Glynne Edwards Hall - Update

Although I could only make the last 45 minutes of the meeting last night, it is clear that there remains a gulf between the Stockfield Community Association and some other parts of the community. The SCA/Yardley Baptists have put their case in a meeting and will put it again on Wednesday at the Ward Committee at Acocks Green Library - I'd urge those for, against and those undecided to attend and listen to the arguments.

The architects did publicly say that they are open to discussing the detail of the application and making changes - I've undertaken to ensure that they are able to meet with the planning officers to discuss it - but they are firm in the need to demolish and replace the hall as the third phase in a series of works that will revive the semi-derelict Arthur Moore Hall behind it and see work done on the main body of the church. As ecclesiastical exemption applies to both of those parts, they are outside the local authority remit.

We have three broad camps - those in favour of demolition and rebuild as per the current plans, those who oppose demolition and would only accept reconstruction and repair and those who reluctantly accept the need to replace the hall, but have problems with the current designs. That oversimplifies the range of opinion quite massively, but I suspect it covers most people!

I would like to see exactly what the architects are prepared to offer in terms of changes, but they weren't forthcoming on that. They did reveal that there is an alternative plan which sees the black slate monolith clad in clay tiles instead, which might provide a more aesthetically pleasing look, but I'd particularly like to see the asymmetrical roof line changed to be more in keeping with the other roof lines along that stretch, particularly as it is at the outer edge of the proposed conservation area and there is room for the design to better echo and complement surrounding buildings without becoming a pastiche.

My key point was that when the architects have packed up their drawing desks and gone home, it will be those of us who have to live by this building that will have to take the consequences and I want it to continue to be something that we welcome in the area, not an eyesore. While I'm very sensitive to the need to conserve the built environment - I've supported the conservation area for years and am at the forefront of the campaign to preserve the police station - we also need to provide for the needs of the community. Reconciling those two aspects remains a huge challenge.

Acocks Green Farmers Market Today

Pictures from the last one - on a less than sunny day. This Saturday looks to be rather brighter and warmer, so there's no excuse not to pop down and sample the range of produce on offer.

9am - 3pm on the slip road directly opposite Holy Souls Church on the Warwick Road.

Unemployment - up in Yardley & women worst affected

Despite the headlines showing some improvement in the unemployment figures, there's still a lot of devils hiding in the detail. Birmingham has a small increase in JSA claimants year on year, up 0.2%. While that is statistically insignificant, that still means that 179 more men and 1402 more women are out of work than in June 2012 - a fact that is very significant to those people and their families. In Yardley, the overall figure was up by 0.2%, with an increase in women's unemployment of 0.5% set against a drop in male unemployment of 0.2% - that's a net 108 more people out of work in our constituency.

Nationally, it is worth noting that the figures also show a year on year drop of 120,000 in the number of full time employees, continuing the trend towards part time work. At the same time, the number of self-employed people rose by 132,000, accounting for a decent chunk of the change.

These figures are hardly a measure of confidence and - much like the other economic indicators - show no signs of a sustained recovery. With more bad news expected next week with the growth figures likely to show a continued recession, we're still bouncing along the bottom - pretty much as I predicted, sadly.

Glynn Edwards Hall

This is probably the biggest planning issue in the ward at the moment and I'm keen that all sides of the argument get to discuss it as fully as possible. Accordingly, I've asked the Stockfield Community Association and others on that side of the issue to attend the next Ward Committee meeting on Wednesday 25 July at Acocks Green Library.

Acocks Green Focus Group have strong views on the matter, but I do think that Stockfield Community Association and the Baptist Church need to put their views in a public forum and I've confirmed that they will be attending. They are also organising a public meeting this Friday - the 20th July - at 7pm in the Glynn Edwards Hall and all are welcome to hear from the Association and the architects.

For those of you not up to speed on this, the SCA and the Yardley Baptist Church have submitted joint plans to demolish the locally listed Glynn Edwards Hall on the corner of Yardley Road and Alexander Road and build a new building adjoining the church, the use of which would allow them to fund repairs to the other statutorily listed buildings on the site. There is vocal opposition to this proposal, but there is also a considerable chunk of local support.

Local listing is a way for the community to mark out buildings with historic significance, but it does not carry the same weight as the statutory listing grades.

If you want to review the current plans, you can find details here.

As always - your thoughts are welcomed.

UPDATE: Also worth a look is the Acocks Green Neighbourhood Forum website, where the last meeting showed opposition to the demolition plans.

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.

The Oaklands School to expand

To cope with an increased number of pupils coming into the school system, we'll be expanding The Oaklands School in Acocks Green from September 2013.

Also planned for expansion are Yardley Fields School and the Meadows School in Northfield.

Yardley Gardening Competition

If you are a Birmingham City Council tenant or leaseholder, you could win yourself £100 in gardening vouchers and you don't need to have a garden to enter!

Categories include:

• Best front garden
• Best back garden
• Best communal garden
• Best balcony, window box, hanging basket or pots
• NEW! Best vegetable patch grown in the ground (including raised beds)
• NEW! Best vegetables in containers (pots, hanging baskets, growbags or tubs)
• NEW! Best overall new entry.

You can nominate yourself or a friend, so long as they are a tenant or leaseholder by calling Andy Sheppard on 0121 464 1615 or emailing andy.sheppard@birmingham.gov.uk before Friday 20 July.

Councillor backs cuts to green growth

Cutting back on growth

Actually, taking advantage of the better weather last Sunday to get back into Acocks Green with the rest of the volunteers to tackle the central reservation on the Warwick Road and clear the jungle of growth around the base of the trees - it took about twelve sacks to remove it all. I've also had the grass cut along there this week so it looks far better in advance of the Farmer's Market this weekend, although I quite like the meadow look with the dandelions. At least to judge by my lawn, you'd think so.

Council Meeting - 12 June 2012

For the record, here's the text of my maiden speech (unchecked against delivery):

"I shall be brief, although I may take more than my usual 140 characters today.
It appears that the coalition that we endured for eight years has staggered on into opposition and despite two electoral thumpings, it just won’t die – it has become something of a zombie coalition, stumbling around searching for brains.

However, Lord Mayor, the serious issue is whether this Labour council should continue these policies and some figures were cited to advance that argument.

Certainly, the past few months have shown some improvement, but let us consider the record of the previous administration and their partners, the government.

Lord Mayor, the members opposite criticised the former Labour government for their handling of the economy through a global crisis.

I will remind you that when the Labour government left office in 2010, the national economy was growing and unemployment was falling again, as it was in Birmingham, where in May 2010, we had 47,950 people claiming JobSeekers Allowance.

Too many, Lord Mayor, far too many.

But now, we are being asked to celebrate the fact that thanks to two years of economic incompetence by the Tories and Liberal Democrats at national level and lack of response at local level, May 2012 saw 50,239 people claiming Job Seekers Allowance. And when we look at the detail, we find that Birmingham has the highest percentage of young people out of work of any of the core cities and that women have been disproportionately affected by the policies of this government. 

The people of Birmingham know this, Lord Mayor, which is why they have rejected the coalition opposite in their thousands. They have voted for change and I am proud to be one of Labour’s 20 new councillors elected as a result this year.

We must make Birmingham the Enterprise Capital of this country. We must build upon the diversity of economic and cultural life in this city – our manufacturers, our retail, financial and professional services and we must work to encourage the new drivers in the economy, the life sciences, green technology and the digital creative industries.

Lord Mayor, it falls to Labour to work through the wreckage left behind by the previous failed administration and without a supportive government, to try to deliver the jobs and prosperity that the people of this City have a right to expect. 

Lord Mayor, I urge the council to support the amendment to this motion."

Aside from me, three other new councillors made their maiden speeches - Lisa Trickett, Phil Davis and an excellent opening speech from Cllr Mariam Khan, who at the tender age of 21 skilfully put the long-serving Peter Douglas Osborne properly back in his box, after he condemned the Connexions service because after they closed, they had a misspelled sign on the front door. 

Electric vehicle charging post for Station Road car park?

Charging point in Margaret Street

Hopefully we'll soon see a couple of these charging points installed in the Station Road car park (behind Argos and Wilkinsons) to support the growth of electric vehicles in the city.

While take up hasn't been exactly dramatic so far, there is certainly a place for electric cars in our future - they are ideal for so many routine journeys, but range remains a problem.

If you'd like an overview of models currently available, then this site is well worth a look. Some models attract up to £5000 in grant support from the government under a scheme set out by Labour and fortunately continued by this coalition, but that still makes them rather expensive.

As always, if you have views, let me know.

Diary Date - Acocks Green Farmers' Market & Fun Day Sat 16 June

It used to be all fields round here and while we can't bring that back, we can at least bring you the taste of the country.

This coming weekend will see the inaugural Acocks Green Farmers Market & Summer Fun Day. Lots of hard work has gone into delivering this from Sandy and the Acocks Green Village BID team, so do try to get along.

It is being staged on the slip road on the Warwick Road opposite Holy Souls Church.

Further markets are planned for every third Saturday of the month. These have been a great success when held elsewhere across the city, so please do support your local village!

And if the prospect of mouthwatering food isn't quite enough - how about entertainment from King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys? 
Events kick off from 9am and the market will be there until 4pm.

This promises to be unmissable....

Streetworks Update - Greswolde Park Road Footpaths

As part of Amey's ongoing refurbishment of the City's road network, the pavements in Greswolde Park Road are to be resurfaced. This work is due to take place in the week starting the 22 June and planned to take about two weeks, with work scheduled during normal daylight hours 7:30-17:00, with Saturday working a possibility. 


Access to properties may be restricted from time to time while the work is being carried out, but residents should be able to get to and from their properties. The contractors do ask that when they are working on your section of footpath that you don't park on the road outside your home.


If this is going to cause any resident problems, they need to get in touch with the contractors on 0121 303 6644. 


If there are any houses in the road without a dropped kerb to allow access to off street parking, there is a special deal whereby this can be installed for just £150 - a significant saving over the normal cost. This applies for a crossing covering up to 3m of footpath from the kerb line to your property. If you wish to have this done, you need to contact the City Council helpline on 0121 303 6644 before the resurfacing work starts - so don't delay. 


Dropped kerbs can only be installed where there is a hardstanding area to the garden or where planning permission has already been obtained. Planning permission must be obtained for all hardstanding areas and you need to contact the planning office on 0121 303 1115 to discuss this. 


There are reasons why kerbs cannot be dropped:

• If there are trees/utility boxes or manhole covers/street lights/cables in the way
• If the depth of the garden from the rear of the public footpath to the building is less than 4.75m
• Crossings cannot be installed on a bend, at traffic lights or on a road junction.

Also worth pointing out that the current planned highways works programme is being reviewed at the moment - I should have the new version within a few weeks. 

Diary Date - Full Council - 2pm Tuesday 12 June

Off to the Council House again this Tuesday for the first full council meeting under the new administration.

The agenda has been published and aside from the usual matters, we can look forward to a revamped Question Time, including the first session where members of the public can put forward their own questions to the Leader and the Cabinet, providing they are submitted in writing either by email or post before noon on the 11 June. There are a few rules about the questions - they can't be vexatious or libellous, they must relate to matters that fall within the business of the City Council, they can't be repeated within six months and they mustn't relate to personal planning or licensing cases. If you fancy putting a question to the new leaders of Birmingham, you can send it by email to council.team@birmingham.gov.uk and you could be asking the questions on Tuesday. By the way - you have to be available at 2pm on Tuesday to ask your question as well!

I like this - it is demonstrating a real willingness to open the council up to public scrutiny. A number of other authorities do this around the country and I'm pleased that Labour are leading the way in Birmingham. Question time as a whole has been increased in length, to allow for questions to the executive members and to ensure that they are held to account properly and not relying on the stage managed annual report, which never offered an opportunity to seriously challenge the cabinet members.

We've also saved money by cutting out the meal break from the meeting and it should all be done and dusted in four hours rather than the usual six.

Other agenda items include a report on customer services, the future of the Civic function (relating to the functions of the Lord Mayor) and a couple of motions for debate.

You can find the details here.

Acocks Green in Bloom - in the rain

Not even driving rain stops the workers

Last Sunday, a small group of die hards assembled, despite the celebratory Jubilee Bank Holiday pouring rain, to make a start on the Warwick Road central reservation in advance of the entry for Britain in Bloom and the Farmers' Market next week.

Fancy joining us again at 10am this Sunday? Watch out for the reflective jackets around the Green.

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.

Acocks Green Railway Station

A very interesting meeting yesterday afternoon with representatives from CENTRO and Mott Macdonald, who have been retained as consultants on the project to improve the accessibility at Acocks Green Station under the long running Access for All programme, which was an initiative of the last Labour government. Since the original proposals back in 2007, the scheme has undergone some delays and they now at the stage where they are ready to put a preferred option to Network Rail for approval. I'm grateful to Julia at the Acocks Green Focus Group for arranging this meeting and there were a number of interested participants there, including members of the Arden Road residents' group and the Acocks Green Neighbourhood Forum.

Sadly, I can't bring you pictures of the designs, but I'll try to summarise them.

Acocks Green station - street frontage

Option 1 proposed putting a lift into the main station building, just behind the street door that leads down to the platform (on the left of the picture), with the shaft dropping down to a platform extended under the station building and the lift requiring users to turn right in the lift to exit to platform level. There would be a new lift tower dropping straight down beside the stairs to the car park and the existing roof line would be disrupted over the platform lift as well, to house the machinery. The left hand entrance would be bricked up and there would be a 'pinch point' for users of the stair case.

This option would require closure of the station for some weeks and would also have to be done at times when the contractors could take 'possession' of the line to allow them to work safely when no trains were running, which would mean a good deal of expensive overnight working.

Although superficially attractive, this wouldn't be in keeping with attempts to preserve the street scene with a conservation area. Further, the risks involved with the construction - Victorian buildings like this were not built to modern structural standards and the work involved underneath the station building would entail quite high risks.The 'pinch point' at the top of the stairs was also a problem, as it would funnel users through a narrowed entrance and would be a hefty change for existing users of the station.

Acocks Green station - view of platform & car park

Option 2 would install a new crossing, with a lift tower rising from the car park just beyond the end of the existing stairs (shown to the right) and a footbridge across to a new tower on the platform, again just at the end of the existing stairs. There would also be a new walkway running out from the station building to join the car park tower allowing access from the road level.

The advantages of this is that it would not require closure of the station and the least possible disruption to passenger use. Effectively, much of the tower work is pre-fabricated and installed to the site as an item. There would be no effect on the street scene, as the only changes to the existing building would be to build a new exit out of the rear of the building to the lift tower. It would preserve the most attractive part of the station - the ticket office building and the platform level has already been updated with modern furniture, so the new additions would not be out of keeping with that part of the station.

Lift and footbridge at Canterbury West

These two pictures to the left show similar constructions already in use - but I would stress that this is for illustration only. No final design has been prepared.

Lifts and footbridge at Selly Oak station

Option 3 was actually the original proposal submitted back in 2007 and would require some fairly hefty reconstruction, with passengers entering the station as now through the street exits and all being directed to a new bridge walkway constructed on the rear of the building with a lift down to the platform at the end or a right turn down onto a new flight of uncovered stairs. Similarly, there would be new stairs built on the car park side, wrapped around a new lift tower. This would also require a long term closure of the station - for up to 14 weeks and would be dependent on line access as well. There would also be the same concerns about integrating with the existing Victorian build as with Option 1. Also, this option does not now have support from either Network Rail or London Midland.

The preferred option is the second one, with the new build directly onto the platforms. While the meeting was in agreement that this was the best of the three, there were a number of issues raised about the finish of the towers - should they be distinctive and modern, to demonstrate the best of how the Victorians built for rail and how we do it in 2012 or should an attempt be made to keep them in the same style as the current building? Should the bridges be open, enclosed or glazed, with the implications for cost and user safety? The current plans envisage either open or enclosed walkways, although we are assured that these will be 'winterised' to cope with bad weather.

The final design is yet to be prepared and I intend to ask the contractors to return to talk to us - probably at a Ward Committee meeting - prior to submitting a planning application. I've stressed that getting public support would be beneficial, as we are lucky enough to have a number of local groups that take a real interest in the development of our area.

The next steps is for CENTRO/Mott McDonald to submit this outline to Network Rail for approval, which should be completed by August 2012. The proposals will then be put out to competitive tender and the project should have a contractor and detailed plans prepared for submission to Birmingham City Council by around Spring 2013, with construction likely in late 2013 or early 2014. Work has to be completed by May 2014.

Whatever happens, I'll keep you up to speed on how things progress.

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.

Protect your local police

This year, you will get the chance to vote for a police and crime commissioner. Perhaps the key question to ask the candidates is their attitude to this vital issue - will they privatise great chunks of our police service?

Planning Applications - to 19 May 2012

2012/03379/PA - 22 Bretton Road
Erection of single storey side and rear extension

2012/02070/PA - Rear of 100 Westley Road, Acocks Green Christian Centre
Continuation of use of 2 no. temporary portacabins for multi purpose use in reference to previous planning application 2008/01543/PA

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.