Acocks Green Ward Committee - 2 Nov 2011

Just a quick update on the Acocks Green Ward Committee, held Wednesday night in Severne Road JI School and plunged into darkness on a number of occasions thanks to motion sensors controlling the lights. This is from notes and memory, so errors are possible, but not intentional.

The main agenda item was the proposal for a new Morrison's supermarket on the Denso site on Spring Road. This would include not only the supermarket, but also an Extra Care village and housing. There was a good turnout from Morrisons, Extra Care and the developers and they expect to bring the plans to committee before Christmas, with initial site works for the store starting in May or June 2012 with an eight month construction time. As one of the site occupants, AEC, is still to relocate to a new site on the Birmingham Business Park, the whole construction process for the three phases of the scheme is expected to take around three years.

This is planned to be a large format store and will include a petrol filling station. The Extra Care village will provide 278 units with a mix of residents - from those who need sheltered housing to those who need quite substantial support - as well as facilities available for the wider community. It is also hoped to bring back into use the derelict car park atop the railway line, as the developers have just agreed a lease with Network Rail. It was also made clear in the meeting that the development is essentially a package - the Extra Care Village's costs are reduced by the gains from the store development and that would seem to be critical to its viability.

As part of this development, there will need to be work done on the surrounding highways. In particular, the junction of Spring Road and Olton Boulevard East will be remodelled, changing the alignment of the road and installing traffic signal controls. Pedestrian crossings will be added to Spring Road, including a zebra crossing outside the station and a pedestrian refuge further down the road. This latter caused some concern from one of the residents present, who felt that it should be a proper, signal-controlled crossing and the developers seemed happy to take this on board. Given the volume of traffic you would expect down that road once the store opens, this seems entirely sensible and I think it is quite important that the store doesn't unintentionally discourage pedestrian access from the Yarnfield estate opposite by making the site effectively isolated. There will also be a dedicated right turn lane, although not signal controlled.

Morrisons are also promising a local labour agreement, which will require them to hire 90% of the employees from within a given radius around the site. Positively, this will apply not only to the store staff, but also to those employed on construction and in the Extra Care Village, which is expected to employ about 60 people by itself. As always with developer's promises, words are cheap - delivery is key.

I know that there are concerns from within Acocks Green about the likely effects on the Village and those worries need to be voiced within the planning process. The reality is that the forthcoming planning guidance from central government offers little wriggle room in the face of sustainable development proposals and this would seem to tick a whole range of boxes. The Asda plan for a retail park on the Eaton site on Reddings Lane has also appeared in recent weeks and this is interesting, but it seems unlikely that both will be developed.

Your thoughts on this would be welcome.

Elsewhere, Amey sent a representative along to talk lighting. They are currently replacing about 1000 lighting columns (not lamp posts) a month, which sounds a lot until you realise that Birmingham has 95,000 of the things currently, but will have around 80,000 when Amey have finished. Amey are carrying out letter drops where columns are to be resited and marking the pavement with yellow paint, including an indication of the height of the new column.

The new streetlights are all LEDs and this is long-lasting and highly energy efficient technology, which will reduce the electricity bill for street lighting by £1.8 million. Amey don't want to waste the light, so the lamps are designed not to cast light much more than 2-3 metres behind them, putting all the light where it needs to be. The aim on residential roads is to light from the footway edge to footway edge, not into front gardens. On more major 'traffic routes', then the lighting has to cover an area extending some 5 metres back from the roadway to ensure that drivers can see anybody approaching the road. Lamp posts are also being relocated to the edge of the footpath where they are currently sited by the road or to behind the verge where they are currently on a verge. This protects both the lights and careless drivers in accidents.

The poorly sited lights on Yardley Road were raised again at this meeting - there are a couple of newly relocated posts that are right in the middle of the footpath - and Amey undertook to look into it.

Other items of interest were two planning applications. One is yet another plan to redevelop the site at the end of Francis Road (search here for 2011/06797/PA), which had approval some while ago for redevelopment with flats and has a new application submitted for ten two-bedroom houses and a turning head, which will at least help deal with the access problems for emergency services, delivery and refuse vehicles. However, looking at the plans, the site is very cramped. A few of the homes will have postage stamp back yards and some won't even have those, with one having a back door opening virtually onto the canal. From discussions with residents over the last planning application, I know that they actually want the site brought into residential use and aren't resisting change for the sake of it - they want the environment improved.

Elsewhere, there is a proposal for land behind 230 Fox Hollies Road and Hazelwood Road, (search here for 2011/06865/PA) and effectively extending the relatively new housing development on Green Acres with an additional 12 properties. Again, this is likely to be approved, but the two middle properties are in an odd location out of keeping with the others.

Other than that, we had the usual routine items. Some more expenditure from the Community Chest - supporting the Christmas Lights up at Fox Hollies, although Springfield have declined to help out, so there won't be any on their side of the road!

Perhaps the key issue upon which to invite comments are the supermarket proposals. Thoughts?

Lib Dem Let Down (the story continues)

Liberal promises have a use-by date - 12 months at the outside.

Another matter raised at last week's Ward Committee meeting was the future of Acocks Green Library - a very busy library that is at the heart of the local community. Last March, the serving Liberal Democrat councillor promised those who attended the Constituency Committee meeting that money to be spent on that library would be spent on library facilities. No equivocation. It was rumoured at the time that the Neighbourhood Office was to be relocated within the library, but this was denied.

Last week, it was confirmed that the Neighbourhood Office is to be relocated from the current site in Botteville Road and into the library. At least six desks are to be sited in the library - probably in what is currently the children's section. Clearly, this will mean additional noise, a need for privacy for the users of the neighbourhood office function and will also place additional security considerations on the rest of the library, quite apart from the disruption caused by the required modifications.

Needless to say, the opposition has already kicked off - there's even a Facebook group dedicated to the campaign with well over 100 members. That's not bad for a community in just a few days and shows the depth of anger at the decision and the feelings that they have been let down.

Lib Dem Let Down

Last Wednesday's ward committee meeting in Acocks Green was slated as a brief affair - only a single, substantive item on the agenda to pass the Community Chest funding for the year. I was running a little late and fully expected to find the meeting on the verge of breaking up when I arrived around ten past seven.

I was amazed to find that there was only one spare seat - a contingent of ladies who all attend the Fox Hollies Leisure Centre to use the pool had turned up to hector the three Liberal councillors about the closure of the small cafe at the centre. They were angry and had even provided a petition, but this was to no avail - the decision to close was already made.
The claim is that the cafe is losing £50,000 a year, but this has to be set against the fact that a number of groups and clubs that currently use the centre's facilities may decide to relocate somewhere with more attractive facilities. It was pointed out that this has already happened in at least one case. The cafe is also a community facility in its own right - providing a place for these ladies to meet after their swimming session and have a quick, warming cuppa. My comrade, Stewart Stacey, pointed out that this was rather similar to the status of the buffet cars on British Rail. The management in that industry wanted to get rid of them, because they consistently lost money, but when the cars were removed, they found that this cost more in lost ticket sales than it cost to maintain the service. It is a loss leader to encourage use of the centre - all the more important now that Sparkhill Baths are closed for the next two to three years and Fox Hollies should be well-placed to take advantage of that business.

Cllr Harmer said that there was no alternative - that the money had to be saved to allow the setting of a balanced budget (quite how the constituency will achieve that this year, given that they are well over £600,000 over budget at the end of the third quarter of 09/10, isn't clear). Perhaps if some £90,000 wasn't being spent on a former Sun hack to spin for the discredited management of the Children's department, there might be more cash to be spent. Or perhaps some of the millions spent on consultants by Birmingham City Council might have been better spent on services.

I fear that this will be death by a thousand cuts - that gradually, other items of the centre might be closed because of falling attendance, rather than attempts be made to run it properly, to advertise it and to generate business.

Liberal Democrat Lie

Accusing a party of telling a direct lie is not something I do easily or happily, but the Liberal Democrats in Yardley are distributing a full colour, A3 leaflet that includes a direct and demonstrable lie.

It may not mean much to them, but it is an absolute untruth to accuse the Labour Party of not campaigning in Acocks Green - for that is where this leaflet is being distributed, although I have no reason to believe that it is not being distributed elsewhere in the constituency.

We have campaigned since 2005 - I've run three campaigns myself since then. The councillor retiring in Acocks Green this year, Cllr Iain Bowen, will certainly recall the 2006 campaign when a small team helped me halve his majority. Much as I like Iain personally, we're putting up a fight to unseat him this year. We campaigned again in 2007 and 2008, campaigning also on behalf of Labour's team in the European parliament. A very successful campaign has been run to save the libraries in Yardley Constituency and we also fought to preserve the 41 bus route (John Hemming has copies of our leaflet, since he posted them on the Stirrer some weeks ago).

Sadly, we don't have the benefit of the £250k coming into the pockets of councillors, cabinet members and an MP, let alone Hemming's millions, so we have to find the money to fund our own campaigns and can't run to paid deliveries.

Perhaps the Liberal Democrats have spent too much time with their Conservative mates and are learning how to airbrush history, rather than just photographs.

Countdown and out

Those who can do, those who can't, teach and those who can't teach become Tory education ministers. Question Time this week saw a car crash of a performance from Carol Vorderman, when she was thoroughly outclassed by those around her and her 'independent' voice was exposed as a sham. Unqualified to serve as a teacher under a Tory government, she relied on reading her crib notes - wonder who briefed her? - and independently took shots only at Labour throughout the show.

Gaby Hinsliff watched the show as well

Chatty Carol, the lovable whizz with a whiteboard, metamorphasised before the Question Time audience into a malfunctioning robot apparently programmed by a shock jock. Smoke billowed from her wiring as she veered between shrill (on the public's apparent right to hunt down Jon Venables) and hesitant (whenever she lost her place in her cribnotes). By the time they got on to Iraq, the whiff of melting circuitry filled the studio.

No Go to Conservation Area in Acocks Green

People in Acocks Green have been stunned and angered by a decision to delay plans to establish a conservation area to preserve the historic appearance of parts of Acocks Green.

Only a few months ago, the Liberal Democrat councillors promised that work to set this up would start within six months, but it has been revealed that it hasn't even been scheduled with the conservation team at the City Council, who currently have their work planned out for the next eighteen months.

It was further revealed that even this work is under threat as the conservation department's experienced manager is retiring and not being replaces and further job cuts are on the horizon.

So, as it stands, a promise made by the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Cllr Neville Summerfield, at a meeting with interested parties in Acocks Green, will not be delivered. Given that the Liberal Democrats are allied with the Conservatives to run the City Council, it is a measure of their unimportance that breaking a promise is taken so lightly.

Financial Woes

A very interesting meeting. So interesting that Cllr Paul Tilsley spent most of his time working through the emails on his Blackberry, although I'm sure that he was keeping an ear on the discussions.

First up was the financial situation across the constituency. The councillors sat there, impassive and silent, while an officer ran through the report, which was a pile of bad news. This bad news actually dates from last September, as the data has - apparently - not been available until now. Quite how anyone is supposed to manage the constituency without current financial data is entirely beyond me and I simply don't believe that these figures weren't available earlier. The quarter 2 data apparently indicates a forecast overspend at year end (that's the end of March 2010) of £564,000, but this seriously understates the position, because the budget reconciliation is based upon 'efficiencies' of £364,000 being delivered by the end of the year. Given that at the end of September, a grand total of £0 had been delivered and that the councillors failed to deliver £118,000 in 2008/09, the signs aren't good. This means that the true end of year position is likely to be somewhere north of £920,000 - an overspend against locally managed services of some 20%.

I did ask - just as I did at the last financial reporting session - for some details about how these savings are to be achieved, but no answer was forthcoming, either from the officer or his elected masters, who left him to struggle bravely, supporting him by remaining silent. Some of this overspend has been gifted to Yardley from the centre, as no allowance was made for the costs of retrospective appeals against the outcome of the Pay and Grading exercise. Cllr Whorwood tried to shift the blame for these costs by saying that it would have been cheaper if done earlier, but this ignores the simple facts that the process was flawed and some additional costs should have been factored in from the start. Basic business practice would dictate that, but such was the confidence in the process from the very top that it was thought unnecessary. In any case, only a small part of the overspend relates to Pay and Grading.

The only information available is that £177,000 has apparently been earmarked for recovery against 'general efficiencies.' However, only £52,000 has actually been saved and that is 'not fully in place.' The remaining £125,000 is classified as 'one off savings in place for 2009/10', but it is actually coming from the 'Constituency Investment Fund.' That sounds like a good idea - we need some investment in our constituency, but I suspect that this grand name is actually a cover for the use of central council reserves to try to cover up the failures of the Regressive Partnership. A similar funding solution has been employed in Hall Green, where the Liberal Democrats in charge face swingeing cuts to try and cover a deficit of £1.8 million - comprised of a history of years of overspending and failure to meet savings targets. The short version is that this £125k isn't an efficiency saving, but an additional chunk of funding from the centre that has been dressed up to look like efficiency.

There are also problems incurred through the 'Customer First' scheme, which is running late and has therefore failed to deliver the forecast savings within this year, so these will have to be found from somewhere else. It isn't clear who is to blame for this delay or whether any of those costs can be contractually recovered, but Yardley will pay the price in the immediate term.

And there is more. The officer presenting the budget tonight let slip that the figures for the third quarter actually show a further deterioration in performance.

According to Paul Dale, underperforming council officers can expect to face meetings with Cllr Tilsley which will be as painful as having teeth pulled without anaesthetic. Perhaps he should start closer to home.

Labour government supports expansion of Yardley schools

Tonight's constituency committee meeting was more revealing than I expected.

As part of a briefing on school place appeals, it was revealed that the government has agreed to pump £24 million into Birmingham's schools to fund additional places, money which has to be matched by Birmingham.

What does this mean for Yardley?

Currently, it is planned to have 60 additional places available by September this year by deploying mobile classrooms, with 1365 additional places promised by 2012 in Yardley alone.

That has to be good news and I hope that the City Council delivers, given the support that they have had from the Labour government.

Community Unity

Another great community gathering this weekend - the major communities of Acocks Green were well-represented for a multi-cultural celebration under the banner of Community Unity. The mosque sent along a group to sing and the Poles had a choir and a talented young musician as well, there was face-painting, mendhi painting and acres of food to serve all tastes. This event has been organised for the past few years and is always well attended. A certain Father Christmas even put in an appearance as well.

Acocks Green Neighbourhood Forum

Interesting meeting at the Acocks Green Neighbourhood Forum yesterday.

The key speaker was from Birmingham Friends of the Earth and he spoke about their campaign to have a blanket 20mph speed limit on all residential roads in the City. This would exclude any roads classified as A or B, but would impose new limits on all others and this could be done by the City Council making a traffic order, as a number of others already have - Portsmouth being a good example of current practice, with Bristol running a trial. Even the GLA have investigated the idea for London.

I don't think anyone expects that just because the limit is reduced, that drivers will change their habits overnight, but this is more about changing mindsets over a period of time, although a report by the Transport Research Laboratory indicates that just changing the limit by itself reduces the overall average speed by around 2mph and cutting accidents by 5-10%. Adding in traffic calming measures as well cuts accidents by around 60%, but this also comes at a significant cost in street work.

There were a number of concerns raised by bus users and drivers whose business keeps them mainly on residential streets and these would need to be addressed. It was pointed out that smoother running often increases average travel speeds, even if the peak speed is reduced - the idea behind the traffic management system on the M42 is an example, where they intentionally reduce the speeds of all vehicles to stop bunching and stop/start travels. I suspect that a blanket 20mph might cause problems on bus routes, but I do think that this an idea worth considering for the vast majority of Birmingham's residential streets. We'd certainly be the biggest authority to implement this and I think that it is certainly worth further investigation.

The police were there and reported that action had been taken following a disturbance in Cypress Square back in September and that four people have been charged and bailed pending a court appearance. Sgt Mirams also explained that while they had been called to Pinfold House following reports of a break-in, as the witness couldn't confirm that the people found on the premises had actually forced entry, the incident had to be put down to trespass and the matter was closed. The police have visited the homes of the young people found on the premises as a follow-up measure. They also put out a plea for friends to join them on Facebook! A concern was raised by a member of the public about inconsiderate parking at the junction of Douglas Road and Dalston Road. They also confirmed that early next year, the police operational boundaries will be redrawn to coincide with the political ward boundaries, which will make joined-up working that much easier.

Back again for Christmas

It has been a little while since I've posted (real life has got in the way), so time to resurrect the blog.

Tuesday saw the switching on of the Christmas lights in Acocks Green (not Winterval) and the event was pretty well attended, with the local schools providing an ad hoc choir and the Inn on the Green providing the venue, with financial support from dozens of local traders, organisations and Council funding as well. There was a slight delay when the magic plunger was pressed by Ray Newton, one of those local residents who has served the community in various voluntary roles for years and deserves greater recognition for his fine service, but somebody found 50p for the meter and the lights flickered into life.

Still - could have been worse. At least Martin Mullaney didn't organise it.

"I warn you not to grow old"

To quote a fine leader of our party. He was speaking of a Conservative victory and not of the Regressive Partnership that is getting down to work dismantling the role of the City Council and reducing it to little more than a parish council talking shop, but his words ring true today.

The first piece of 'good news' comes as an advance leak from the Cabinet meeting planned for next Monday, which will see a recommendation backed by Cllr Sue Anderson - the Cabinet Member for Adults and Communities - that Birmingham City Council should cease to supply hot meals on wheels to the elderly and vulnerable by 2012 and must push all those who currently receive a delivery of pre-packed frozen meals off to private providers by 2010.

Naturally, this is being spun as anything but a cost-cutting measure. Heaven forbid that anyone would dare suggest it. This is about improving choice. Forget the data in the report submitted to Cabinet that the frozen and hot services both enjoy approval ratings of 94% and 88% amongst their customers and that the proposed option is the least popular amongst current users. Forget the focus group data quoted in the same report:

The focus groups held indicated that service users were generally content with the ‘Meals on Wheels’ Service currently being provided by ‘Meals Direct’. Some worrying factors arose from the groups in response to the question ‘what would the implications be for you if there were no ‘Meals on Wheels’ service?’. Service users made comments such as ‘My family would be very concerned’, ’I would worry’, ‘I would go hungry or try to cook for myself’.

This has nothing at all to do with improving choice. A problem was highlighted with supplying BME customers with appropriate food options, but that is hardly insurmountable. Of far greater importance was the increasingly urgent need to spend £140k on repairs and maintenance to the Cook Freeze Centre.

Should we be surprised by this? Not really, given that a leaflet distributed across 45,000 Yardley homes by the Liberal Democrats - complete with a picture of Cllr Anderson on the front - came with a recommendation from their MP and councillors to choose a specific private sector supplier and no mention of the City Council at all. That's how much faith Cllr Anderson has in her own department.

This private supplier apparently charges £20 for five frozen meals including dessert, compared to the £12 charged by the City Council for five meals - a whopping 66% increase in costs. For only £16, five hot meals are provided. To put that into perspective, that means an annual cost of £1460 for a daily frozen meal provided by this company, as opposed to £876 through the City Council - a thumping £584 annual extra bill for the elderly.

That doesn't take into account the vital daily contact offered by the Meals Direct service - often this can be the only contact an elderly person may have during the day. Incidentally, this supplier doesn't appear to offer much, in the way of ethnically-appropriate meals, unlike the range available from Meals Direct.

This is nothing to do with increasing choice. This is about cost-cutting - another of those inaptly named 'Business Transformation efficiencies' and it will end up costing these service users more.

Coincidence

Sometimes, it takes a while for mainstream media to pick up on local issues. Acocks Green Labour Party campaign leaflet, 2006

Birmingham Mail, 25 July 2008.

Carnival Time Again

It didn't seem too good this morning, with darkened skies and the rain lashing the windows, but the gloom lifted enough to give us a few hours of sunshine and blue skies. As usual, the Labour Party in Acocks Green turned out to run a small stall and the visitors were quite positive about us and we did a good trade in our games, including a Guess the Weight of the Cake competition.

As today marks the 60th birthday of the National Health Service, my wife produced this doctor's bag laden with equipment and medicine for the stall.

We'd barely set up the stall in the shade of the trees when our first customer hove into view. You know, I'm sure I've met him somewhere else before. Ironic really, that John Hemming's shiny pound will go towards the costs of ejecting him at the next election. His guess, of 2lbs (everybody made their suggestions in imperial measurements) was way out, as the actual weight was just under 2 lb 13 oz and the winner now has her cake.

Appearing in Pravda

By some editing error, it appears that your Acocks Green correspondent has managed to get himself into the council newspaper as a result of the planting work a few weeks back. What was interesting was the number of people who made a point of commenting on the picture while I was at the carnival. It appears that it is also on display in the library. Still, it is good to see the hard work of a number of local residents recognised on a wider scale and I know that the Town Centre Manager, Melinda, has put a fair deal of work into getting this done.

No idea who the bloke standing at the back is. He's not from round these parts.

New Planning Applications - 9 May 2008

Back to business. The usual crop of applications - mostly private, but with a statutory notification on behalf of T-Mobile and a new pub for the Solihull border.

C/02177/08/FUL - 3 Keats Grove, Acocks Green
Conversion of an existing house into two flats and the addition of single storey side and rear extension. Consultation ends 22 May.

C/02260/08/FUL - 113 Circular Road, Acocks Green
Two storey rear and single storey front extension. Consultation ends 28 May.

C/02495/08/NOT - Stockfield Road, adj Denso Site, Tyseley
14.7m high telecoms mast for T-Mobile with 1 antenna and an equipment cabinet, all close to the road outside the Mecca bingo hall. Consultation ends 29 May. Cleverly, T-Mobile have ensured that this mast is just under the 15m limit for permitted development that doesn't require planning permission. The City Council has 56 days from when they are notified of the development to give their decision. If they don't, then approval is deemed to have been granted automatically.

C/02378/08/FUL - 66 Douglas Road, Acocks Green
A single storey rear extension. Consultation ends 30 May.

C/02256/08/FUL - 42 Dudley Park Road, Acocks Green
Extending existing footway crossing by 1.5m. Consultation ends 29 May.

C/02090/08/FUL - 1293-1295 Warwick Road, Acocks Green
Thisi s a change of use application for the old Majestic wine warehouse down on the Birmingham/Solihull border from retail to a pub with a flat and office space above. Curiously, a pub 200 yards further down the road was demolished and replaced with flats only a few years back. Consultation ends 28 May.

C/01897/08/FUL - 22 Lulworth Road, Hall Green
Single storey rear extension. Consultation ends 28 May.

On all of these, you can comment by emailing planning.enquiries@birmingham.gov.uk. Further details on how to comment can be found on this page. Remember that only planning matters can be taken into account when decisions are made. Feel free to copy me in on any comments that you make. Information on planning classes can be found here.

Practical community action

A stunningly hot May Sunday morning in Acocks Green and a few local volunteers - including your author and a recently-elected councillor - turn out to help the new Town Centre manager planting a few new flowers and generally tidying up the centre of the village, despite the heat. There's now a small new flowerbed at the end of the triangle of grass in the middle of the Warwick Road where it leads off from the Green towards Solihull. The photo shows the work in progress, with the backbreaking lifting of the turf complete. There's no point in just talking about work in the community if you aren't prepared to put some hours in on the practical side.

If anyone fancies lending their muscle to next week's outing, gather outside Acocks Green Library at 10am on Sunday 18 May.

We tried

Sorry to all those of you who worked alongside me on the campaign. We fought a good fight, but taking on the Liberals this deep into their turf remains a challenge. However, oppose we must.

So thanks to everyone - all of those who voted for me and those who worked with me.

Tomorrow is another day.

Roger Harmer LD 2743
John O'Shea Lab 1125

Majority 1618.

I wish Roger all the best, but Labour in Acocks Green and Yardley will continue to challenge and oppose the Liberal/Conservative alliance that is not working for our area.

Thanks again.

New Planning Applications - 25 April 2007

C/02196/08/FUL - 83 Pool Farm Road
Erection of single storey side/rear extension to private home. Consultation ends 14 May.

C/02086/08/FUL - 49-51 Shirley Road, Acocks Green
Change of use of office to day care centre for adults with learning disabilities, access ramps and new car parking. This is just beside the newish blocks of flats on Shirley Road. The company, Knightsbridge Care Services, already have offices on Warwick Road and provide care for adults with a range of medical and learning-related conditions. The maximum capacity will be 40 users - planned to be from the local area - and up to 7 staff during weekdays, with the potential to open on Saturdays if the need arises. Consultation ends 16 May.

On all of these, you can comment by emailing planning.enquiries@birmingham.gov.uk. Further details on how to comment can be found on this page. Remember that only planning matters can be taken into account when decisions are made. Feel free to copy me in on any comments that you make. Information on planning classes can be found here.

Woodcock Lane - Flogging the Green Space

Woodcock Lane used to have a little patch of grass and trees by Warwick Road – much loved by elderly residents. I wrote about it first back in November last year on the other place.

The patch isn't big, but it has a little historical significance, as part of the avenue of trees leading up to Acocks Green House. The first picture shows it as it was last year. For a number of years, it has been open land, used by local residents as a public space - right beside it are a couple of blocks of flats and some low-rise housing, full of elderly residents, who valued that little amenity. Given that, you would think that the City Council - keen to encourage use of open space and to secure the future of a tiny part of the green lungs of our city - would carry out a little light landscaping so that residents might enjoy it even more.You would, of course, be wrong to think that, as our masters have decreed that all surplus land should be sold and that this parcel is surplus to their, if not our, requirements. Accordingly, a neighbour has bought the land and, after an attempt to fell the trees (stopped by Preservation Orders being slapped on them), he has now fenced the area off.

Way back in 2004, the Liberal Democrats promised to preserve green space in their manifesto.

Yet another promise broken.

Oh, incidentally, a far-right party has been shouting about this little bit of space. They've even claimed that the owner wants to erect a radio mast on the site to operate a radio station, which is complete rubbish. Just for the record, the local councillors helped local residents to slap tree preservation orders on the newly enclosed trees and I lodged a complaint with planning regarding the oversized fence.

Overheard on the campaign trail

Somewhere in Birmingham....

Local resident points out some on-street drug dealing to a Liberal Democrat councillor.

The response?

"Well, that's just the way it is, isn't it?"

Not so much soft on crime as feckless.

All stop for pedestrian crossings?

Residents around Gospel Lane are furious that the pedestrian crossing promised for that busy road hasn’t appeared – even though it was due to be installed last year and agreement has apparently been obtained from Solihull Council.

The only good news is that further traffic calming has been agreed for Gospel Lane.

The Liberals claim that a new crossing will shortly be installed in another deserving location on Fox Hollies Road in May or June. Residents are worried that this is just another pre-election promise from the Liberals that will be forgotten after May 1st.

Swimming drying up

Last year, I warned that cuts were on the way to Fox Hollies Leisure Centre – the Liberal councillors cut back opening hours at weekends and closed the centre on Bank Holidays, just the time to take your kids swimming.

So much for the 2004 manifesto promise from the Liberals to expand swimming opportunities.

£200,000 of broken promises

Red-faced Liberal councillors have admitted that Acocks Green will not receive £200,000 funding that they promised.

As part of the ‘dash for cash’ sell-off of council property, the former Churchill Club on the Warwick Road was sold. A local community group wanted to buy it, but were outbid by developers. Under pressure from residents, councillors promised that a quarter of the money raised would be ploughed back into Acocks Green, a promise extracted while the late Ken Hardeman was in charge of regeneration.

Now they admit that they will not keep their promise - even though another Liberal councillor masterminds the massive sell-off of council property across the city.

That £200,000 could have paid for desperately needed street lighting, additional graffiti cleaning or better youth services. Instead, it has been used elsewhere in the City – even as the councillors agreed big cuts in opening hours at Fox Hollies. Yet again, we’ve lost out because of these useless councillors.

New Planning Applications - 19 April

C/01913/08/FUL - 190a School Road, Hall Green
Change of use from retail (class use A1 - shops) to restaurant (class use A3 - restaurants/cafes). This lies within the School Road Conservation Area. Consultation ends on the 14 May.

C/01860/08/FUL - 1193-1199 Warwick Road
This is for the demolition of the old C&D Autos building and replacement with two shop units and two flats above, with car parking on the forecourt beside the estate agents - which will not be affected. Consultation ends on the 14 May.

C/01768/08/FUL - 7 The Mews, St Marys Close
Erection of disabled vehicle store to side of property. Consultation ends 9 May.

On all of these, you can comment by emailing planning.enquiries@birmingham.gov.uk. Further details on how to comment can be found on this page. Remember that only planning matters can be taken into account when decisions are made. Feel free to copy me in on any comments that you make. Information on planning classes can be found here.

Priorities

Even though the Liberal Democrat/Conservative council has slashed spending on our crumbling roads - leaving just £17,500 for each ward to spend on repairs and maintenance this year, it is good to see that they have managed to decorate Acocks Green with fresh double-yellow lines.

For the past four years, they've failed to progress a multi-billion pound Labour government initiative that would update every road, pavement and street light in the City.

Long time no post

Thing is, I have another blog, which is more of a political comment site than this. I intend to continue this site to cover issues specific to Acocks Green and Yardley. Sorry if I haven't posted as much as I should have here, but there's plenty to read over at PoliticalHackUK.

Safer pavements and safer roads

Following on from one of my campaigns to make our pavements safer, planters were placed on pavements in Westley Road last year. There are still problems with dangerous parking and safe access for the children at Acocks Green School and others. John wants to see School Zones set up across the ward. These inexpensive moves would help by:

· Lowering speed limits
· Banning vehicles stopping during school hours
· Installing clear warning signs and new road markings

This is the pavement at the Westley Road/Warwick Road junction, which is close to Acocks Green School. It used to be used as a car park by all and sundry, putting pupils and parents at risk on a daily basis, despite it being illegal to park on the pavement. Here, the shops still own some of their frontage, so cars can park there if the owners wish, but the paved area is council-owned footpath. After a campaign backed by local parents, we managed to get new bollards installed and a couple of heavy planters added to stop cars threatening pedestrians.

Apologies

I need to say sorry to the local readers. I've not posted as often as I should over the past few months. That doesn't mean that I've not been standing up for you in Constituency and Ward meetings, nor that the work has stopped.

As I pointed out last year, in Acocks Green, your Labour team is small, but dedicated. Sadly, we don't have the funding that councillors pick up (in excess of £40,000 between the three of them) and we don't have the backing of a millionaire MP either. Everything we do is run by volunteers, who have families and full-time jobs to do. There's precious little money from the Labour Party - we fund ourselves and scratch money from wherever we can.

This isn't an excuse, just a statement of fact. I think it does say something that so many people give up their time and effort to make a difference to their community. Thank you to all of my friends and colleagues who think that what we do is worthwhile.

More Cuts on the Way?

Last year, the Liberal Democrats cut pest control and we have one of the worst rat problems in the City. Indeed, Environmental Services submitted a bid to a recent Ward Advisory Board to try and fill the gap. As Neighbourhood Renewal Funds aren't supposed to support mainstream services, this was rejected, although I understand that other local wards have handed over the money.

This year, the efficiency savings cuts are threatening our swimming pools as part of a wider review of leisure services.

In 2004, the Liberal Democrat manifesto for Birmingham promised to ‘expand swimming opportunities’ - one of their many pledges that they forgot when they took control of the council. In 2007, under pressure from the Tories, options being considered to cut costs are a 12% cut in the opening hours of our local leisure centre and the partial closure of another local pool - Stechford Cascades. I don't think that either are satisfactory answers when we should be looking to expand involvement in sport. My wife and I do use these pools with the children fairly regularly.

In contrast, the Tory/Liberal Democrat council found £700,000 to spend on a Sutton Coldfield pool – including fitting air-conditioning to the café. Strange priorities.

Meanwhile, councillors in Acocks Green agreed to increase charges for sport by up to 30% and have backed an inflation-busting 5% increase in rent for council tenants.

Nothing like hitting the poorest the hardest, is there?

I have challenged these options at the Constituency Committee and will continue to do so. We don't need our services cut further.

Maths - the Liberal Democrat way

£37,000
Cut from the pest control budget in our district

£40,000
Cost of new Jaguar S-Class for Tory council leader

Why does Acocks Green lose out?

A recent leaflet from another party reported that the clean-up squad had tidied up two sites in Acocks Green this year. Other wards have had up to FORTY-SIX sites cleared in the same period. Why are we so badly served, again?

I had a look around the ward to see if some of the usual dumping sites have been cleared. They hadn’t. These pictures show sites on Gospel Lane, Knights Road and Haybrook Drive. I don’t have space for all the pictures of the rubbish ruining our ward. We deserve better in Acocks Green – this isn’t good enough.

Is it any surprise that we have one of the worst rat problems in the city? If you know of any sites that need a clean up, let me know.

The Battle of Francis Road (Round Two)

We won a little victory earlier in the year on this one, but the developer has come back for more as we head towards Christmas. He's revised his plan downwards to just 13 flats, but that doesn't change the core objections - this is just the wrong development in this location. The road can't handle the additional traffic and there are already objections in from the Fire Service. One of the residents told me that she recently had to call an ambulance for a neighbour and the paramedics had to reverse their vehicle all the way down the road. I've submitted another objection in support of the residents and have asked to attend the Planning Committee meeting if (and when) it is decided.

What a waste!

Residents in Acocks Green have been complaining about the rubbish left on the streets as a result of a badly planned recycling campaign devised by the Liberal Democrat/Tory council in Birmingham.

The plan was that every household would get a fortnightly collection of green garden waste during August and September. The rubbish collected would be composted for use in the city.

Unfortunately, many households didn’t know when the bags were being collected, so they were left piled up on the street, filled with rotting grass and leaves. The City Council refused to collect them before the official start date, meaning that some bags were left out for weeks. Even now, our streets are often littered with these green bags and many people don’t know that the collections will now only take place every four weeks.

“This council missed a great opportunity to collect green waste for composting and improve a dire record on recycling. Instead, they’ve left rubbish rotting on our streets.”

New lighting for Oxford Road

The tired old street lights are to be replaced in a £26,000 project, following on from the work done on Station Road and The Avenue earlier this year. The decision was taken at a recent Acocks Green Ward Committee. John spoke in support of the proposal and adds,

“I’ve had several complaints about the lights down Oxford Road, so I’m really pleased to support this. Residents and other road users will be safer as a result of this long overdue improvement.”

The lights are now being installed and some are already in use.

Meet the Minister

We were lucky enough to have Liam Byrne along to one of our recent meetings. I've got a lot of time for Liam - we stood together as council candidates in Yardley in 2004, but his political career has been rather more successful than mine. He was elected as MP for Hodge Hill in that autumn and won the seat with an enhanced majority last year. He's now a minister at the Home Office - one of the political hot seats with public focus on immigration and crime, but he's also a decent bloke. At an earlier meeting, Liam brought his kids along and they were (generally) well-behaved as he spoke to us about the health issues that were then part of his brief. He's also a cracking local MP, always ready to stand up for his electorate over issues like the Tesco development set to be built on playing fields in his constituency.

He took questions on a range of issues, including identity cards and immigration and even gave me a few minutes of his time afterwards to chat about campaigning.

A decent bloke and definitely one with a place reserved at the Cabinet table. Me? I'll settle for a seat on those benches in the Council House.

Ward Advisory Board

Another good meeting tonight, with the business run through in good time and in good humour.

The Ward Advisory Board consists of representatives from local groups in the ward - mostly residents' groups, but there are also political reps from the Tories and the Labour party, plus the three Liberal Democrat councillors, the police and the council team in the ward. The function is to discuss local issues and assess bids that come through for funding under the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and Community Chest programmes.

I'm not going to go into detail about tonight's bids - they will be discussed at the next Ward Committee meeting in a couple of weeks - but I was a little disappointed at the quality of some of them. Too many bids that I've seen are scattergunned across the city in the hope of picking up some of the funding crumbs from each ward. Many bids are filled with current buzzwords, but that can come at the expense of details of what their plan entails and how it specifically relates to the ward. Give us a simply phrased proposal with clearly measurable targets and relate that to improving our ward and you have every chance of getting the money. Dress it up in flowery language in the hope that we won't spot the weaknesses or the lack of detail and you'll lose out. What's worse, if you don't get it right at this stage, the people of Acocks Green could lose out on a potentially effective project.

One thing I would like to see is greater involvement from local people in the decision-making process. There's a huge amount of experience and knowledge on the WAB, but the membership could do with a balance of younger people. How we get younger people involved in the process is the challenge. It may not be the most exciting thing in the world, but it is important and you get a chance to make a difference.

Successes and problems

As a member of the Acocks Green Ward Advisory Board, I was invited along to the opening of the new Fox Hollies Skate Park this weekend. This has been funded in part by Neighbourhood Renewal Fund money (thanks to the Labour Government) awarded through the Ward Advisory Board and Ward Committee, but largely thanks to a big donation from Sport England.

This is a much-needed facility for young people in the area and allied with the youth services pod across the road will be a major resource for a part of the community that hasn't had much positive focus over the years. We only seem to think of young people in terms of crime and anti-social behaviour - often forgetting that we were young once, although it does seem a lifetime away for me and I think I'm the youngest on the Ward Advisory Board.

Despite the many positives, there are problems. There have been reports of vandalism, drug-taking and other anti-social behaviour in the vicinity - not all of them down to the young users of the park, if truth be told. Part of this is unsurprising - if you give young people a central point to gather, you shouldn't be surprised if they then gather there and some disruptive behaviour is to be expected. That said, it needs to be policed. Some of this will come from the youth workers opposite and hopefully from the community that uses the site, but support will be needed from the Kings Heath police OCU - who haven't been excelling themselves in this particular area lately, thanks largely to the fact that this area is at the extreme end of their patch and they have been known to pass the buck to Solihull, who pass it back again. I've had a number of complaints from local residents about the lack of response on a number of issues - a complete contrast to the support I've had from the team working out of Acocks Green police station.

I've offered to assist and will ask our Labour MP, Roger Godsiff, to get in touch with the OCU commander and see if we can exert any pressure on the police that way. It would be a terrible shame for this great facility to be marred by low-level crime and misbehaviour.

Ward Committee - 5 July 2006

This is based upon my own quick notes and shouldn't be taken as a perfect record of what happened. Any errors or omissions are entirely my responsibility.

A couple of issues rumble on from the previous minutes. The City has been consulting over the 'Mature Suburbs' planning guidelines for several months. These were put out for consultation last year, although a number of important groups in Acocks Green seem to have been ignored when this process was carried out, so a council officer attended the Committee meeting in June 2005 to explain the proposals. These are supposed to provide a degree of protection for Birmingham's suburbs against inappropriate development - particularly on 'windfall' sites or backland (back gardens, usually). The government, quite rightly, seeks to encourage housing development on existing 'brownfield' sites, which we usually think of as being former industrial areas, but a peculiarity is that back gardens are also regarded as 'brownfield' for some odd reason. Anyway, the officer concerned was supposed to report back to the next meeting on the progress of the consultation, but that didn't happen, despite it being mentioned again in December.

I don't have a problem with setting some standards for developments, but I have a problem with these guidelines. They specify certain areas like Sutton Coldfield, Edgbaston and Moseley (amongst others) worthy of particular mention, as though established suburbs like Acocks Green and other places in Yardley don't deserve any that protection. Our houses may not be as large or have big gardens, but they are still our homes and inappropriate development can blight an area. The residents of Francis Road were, rightly, up in arms about a proposal to build a number of flats on a former industrial site. They weren't opposed to it being used for residential purposes, just to the density of housing - something that the narrow road was incapable of supporting. We managed to get that one knocked back for the time being, but a renewed application is likely.

In any case, the proposals seem to have been replaced and new guidance will go out to consultation in the autumn. I've asked that planning come along to one of the ward committee meetings to present to us on the subject in November. They propose to bring the updated guidance into operation in the spring of 2007, so any comments you have would be welcomed.

Transportation have denied that there are plans to redevelop the centre of Acocks Green along the principles of 'shared space,' despite reports in the local press. This is an interesting idea of street design, counter-intuitive in nature, which removes protective guardrails and cuts down on street furniture, forcing cars and pedestrians to share the same space. It is being championed by the Acocks Green Focus Group, but I'm interested in your opinions as well. Good idea or not? I have concerns about whether such a scheme is suitable for the volumes of traffic we see down the Warwick Road, but I'm open to new ideas. A number of other transportation issues remain to be reviewed and that department will again be asked to attend.

There is, as yet, no news on the new owner of the Churchill Club, although a deal is in the offing.

Transportation are going to experiment with a closure of Weston Lane at the junction with Reddings Lane to try and stop it being used as a rat run to bypass the busy Warwick Road through Acocks Green. Any comments? There will be an exhibition at the Tyseley & District Community Association next week (corner of Formans Road/Reddings Lane).

Other issues that were raised included the traffic calming on Gospel Lane, which has been pending for a couple of years now and we have seen the council dragging its feet horrendously. Part of the road towards the Warwick Road end is entirely within the borders of Birmingham and has had some measures put in place, with speed cushions along the road. Further down, the border with Solihull Council runs down the centre of the road, complicating the process somewhat, but the delays are unacceptable, especially as money was earmarked for this project years ago our of ward funding.

The issue of anti-social behaviour around Gospel Lane and the junction with Dorsington Road was also raised and it was suggested that contacts should be made with the relevant police command unit for Solihull. Sadly, criminals don't respect political or organisational boundaries and one of the other problems in Acocks Green is that we are covered by two different Operational Command Units of West Midlands Police. E2 from Kings Heath, which operates out of Billesley and E3 from Belgrave Road, which operates from Acocks Green. To add to the mix, we also border the Solihull L1 OCU as well. WMP are currently restructuring, so it is to be hoped that they shift the boundaries to bring them more in line with the political boundaries, to make life easier and the police more responsive to the local people. Actually, the ward has just contributed towards the purchase of the Domehawk rapid-deployment CCTV system, which is designed to be attached to a lamp-post and can be relocated relatively easily. The police can either use an encrypted radio link to monitor the camera - even using mobile kit - or can rely on an inbuilt hard drive recorder. This sort of camera is ideal for dealing with spot issues - drug dealing, graffiti or anti-social behaviour - where there isn't a justification for a permanent camera.

Something else that came up was the problem of scrambler bikes on Fox Hollies Park - one of the larger areas of public open space in the ward. We've had a number of cases reported of children being knocked over or endangered by these powerful bikes being ridden up and down the paths and across the open space. Many of them are unregistered and uninsured, so I'd like to see a multi-pronged attack on the problem. The park needs to have better fencing installed - some of it is just too low to be any hindrance to the bikers. Then anti-bike gates need to be fitted to the entrances - with suitable provision also made for users of mobility scooters. We need to find a combination that deters people from getting these machines into the park. Perhaps they can't actually be stopped - little will stop somebody if they are determined enough - but making life difficult for them can be enough. The gates have been fitted on the skate park on the other side of Gospel Lane and that is well-used by local kids - a welcome new facility for the youth in the ward.

Police action is also required here. Some areas already take a firm stance on uninsured and untaxed vehicles - which these are - and crush them. A few examples of that, suitably publicised and the local yobs will go elsewhere.

So there we go - a brief review of the meeting. The next is on the 6 September at 7pm at Fox Hollies Forum - come along and make your views known. In a couple of weeks, we have the Yardley District meeting, so I'll feedback some more then.

In the meantime, keep the comments coming through. If you don't want to post them here, feel free to mail me. I'll post a link to the proper minutes when they appear on the website.

Carnival hits the Village

The carnival came to Acocks Green last weekend and we were blessed with a sizzlingly hot day, although a day that was marred by Englands untimely exit from the World Cup.

Nevertheless, the good folk of the Green turned up in force to cheer on the procession through the village and support the dozens of stalls on the recreation ground. I leant a hand as a parade marshal and the Labour Party had a stall where we did a decent trade in an attempt to raise some much-needed cash (fighting elections is a costly business and we don't have any local millionaires to bankroll us). My long-suffering wife even produced one of her special cakes for our Guess the Weight of the Cake Competition - the winner managed to guess within an ounce of the true weight, 3lbs 8oz.

All in all, a good day - always good to meet local people and discuss some issues without the pressure of an election campaign and to have a bit of fun.

Thanks to everybody who helped out and to the kind folk who stopped by to say hello.

Thank you everyone

Well, I didn't win in Acocks Green.

To be fair, I was facing one of the biggest majorities in the City - over 2000 votes, so a victory would have been a truly remarkable reversal of fortune, but what happened was nearly as good.

I know that every politician always finds the positive spin on virtually any result, but tonight's was actually an excellent result for Labour in Acocks Green. Not quite reduced to a marginal seat, but a huge step in the right direction.

2004 2006
Lib Dem 3463 2607 -856
Labour 1289 1632 +343
BNP 892 927 + 35
Tory 624 630 + 6
Green 581 261 -320

Majority 2174 975 -1199

Despite a bad few weeks for Labour and what was forecast to be another meltdown of Labour's vote, we slashed the Liberal Democrat majority by more than half. We fought an excellent campaign, based on local issues and the public responded.

A few thanks are in order. Firstly, the staff - the people manning the polling stations did their usual sterling job - two people have to stay there for fifteen hours from 7am to 10pm with only the occasional ten minute break. I wandered round the stations during the day to say hello and thank them for their work. Thanks are also due to the returning officer and the counting staff, who were quick and efficient and to the police, for ensuring a complete lack of skullduggery in Acocks Green. To be honest, that was never an issue in the ward - I know that the candidates in this ward are all honest and decent and there is a surprising amount of trust amongst us.

I'll also thank the other candidates - the campaign was fought on political issues and not personal ones. This may surprise some people, but I've never seen the point in being unnecessarily nasty about opponents. We'll disagree, criticise and throw political punches, but we're civil and informally, quite friendly - something that I hope will continue. I hope that we all have the interests of the ward at heart.

I must thank my agent and fellow campaigner - Marcus has been a loyal friend and co-conspirator for a number of years and over a number of battles. We will win one, I promise! The sore feet will be worthwhile. Thanks are also due to our MP, Roger Godsiff, who has been a supporter, friend and advisor.

I have to praise my fellow party members and workers. I can honestly say that we have never had so many people willing to come and work for us - to the point where we were able to get our last leaflet out to around 5000 homes in a single day. I shall thank all of you personally, but you know who you are. My wife and family deserve sympathy and my thanks for all that they have had to cope with over the past few months.

Finally, thanks to the electorate in Acocks Green. We may not have done it this time, but the tide is turning. We are showing up the weaknesses of the Liberal Democrats and pointing out their failures, while offering a positive alternative for the future. We've shown the BNP a clean pair of heels again, proving that the electorate in Acocks Green prefer parties based on unity and equality, not injustice and prejudice. We've had a better response to our leaflets than at any time in my five years in the ward and it has shown that there is so much to do - those of you still waiting for responses will get them and I will return all phone calls as well (I've tried everyone, but not got through to all).

Labour is back as a real force in Acocks Green. Remember, the 2007 elections are just a year away and the fight goes on. We can and will have a Labour councillor in Acocks Green again. The people need us.

Thank you all again.

Electoral Fraud

On the one hand, I'm pleased to see that the police are digging into the murky goings-on in other parties when it comes to dodgy votes. There's a fair bit of history behind the latest shenanigans in Bordesley Green, where a LibDem candidate for Nechells and his wife have both been arrested and bailed in connection with a police investigation into postal vote fraud. For the record, of course, no charges have been laid at the moment.

The Liberal Democrat response is a bit weak, given their track record in attacking electoral fraud. The candidate will continue and will face suspension from the party if elected. The LibDems also point out that the case is nowhere near as serious as the one affecting the Labour Party in 2004, as it only affects a handful of votes. I don't think that the fat lady has even started tuning up on this particular case. There were accusations flying around after the Aston by-election last year, caused by the earlier electoral fraud case, and Labour raised some interesting questions about the activities of certain Liberal Democrat members and candidates then. Curiously, the Liberal Democrat champion of electoral justice, John Hemming, the MP for Yardley, has remained silent on the issue. Surely he doesn't only attack fraud when it comes from the Labour Party?

On the other hand, this sort of behaviour devalues the whole political system and can lead to voters deciding 'a plague on all your houses' and not bothering to vote. That doesn't solve anything. I have no time for any candidate, activist or agent who seeks to pervert the system. Hang 'em out to dry is my policy.

I can say is that I am absolutely confident that my campaign is straight down the line. The Labour Party in Birmingham has taken a very strong line on the issue - just as in 2004, all candidates, campaigners and agents have been warned that if you are involved in fraudulent behaviour, the party will not defend you in any way. We've signed up to a tough protocol that we won't go to an elector on the postal voting list once the postal forms have gone out (which they have). Sadly, the Tories and the Liberal Democrats didn't agree.

It isn't just in Birmingham that something fishy is going on - George Galloway is rumbling about Lib Dem behaviour in London.

If you live in Birmingham and have any knowledge of any illegal practices, please contact West Midlands Police or the Electoral Fraud hotline on 0121 275 6219. If you have any problems voting on the day - if your vote has been stolen, then please contact the elections office or advise the police. We can't let this continue. There has to be public faith that our elected representatives are in office with genuine public support.

Tired. Very tired. And I'm on holiday.

Birmingham still maintains the practice of hanging political poster boards on lamp-posts around election time. Coventry and Solihull have recently decided to stop it and I think that's a little sad. It isn't the ego thing - although I defy anyone to look me in the eye and tell me that they don't get a little spark from seeing their name plastered along roads.

It is hard work stripping and glueing new posters to boards. It is nothing short of graft to have to trudge around the ward sticking them on lamp-posts and we could probably use the time better to talk to more constituents, but it does add something to the campaign when you see the boards blossoming along the road. I think that it reminds people that elections are around the corner - quite important when you realise that local elections don't get anything like the national focus of parliamentary polls. The number of people who stopped us today and asked what the posters were for just reminds us that there are an awful lot of people for whom politics has no relevance to their lives. Part of our job as politicians is to try and explain that link - that local elections can decide vitally important (if unexciting) issues. Your local council is responsible for things that directly impact on your life - schools, roads, pavements, rubbish collection, pest control, social care, parks and planning, to name but a few. So who runs that council is key to setting policy in those areas.

May 4 is a chance for you to have your say over who governs this part of your life. It isn't an opinion poll on the state of the government or the opposition. It should be about local issues. Are your roads in good order? Are the walls of the park covered in graffiti? How's the library service doing in your area? Whatever the issue that is bothering you, now's the time to raise it with your candidates.

Things have been surprisingly positive out there on the doorsteps. Sure, there are the voters who see this as a chance to kick the government, but there are also a fair few who are deeply upset with the performance of the Liberal Democrat/Tory council that's had a grip on Birmingham for the past two years.

Promises and lies

My Liberal Democrat opponent has finally decloaked and has been revealed as the editor of 'Focus,' one Iain Bowen. Try and act surprised. Traditionally, candidates had to hide their lights until the campaign proper kicked off, so were described as 'campaigners' or something similar. This was because it used to be the case that the moment you were described as a candidate was the moment when your campaign spending limits kicked in and there were a number of embarrassments when candidates ran out of money well in advance of the election. Now, far more sensibly, you are a candidate from the point when the candidates are all announced.

He reckons he'll be a worthy successor to Frank Coyne, the former LD incumbent. I know I shouldn't say this, but I quite liked Frank. He can't help it that he was in the wrong party. Frank was a decent man who did a good job for the ward and I wish him well in his retirement. I won't be making a habit out of praising Liberal Democrats, but in this case, I will. To coin a phrase, Mr Bowen, you're no Frank Coyne.

I've just received his latest leaflet, which includes an attempt to spin the cuts outlined in the District budget. It describes them as 'efficiency savings' and that the councillors have decided to 'take more time to look at this budget to ensure there are no cuts to front line services.'

As I pointed out below - these ARE cuts to front line services. I don't believe that there is 40% slack in the pest control budget, nor that a quarter of our school crossing patrols aren't required. £80,000 is also being slashed from the sports and leisure budget and more cut from community development.

To say these are just savings is just wrong. They are cuts. Pure and simple.

Of course, if he (or any other of the candidates) had bothered to turn up at the District Committee, he would have known that.

A partial victory

For a while now, I've been waging a campaign with the residents of Francis Road against a ludicrous scheme to build flats on a patch of land at the end of the road.

It isn't that they have a problem with bringing this bit of canal-side brownfield land back into use for housing, but the scheme is outlandishly large and would add to the problems that the road already faces.

It is a narrow road with no turning spaces and currently, even the refuse trucks can't get down it to collect the bin bags. Cars are damaged on a regular basis and residents are used to having to go to the top of the road to collect deliveries.

The idea of adding a further 19 properties (most with two bedrooms) to this road is clearly daft - there was insufficient parking for the expected vehicles and the building was entirely out of keeping with the neighbourhood. There were objections from West Midlands Fire Service, who found problems getting an engine down there and other objections from the environmental services department and other elements of the council. Surprisingly, when the application came to committee the other week, it was approved, despite huge local objections.

Fortunately, the application submitted was only an outline, so the plans as such are irrelevant. The applicants will need to revise the plans and return for full approval within a few years. All that has been approved is that the site is suitable for residential development - which it is. A few years ago, someone did apply to build houses on the site and there were no local objections. NIMBYism isn't part of the issue, but this is an entirely unsuitably development plan and we'll continue to oppose it.

Development should be an important issue for the ward - we have too many flats appearing virtually overnight and far too many fast food restaurants are being granted permission without consideration of the impact that they have on the local community. I've lost count of the number of complaints that I've received over litter. Fortunately, we have a pro-active local community police officer who is happy to work alongside environmental services to stop litter louts and issue them fixed penalty notices. I know that they complain that he should be out there catching murderers and rapists, but he's doing a cracking job attacking an issue that causes people real anger.

As far as development goes, it needs to be in keeping with the area and appropriate. If it isn't, I'll oppose it.