposed of. There is mixed evidence on this latter issue. Bear in mind that bins were originally launched some 30 years ago when the idea of a doorstep recycling provision was only a glint in the eye of the most determined tree-hugger. Bins were designed to handle volumes of residual waste and nothing else. There is evidence that the larger bins encourage more waste to be put into them - but there is also a slight gain there, as there is also evidence that the amounts of rubbish taken to household waste sites declined as a result, so saving the carbon dioxide emissions of several cars making that trip. There is a degree of 'channel-shift' there, not just increased volume.
Like many councils, Bristol initially issued the large 240 litre wheeled bins for residual waste (residual is the technical term for everything that isn't recycled - whatever you currently put into your black bags), but they have recently replaced them with smaller bins, to encourage residents to recycle more - something that early adopters of wheeled bins now recognise as a good move. When I appeared on BBC Radio WM, residents from other authorities were incredulous at the level of opposition from Birmingham residents to the very idea of wheeled bins and I'm convinced that if you come back in five or six years' time, nobody will be asking for a return to black bags.
A decade ago, the Health and Safety Executive produced a report on manual handling in waste collection, which came out quite clearly in favour of wheeled bins - although they do bring about new issues in terms of safe handling. Far too many of our bin crew members either leave service early through ill health or die soon after retirement - it is a tough and very physical job. Providing a bin will help prevent manual handling and sharps injuries, as well as helping to reduce the food for the rat population. Our people have a right to come to work in as safe an environment as we can make it - that isn't about being a health and safety fascist, it is about being human. When you have a worker off sick with stress for six months following a needle stick injury - to the point where his marriage broke up - don't we owe them the safest working environment possible?
In 2009, the Local Government Association, responding to a brief campaign by the Daily Mail, surveyed 28 local authorities to get a quick snapshot view and every one that responded said that introducing wheeled bins increased recycling. As Richard Kemp, then Liberal Democrat deputy chair of the LGA, said,
All the evidence shows that most people like their wheelie bins and think that they make it easier and cleaner to throw out the rubbish. People also find that wheelie bins help to reduce litter on the streets
Food waste was part of the initial proposal from the last administration, but once we actually got to bidding stage, the Department of Communities and Local Government's own advice
indicated that a food waste collection was not a high priority for funding –
indeed, a third of those applications failed to pass the Pickles test,
including applications from Bolton and a £17 million bid from Leeds. Elsewhere,
we have seen Nottinghamshire scrap their food waste collections because of
costs, as did Pendle in 2011. Shropshire scrapped their separate collections - used to feed an anaerobic digester - back in 2010 in favour of a mixed green/food waste collection to supply in vessel composting. I still want us to explore food waste recycling, but it has to cost in and we need to build the platform that allows us to go down this path. There is no doubt at all that wheeled bins and increasing the capacity for mixed recyclates will improve our recycling rates faster and more sustainably than food waste. That has great potential, but advocates of food waste collections now miss the point that it needs huge investment in education and massive behavioural change to achieve the figures that they have suggested.
The other practical issue is that a weekly food waste collection would actually remove the need for a weekly residuals (black bag) collection - indeed, if you look at the two year WRAP study on food waste collections, the collection model with the lowest drop off in participation is exactly that model. The graph to the left shows a clear bias towards alternate week collections - note how the red stars are higher and further to the right, indicating both higher participation rates and higher volumes per household for alternate week collections. On that basis alone, I'm very surprised that any food waste collection schemes were approved, but that may be a matter of having to spend the money to avoid losing face. The DCLG were also quite firm that they wanted to see some public support for food waste schemes - either through specific consultation or even just through a manifesto commitment. As we know, neither the Tories nor the Liberal Democrats had the imagination to come up with a manifesto prior to May 2012, so they didn't even try to get over that hurdle. From what little we know of their scheme, I think it would really have struggled to get the funding required and would certainly not have won almost £30 million from the government. If we were already at an alternate week collection model, then we might have succeeded, but it is hard to see the economic justification for bringing in food waste collections and maintaining a weekly residual waste round - I'm not aware of any bids that offered that as an option. The Tory/Lib Dem bid would have failed on value for money terms. We found out in scrutiny committee on Friday that Cllr Tim Huxtable (Con) had taken it upon himself to discuss with government ministers whether they would be open to us reopening the bid to discuss changes - to reinsert the food waste scheme, for example. If Cllr Huxtable has such good contacts within the DCLG, then I think we'd be much happier if he could talk to them about not leaving Birmingham in the lurch by ripping away funding from a city with serious and broad needs. But he'd prefer to use his time to talk rubbish.
To quote from
experience elsewhere:
“The
introduction of the wheeled bin service was a massive improvement to the bag
and box format we had before. We
wanted to give residents the chance to be able to recycle more and make it as
easy as possible for them and it has been a huge success so far. It
wasn't a one size fits all solution as we recognised many properties in the
city didn't have enough space... so... we've adapted... some properties can
have smaller bins, or can stick with the bag and box collection service. Since
the introduction of the wheeled bins, the city has constantly exceeded
recycling targets set by the government.”
That is from a Liberal Democrat councillor in Liverpool – a city with a very similar spread of
housing to Birmingham and one where the council successfully collect from 90% of properties.
Even a former Birmingham Liberal Democrat councillor and cabinet member wrote in August that if we won this bid, Cllr McKay and the Labour administration (actually, he also included me, but I can't take any credit) would have
“brilliantly outmanoeuvred every single council in the country and will brilliantly grab £28.5 million from a £250 million pot.”
Which we did.
Other parties seem determined to stand in the way of saving money, improving our waste collection service and delaying further development. Along the way, they would condemn the poorest in our city to further
cuts to services. These bins will save money, protect our workforce from sharp objects and heavy lifting, keep our streets cleaner and make our city greener. Of course there will be problems and difficulties along the way - any change will bring challenges, but we will solve them. It is what Birmingham does. I accept change is difficult for many people, but even in these most challenging of times, shouldn't we try to make our city a better place to live? At the last council meeting, we were treated to a Liberal Democrat led attack on Labour's plan to bring wheeled bins to Birmingham. This piece is based on a speech I hoped to deliver, before we were timed out without even a chance for Cllr McKay to respond to the attacks from the combined opposition forces. I've also modified it following last week's call in by the Tories of Cabinet's acceptance of the Pickles money.
The fire service are consulting on their future model of operations - what response times they should set, what their priorities should be, how they should respond to incidents and whether they should continue to prioritise road traffic collision reduction.
Nothing last week, but one this week. 2012/08246/PA - 14 Starcross Road Erection of detached outbuilding to rear. 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.
Tonight sees the last of the public meetings as part of the consultation process for the 2013/14 budget for Birmingham City Council. It will be held in Committee Room 3 & 4 in the Council House and the public are welcome. I've been to two of the three so far and they've been lively affairs, but generally well-ordered. We've heard the detail from Albert and the cabinet team, who have answered questions from the floor and spent far more time than was originally allocated to ensure that all those who want to speak get the chance.
Incidentally, if you miss the meeting, there will be a webchat with Sir Albert on Wednesday 19 December from 6:30pm to 7:30pm on twitter using the hashtag #askalbert. Even after that, you can send your comments to budget_views@birmingham.gov.uk or write to Budget Views, Room 127, Council House, Victoria Square, Birmingham B1 1BB.
Youth services and support for the disabled are key issues that keep being brought up. For those that doubt the importance of consultation, Cllr Ian Ward revealed that the consultation into the Council Tax Benefit scheme that we have to introduce next year has raised some important issues and he is minded to adjust our proposal to ensure that the disabled are protected, even if they are moved off Disability Living Allowance onto Employment Support Allowance and he is also looking to protect carers as well. Both of those are directly attributable to responses received from the consultation process.
One thing that comes up time and time again is a demand that we set an illegal budget, as Liverpool did in the 80s - where we plan to spend more than we actually receive.
Councillors can no longer be personally surcharged or jailed for setting an illegal budget. Actually, if that was all it took to sort this, there are several in the Labour Group who would accept it with equanimity, but that isn't the reality. While the council can move small amounts around between years to deal with events, it isn't legal for it to set a deficit budget that spends more than it brings in. The council could set a budget that was in deficit, but the chief finance officer (acting under s114 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 - after the Tories got wise to that trick) would refuse to sign it off. Thereafter, the council would be unable to incur any expenditure, enter into any new contracts or collect any council tax until a lawful budget was set. Services in Birmingham would actually cease to be delivered fairly rapidly. Ultimately, if the council still refused to set a budget, the Department of Communities and Local Government would send in a small team to consult with officers and agree a plan of action, which would result in a budget being set solely to meet financial demands, with no thought for services. As the council had not been able to collect council tax, this would lead to a further shortfall in our budget, meaning deeper cuts still.
I do not believe that residents in Birmingham would thank any council for playing that sort of political game and it would be a dereliction of duty on our part to play it.
Who would you rather take decisions about services that affect you - Pickles' Whitehall mob or your local councillors?
All those who cite Liverpool as an example should remember exactly what concessions the government made when faced with that stand in 1985 when the authority refused to set a budget. Nothing. Not one iota. Just as Gove is spoiling for a fight with the teachers to prove his muscularity, so Pickles would relish putting the boot into Birmingham. We know where it ends - which is why I've included the clip from Neil Kinnock's magnificent 1985 conference speech.
We're taking enough of a beating from this government already. A deficit budget would not work and would actually damage the services that this council is trying to protect.
We were elected in May to run this city and we'll do just that. The budget envelope within which we have to work is not sufficient for the needs of Birmingham, but that is not the fault of this council, but the fault of the Tory and Liberal Democrat government that sets that envelope.
We just have to do the best we can with what we have.
There will be no collections on either Christmas Day or Boxing Day.
If you are scheduled to have a black bag collection on 25 December, your next collection will be on Tuesday 1 January 2013. Any recycling collection planned for Christmas Day will be completed on Tuesday 8 January.
If you are down for a bin collection on 26 December, the collection will be made on Wednesday 2 January 2013. Any recycling collection scheduled for Boxing Day will be made on Wednesday 9 January.
There shouldn't be any Tuesday collections in Acocks Green - that's the 'fallow' day in this ward, but there are a number of Wednesday collections - including one in my own road.
Please remember that green waste collections are now in their usual mid-winter suspension until the 25 February 2013.
Don't forget that our Household Recyling Centres - including the one at Tyseley - are open as usual each day (except Christmas Day and Boxing Day) from 8am to 6pm weekdays and 8am to 4:30pm at weekends if you have any recycling that you want to dispose of in between collections.
Also, the police do advise that you don't tempt thieves by leaving identifiable packaging visible outside your home. Take it to the recycling centre if you possibly can.
Acocks Green Library will close for essential roof repairs on the 31 December 2012. There will be a short hand over period to the builders and work is due to start on the 7th January, with a planned reopening date in early April 2013. Stewart and I will both be keeping a close eye on the works, as when South Yardley library closed for repairs, it took eighteen months to reopen.
Sadly, we've been unable to secure an alternative local site in the meantime, despite some very hard work by the officers and local groups, but we will be able to offer additional opening hours at South Yardley library, just a short hop away on the 11 bus towards the Swan Island.
These should apply from when the library reopens after the New Year holidays until services transfer back to Acocks Green, when normal hours will resume.
If there are any further updates, I'll let everyone know.
EDIT: The closure and repairs have been delayed as the contractors won't be ready in time. More when I get it.
I ran across Gear Up at the Sheldon Country Park festival this summer. They are one of several around the city and a small team of unemployed young people have got together to form a social enterprise to repair 'pre-loved' bikes for resale. Along the way, one of them has acquired the skills to be a Cytech Level 2 mechanic.
They are running low on stock, so would welcome any donations. You can either drop them off at the Hub on Bromford Drive or contact them on 0121 448 3739 or Melanie Glass by email on gearup (at) worthunlimited.co.uk to arrange collection.
We're currently consulting on next year's budget and we need your views.
The Tory and Liberal Democrat government are forcing us to make £110 million of cuts to our services this year. Unlike previous years, it won't be officers pushed out to justify political decisions - the Labour Cabinet will be at these meetings to hear your views and explain the choices ahead.
The next few years will be difficult, to put it mildly. The cuts that we can see coming down the line from the government will slice almost half of the money that we can actually choose how it is spent. That has to impact our services and all we can do is try to minimise the impact on those most in need.
Travel details:
Erdington Baptist Church - Wood End Road, Erdington, B24 8AD
A little bit of good news for the poor residents on Tyseley Lane who complained about the awful noise caused by an ill-fitting drain cover on the Warwick Road. Amey were out today reconstructing it and have now resolved the problem - so that means that the residents should get a good night's sleep tonight. I was lucky enough to run into them at the Yarnfield police meeting, so was able to share the good news with them. It has taken some nagging at Amey to get this sorted.
Lighting Columns to be Fixed
Three along Warwick Road, one on Dolphin Lane, one on Flint Green Road
Gulleys to be cleared
Spring Road, Onslow Road by the junction with Tyseley Lane
And a bit more calm this week with just two. 2012/07652/PA - 71 Arden Road Erection of single storey rear extension 2012/07868/PA - 19 Fox Green Crescent Erection of two storey side and rear extension and single storey rear and forward extensions. 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.
A Christmas planning rush! 2012/07043/PA - 1073 Warwick Road Change of use of first and second floor from dwelling use (C3) to beauty salon (Sui Generis). 'Sui generis' classes are those that don't fit into the usual range of classes listed here.
2012/07688/PA - The Oaklands Primary School, Dolphin Lane Erection of two storey extension to accommodate 6 no. classrooms and associated external works (this is to allow the expansion of the school to cope with the increase in school age children. 2012/07821/PA - 1091 Warwick Road Erection of conservatory to front & single storey rear extension, installation of staircase to rear
2012/07754/PA - 122 Westley Road (land at rear) Erection of 1 no. 3 bedroom detached dwelling house
2012/07692/PA - 56 Mayfield Road, Tyseley
Erection of single storey 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.
Overton Road, Warwick Road, Severne Road, Francis Road
Failed or faulty lighting columns to be fixed
Acocks Green
Two Christmas lighting panels to be repaired.
Oxford Road
Damaged illuminated bollard to be refixed.
Warwick Road/Tyseley Lane
Severn Trent access cover clanking whenever drivers pass over. Sounds like nothing, but this is a busy road and the closest neighbours are being kept awake with the noise. I'm on the case with Amey who recently resurfaced the road.
Olton Boulevard East
Tree pruning ongoing here - this is completing work that should have been done in the Spring. It has largely been done, but will be finished soon. I'm keeping an eye on this one.
Warwick Road, Shirley Road bus shelter, Acocks Green School - Westley Road
Offensive graffiti and it all looks to have been done by the same aerosol warrior who has done it elsewhere. Now removed.
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