Easter Holiday Club 2014

Planning Applications to the 5 April 2014

Planning Applications to the 5 April 2014

I've got a lot more to write, but no time to do it....

2014/02199/PA - 1238 Warwick Road, Acocks Green B27 6PL
Erection of single storey rear extension

2013/09234/PA - Wellsbourne House, 1157 Warwick Road, Acocks Green, B27 6RG

Change of use from offices (Use Class B1) to church hall (Use Class D1)

2014/02082/PA - 2 Francis Road, Acocks Green, B27 6LX

Change of use from a single dwellinghouse to a largescale HMO and alterations to front elevation

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

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

Diary Date - Full Council - Tuesday 8 April

Full Council
Tuesday 8 April - 2pm
Council Chamber
And you can now watch online here.

The last full council meeting before the elections on the 22 May. Key items on the agenda:

• Question Time - including questions from the public
• Annual Report of the Council Business Management Committee
• Scrutiny Reports
• Tackling Childhood Obesity
• Working with Housing Associations
• Motions from members
• Labour motion proposing support for the City Centred Campaign 
• Tory motion proposing annual report from each Cabinet member to Full Council

Western Power help out residents

With the new gate on Knights Road.

We've managed to sort a few problems for the residents on Knights Road over the past few weeks. Some kind soul had dumped asbestos roof panels in the communal drive behind their homes, so we had those removed. We've also arranged for the alleyway to be gated off to prevent any recurrence and also to stop other instances of anti-social behaviour. 

Then one of the residents mentioned to me that the electrical substation on the road had a problem. Contractors working there had left the old iron fence secured with plastic cable ties and it wasn't very secure or particularly attractive. 

I contacted Western Power Distribution, who were out within a couple of weeks and replaced the old, broken metal fencing with this new wooden one and a brand new gate as well. WPD have also sorted out another resident, who had a broken down wire fence between them and another of their installations. There, they've also installed a new wooden fence. 

Western Power are the company that actually deliver the electricity to your homes in this region - known as the DNO - they're the ones you call if the power fails as opposed to ones to whom you pay your bills. It is nice to report that they have proved really helpful. 

Speech to budget meeting

 Belatedly, here's the original text of the speech I gave to the Budget Meeting in March (unchecked against delivery because I'm not going to watch myself - it is nerve-wracking enough delivering this). We had already had the annual invasion by the Birmingham Against the Cuts protestors, including one gentleman whose spectacular run down one of the aisles would have been more impressive if he hadn't run down one that was blocked at the end.

I started with a quote from Cllr Tilsley, Lib Dem, dating from February 2011, when he wrote to the Times, along with other Lib Dem councillors:

"These cuts will have an undoubted impact on all frontline council services... Rather than assist the country's recovery by making savings to the public in a way that can protect local economies and the front line, the cuts are structured in a way they will do the opposite."

That was then. Now things are worse.

We have a govt that talks a good game. They talk of freedom and localism, but it is a localism constrained by limits from the centre.

We have a govt that stays silent as half a million people rely on food banks, but Eric Pickles will leap into action to defend people who wish to park on double yellow lines.

We have a government that encourages the rich with tax cuts, but beats the poor with benefit sanctions.

We have a government that ignores rocketing child poverty, but when the floodwater laps at the playing fields of Eton, it opens the chequebook. 

This is a government that has social injustice and insecurity as a policy direction, as a desired outcome.

As Cllr Brigid Jones pointed out - even here, we have opposition councillors leaping to defend green waste collections, but silent on child services, social care and tackling poverty. Indeed, their proposals would further impoverish our lowest paid workers.

We have a new councillor joining us, who ran on a platform of standing up for Kingstanding and I'll welcome Cllr Sambrook to the chamber. Please, no more songs.   Sadly, the rest of his party has been lying down for the past few years and today shows them as supine in the face of government as ever.

To detail and the fantasy budgets from the opposition, only slightly more realistic than that proposed by our earlier visitors.

Cllr Tilsley suggested that we should cut the mythical bins police and instead try to track dumped fridges by their serial numbers. I have to tell him that in my decade of experience with a major UK white goods retailer, that those serial numbers are not recorded at point of sale and are certainly not retained in the second hand market.

Cllr Tilsley wants to restore the cuts in street cleaning. Sadly, he doesn't want to restore the 23% cut he and his colleagues voted through in 2012 that has been disfiguring my ward for two years. I will also remind him that the living wage remains his party's national policy, although it has been opposed by his party in Birmingham, controlled as they are by John Hemming.

I note that they promise to achieve £7m of savings in directorates. Their record in Yardley of working within budgets suggests that this pie in the sky at local level.

Cllr Alden promises me a new micro park for Acocks Green. This would be welcome, but I would like to know what he proposes to demolish to accommodate it. We already have to fight against his government's planning regime to hold onto our limited green space.

I was amazed to hear that he wants to outsource more administration. I have two words for him. 

Service. 

Birmingham.

if the people of Birmingham had been less wise in 2010, young Bobby would have been sat on very different and better upholstered benches, cheering on the coalition as they wielded the axe. Instead he tries to shift the blame to Labour. The Lib Dems do the same, ignoring the facts that under a Labour govt, they had the benefit of year on year above inflation increases in grant and the power to borrow, rather different from the policy that their government enforces on Birmingham.

Cllr Brew raised the deficits run by Labour. He fails to mention that the national debt was lower before the crash than when his party left office in 1997. And I do not believe that this crash was caused by spending on litter picking. Cllr Hutchings fails to mention that in opposition, David Cameron promised to match Labour spending. Their govt has borrowed more in four years than we did in thirteen.

Cllr Hunt spoke of public squalor, as if this Labour council would choose to scrap green waste collections or cut back on street cleaning as if it were not one of the least worst options to protect other, even more critical services.

It is with a heavy heart that I urge this council to support the Labour budget, unamended.

Sir Albert has been criticised as a doom monger, a Cassandra.

Remember this.

Cassandra was right. 

Planning Applications to the 29 March 2014

I've got a lot more to write, but no time to do it....

2014/01613/PA - 213 Yardley Road, Acocks Green, B27 6LZ
Display of 1 no. externally illuminated fascia sign and 2 no. hoardings for business signage
This relates to the earlier application for change of use to an undertakers. Convenient for the cemetery....

2014/01911/PA - Flat 5, 49 Yardley Road, Acocks Green, B27 6HG
Erection of single storey rear extension.

2014/01907/PA - 11 Greenwood Avenue, Acocks Green, B27 7QH
Erection of single storey front, side and rear extension.

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

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

Planning Applications to the 22 March 2014

Catching up on a fortnight's applications...

2014/01522/PA - Acocks Green Primary School, Westley Road, B27 7UQ
Erection of single storey extensions, alterations to main entrance to include the provision of new access ramp

2014/01639/PA - 3 Grimshaw Road, Acocks Green, B27 7SN
Erection of two storey side extension and single storey front to include porch and installation of dormer windows to rear elevation.

2014/01406/PA - 23 Broom Hall Crescent, Acocks Green, B27 7JR
Erection of single storey rear extension and single storey front extension.

2014/00123/PA - 227 Douglas Road, Acocks Green, B27 6EX

Change of use from retail shop (A1) to single dwelling (C3) 

(This isn't the corner shop, but a unit further up the road). 

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.\

Planning Applications to the 8 March 2014

A hectic week last week stopped me from listing these two that came in over the past fortnight:

2013/09503/PA - 1091 Warwick Road, Acocks Green, B27 6QT
Erection of single storey conservatory to front and infill second floor extension, and retention of single
storey rear extension, installation of external steel staircase and extraction flue to rear.

2014/01197/PA - 213 Yardley Road, Acocks Green, B27 6LZ
Change of use from business use (B1) to funeral directors (A1) use

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 Conservation Area - Consultation tonight

6pm- 8pm at the Glynn Edwards Hall at the junction of Alexander Road and Yardley Road.

This is a really important decision and everybody covered by the proposal really should understand it and make their views known. Like all the councillors in Acocks Green, I'm in support of the proposal which will help protect some of our history. 

People do forget how new Acocks Green is - great chunks of what we see today was farmland only 80 years ago - and just because the housing is more modern, that doesn't mean it isn't historically important. Acocks Green expanded with the coming of the railway and was drawn into Birmingham in 1911, growing as a railway suburb around the station. This conservation proposal gives that some protection. 

We already have one conservation area nearby - at the top of Shirley Road is the the Three Magpies pub, which is surrounded by fine examples of 1930s housing. They aren't without implications for homeowners - the 'permitted development' rights are removed and a planning application is required for changes to the property, although it is free. 

The movers and shakers in this have been the Acocks Green Focus Group and you can find more details on their site. 

Exercise Hercules

The fire crews had been called to a fire alarm at a local factory. On the way, the controller updated them that it was a chemical alarm, but on arrival they were greeted by a two car smash and four people trapped. A disgruntled employee had walked out on his job, stopping to steal some valuable and dangerous materials and open the valves on tanks storing toxic chemicals. On his way out, he had caused the accident in front of the fire crew. While the
first crew set about rescuing the trapped victims, the next to arrive at the scene had to decide whether to attempt to rescue the employee collapsed on the floor in front of one of the leaking tanks....

This wasn't a major incident that the local media missed, nor was it the opening scenes of Casualty, but the scenario of one of the weekend's exercises for West Midlands Fire Service. Every weekend throughout the year, the service carries out two of these large operations, deploying a dozen or more trucks to each. The crews know that it is an exercise, but they don't know the story, nor are they warned about the pitfalls that will be injected into their plans as the incident develops. All the time, they are being scrutinised by exercise staff for the way they are planning things, the care they give to casualties during rescue and how thoroughly they carry out their tasks. Even the casualties themselves are monitoring their rescuers - they come from the Casualties Union and as they have specialist training, they can report back on how their given injuries would be affected by the rescue operation.


One firefighter crawls into the upturned car to comfort and support the casualty while his colleagues start dismantling parts of her wrecked car. Meanwhile, the three trapped in the other vehicle can watch as the crew work quickly to transform their saloon into a convertible. It takes about 80 minutes to complete the task, but that's a controlled extraction. The firefighter with me explains that this is Plan A. There's always a Plan B - which is used when there is an immediate threat to the casualty's life and focuses purely on getting the injured person out of the vehicle as rapidly as possible using sheer brute force.


It isn't just a test for the fire crews - the health and safety managers at the factory are also testing their responses, as only their boss knows the planned details, forcing them to respond as they would in a real incident and test their processes. This is a well-run site - part of Rolls Royce - but it never hurts to test emergency procedures before anything actually happens. It also helps for the crews to see these sort of locations, just in case the call ever comes - the familiarity helps.

The Highgate crew turned up and they focus on the chemical risk and decide that they need to dash in to rescue the worker they can see lying on the floor close to the damaged valve.Two crew members put on their BA gear and discuss their tactics. You can see the BA control board in this picture. It identifies each firefighter in action with breathing apparatus and has a direct data connection to their tanks, monitoring the amount of air in the tank and keeping an eye on how long they have been in action. The board will also light up if one of the firefighters gets into difficulties and presses their emergency button. Although it is computerised, everything is also maintained in the old-fashioned way with marker pens - just in case the board fails.

Some items of kit are propositioned ready for use - the hazardous substances container has been dropped already and the mobile command vehicle awaits the call to action as the incident escalates.

The command truck is impressive - not only for the brief respite from the bitingly cold wind and rain - but for the level of technology on board. A few years back, the command team would have relied upon paper-based records, but now the conference room on the vehicle has three large screens. One shows a map of the region with every West Midlands Fire Service vehicle marked by a moving icon, as well as giving updates on local weather conditions. Another shows a plan of the site, indicating key information like the location of hydrants and dangerous chemicals, now cluttered with icons for the vehicles deployed here. That can be essential in a major incident, as it helps the management team keep track of who is where and who is in charge of each sector. That information is also replicated on the fire engines, so when they arrive at an incident at a site identified as a risk, they have vital information at their fingertips. West Midlands have driven forward this level of technology and they reckon that they are at the cutting edge. On a mast high above the command post sits a video camera, so the commanders here can get a different view of the incident.



Outside, the Highgate snatch squad have returned from the chemical leak, bringing back what the exercise dictated was a victim overcome by fumes, but was actually a dummy. That had to be decontaminated and was then covered with a tarpaulin to await the ambulance crew. The site is now crowded with red - appliances are here from Canley, Bournbrook, Sheldon, Erdington and elsewhere in the city. Eight crews are at the scene now and command shifts from the first responders to the control unit, with the senior officers and their team taking over.

Their crews have assembled the inflatable decontamination shower unit and are now donning their green chemical protection suits to go in and deal with the problems. The CP suits with integral rubber gloves are worn over the normal uniform, helmet and breathing apparatus. One tear or rip in the suit could prove fatal, so the wearers move cautiously amongst the bits of protruding metal that seem to infest every cranny around the site.

Fairly rapidly, they've got the situation under control and they return to the showers to wash any contamination from their suits and strip back down. Even here, they are being tested - the directing staff painted the valves with a gel that shows up under UV light, just to check who cleaned their gloves properly. The observers also spotted that the crews didn't seal themselves into the shower properly - better to learn that now than in a real incident. Incidentally, all the water from the shower goes into a rubber tank for later disposal - you can see it at the bottom left of the picture.

After this, there's time for a debrief. As the crews pack up, the senior officer at the incident is dragged into an impromptu press conference, where he faces tough questions from colleagues, as well as the duty emergency planning officer from the city council and me.

I have to thank Station Officer Rob Davis and his crews for inviting me and looking after me on the day. It was absolutely fascinating to watch them at work and practicing for the worst.

Diary Date - Acocks Green Ward Committee - 7pm Wed 26th Feb - Severne Road J&I School

We've got a packed agenda for Wednesday's Ward Committee. 

We have our Environmental Health Officer attending to give an update on her work in the ward. We'll also have a planning officer to talk about the local neighbourhood planning group and we'll be looking at current planning applications and outstanding s106 agreements. 

On the table will be the proposals for Yardley District's budget cuts next year as we try to live within the slim means offered by this government. Even with the appalling cuts imposed by the Tory/LibDem coalition, Labour is still protecting the future of Fox Hollies Leisure Centre and planning a rebuild of the ageing Stechford Cascades. 

While there are no plans to open a strip club in Acocks Green, we will also be looking at the Sexual Entertainment Venue Policy Review 2014 Consultation. This is likely to have most effect on the City Centre, but your views matter. 

There will also be an unusual urgent item - there are some matters around the Warwick Road improvement plan that we need to discuss and on which we need your views. In particular, we need to take a view on the streetlight design, talk about car parking, tree planting and 20mph zones/limits. 

If you can get along to Severne Road School for 7pm, you would be most welcome. 

This is your community - join in!

Planning Applications to the 22 February 2014

After a fallow week, another three

2014/00434/PA - Land off Beeches Avenue, Yardley Road, Acocks Green
Fourteen 4-bedroomed houses
There was a 2008 application, for which permission has now lapsed, which covered a mix of 3 and 4/5 bed houses. The new application is for a more consistent house style, but slightly larger footprints.

2013/08867/PA - 97 Oxford Road, Acocks Green, B27 6DR
Installation of two dormers to front, one to the rear and roof alterations to the main roof.

2013/09234/PA - Wellsbourne House, 1157 Warwick Road, 
Change of use from offices (Use Class B1) to church hall (Use Class D1)

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.\

Crime update - Yarnfield Police Meeting 22 February

Unusually, this meeting was on a Saturday and was a quieter meeting than usual. PCSO John Ludford filled us on on the crime statistics and Cllr Stacey and I dealt with a number of concerns from residents. 

There have been 72 incidents over past three months, slightly up on previous three months by about five offences. Results have been good, however, with thirty-three arrests made. Of the 12 assaults reported, 5 were domestic which, as a matter of service policy, led to arrests ion all occasions and others involved known offenders. Four were also arrested in relation to a single fight on Mayfield Road, which also resulted in criminal damage to property. 

The figures also include 12 drive-offs from Mere Stones filling station, which is a consistent focus for this offences of theft. The site is apparently due to change ownership to Spar and may become a 24 hour operation, so we will have to see whether that change affects reported crime. This is a problem generally - across the border in Olton, a tenth of their crime during one month last year was as a result of theft of petrol. Only one theft of a motor vehicle has been reported, along with three thefts from motor vehicles, including the theft of a satnav, which fortunately led to the arrest of offender with the stolen item in their possession. Operation Repel continues to target this source of crime - plain clothes officers are keeping an eye on known offenders and uniformed officers are trying car doors, finding a surprising number of them unlocked. 

Five incidents of criminal damage were reported, as well as seven cases of house burglary, of which four were just attempted. That's better than it has been for a while and better than other areas of the ward. Those attempts all shared a common method - the criminals used tools that were either lying around or were stored in insecure sheds to try to gain access to the back of the houses. They realise that their faces are known and walking down the road carrying anything remotely suspicious is likely to lead to an arrest for going equipped, so make sure that ladders and tools are always locked away out of reach. In particular, offenders seem to have targeted jewellery, which can be stuffed into pockets and easily carried away. 

There were three incidents of harassment, all domestic-related, four of criminal damage to homes and one incident of a pellet gun being used to damage a window at Yarnfield School. There were incidences of robbery, including the theft of a mobile phone from a person on Mayfield Road and an attack on the Knights Road stores, which made the press as the shopkeeper fought back and the attackers escaped empty handed. Two arrests for cannabis possession, including a substantial amount at a house on Mayfield Road and a search in relation to another offence which led to the discovery of a significant quantity of class A drugs under a sofa and further charges for the offender that are likely to keep him away from that sofa for some while. 

In terms of people, one PC has left to join the domestic violence team. They have been replaced, but the officer is likely to be off sick for a while. Two of our PCSOs have also moved on, but only one is being We've lost one officer to the domestic violence team, but their replacement is likely to be off sick for some while. Two PCSOs have left the team, but only one will be replaced at this stage. 

After that briefing, the floor opened to the usual range of questions - residents from Knights Road are delighted with their new security gates, which will protect the back of their properties and also that a load of dumped asbestos was removed just after the new year. We also talked through the changes to the green waste collection service, wheelie bins and speed limit changes. 

Acocks Green LIbrary Reopens Tuesday 4 March

Not much more to say, but as things stand, we should be reopening after a final deep clean, a couple of days to reinstall the IT hardware and then put the books back in order. It has been a long haul - although somewhat faster than the eighteen months South Yardley Library was closed a few years back.

It is really good to see the service back up and running in Acocks Green - people really value it and I'm delighted that we've given it a new lease of life.

Road Resurfacing - Dagnall Road

Still plenty to do - Dagnall Road from Woodcock Lane to The Avenue.

The work is scheduled to start during the week of the 24-28 February 2014. It is expected to take up to five days and the crews will be working on site on weekdays between 8am and 6pm. Amey will put signs on the road to confirm the precise start date.

As vehicles can't drive over hot tarmac, the section of the road affected will be closed to all traffic while surfacing is being carried out.

If you require access for medical/personal reasons, you can contact Amey on 0121 303 6644 (option 2), to discuss how access can be arranged. Pedestrian access will be maintained as well as access for emergency vehicles. That number can also be used for any other questions that you might have. 

During working hours, it will not be possible to park on the road. Cars left will have to be removed and this may incur a cost to the registered keeper. There are also likely to be speed and width restrictions while the work is carried out, as well as road closures. 

Sorry for the inconvenience, but this work needs to be done and is usually completed well within the time allocated. 

Road Resurfacing - Walden Road

Another one planned for next week is Walden Road from Weatherfield Road to Yarnfield Road

The work is scheduled to start during the week of the 17-21 February 2014. It is expected to take up to five days and the crews will be working on site on weekdays between 8am and 6pm. Amey will put signs on the road to confirm the precise start date.

As vehicles can't drive over hot tarmac, the section of the road affected will be closed to all traffic while surfacing is being carried out.

If you require access for medical/personal reasons, you can contact Amey on 0121 303 6644 (option 2), to discuss how access can be arranged. Pedestrian access will be maintained as well as access for emergency vehicles. That number can also be used for any other questions that you might have. 

During working hours, it will not be possible to park on the road. Cars left will have to be removed and this may incur a cost to the registered keeper. There are also likely to be speed and width restrictions while the work is carried out, as well as road closures. 

Sorry for the inconvenience, but this work needs to be done and is usually completed well within the time allocated. 

Road Resurfacing - Wildfell Road

Now we're resurfacing Wildfell Road (from Olton Boulevard to Bretton Road).

The work is scheduled to start during the week of the 17-21 February 2014. It is expected to take up to five days and the crews will be working on site on weekdays between 8am and 6pm. Amey will put signs on the road to confirm the precise start date.

As vehicles can't drive over hot tarmac, the section of the road affected will be closed to all traffic while surfacing is being carried out.

If you require access for medical/personal reasons, you can contact Amey on 0121 303 6644 (option 2), to discuss how access can be arranged. Pedestrian access will be maintained as well as access for emergency vehicles. That number can also be used for any other questions that you might have. 

During working hours, it will not be possible to park on the road. Cars left will have to be removed and this may incur a cost to the registered keeper. There are also likely to be speed and width restrictions while the work is carried out, as well as road closures. 

Sorry for the inconvenience, but this work needs to be done and is usually completed well within the time allocated. 

Planning Applications to the 8 February 2014

Three for last week:

2014/00164/PA - 93 Olton Boulevard East, Acocks Green, B27 7NH
Application for a Lawful Development Certificate for a proposed single storey rear extension

2013/09264/PA - 162 Yardley Road, Acocks Green, B27 6GR
Continued use of premises as a tyre fitting and car repair centre.

2014/00748/PA - 21 Arden Road, Acocks Green, B27 6AH
Erection of two storey side and rear extensions

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

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

Acocks Green Library Update

The latest information is that the planned date for the building to be handed back is the 19 February, so giving the librarians time to put things back into good order, then we should see the library reopening by the end of February. I'll confirm it all once we have some certainty behind it.

Planning Applications to the 1 February 2014

Just a single for the week before last, plus an update on the re-application for the land behind Eastbourne House on Yardley Road.

2014/00569/PA - 92 Shirley Road, Acocks Green, B27 7NA
Erection of two storey side and rear and single storey front and rear extensions, installation of rear dormer and new pitch roof to existing detached store

Eastbourne House - land off Beeches Road
This application appeared and disappeared a couple of weeks ago. I've investigated this, after concerns were raised by residents. It appears that the planning officer who dealt with the (now lapsed) planning approval back in 2008 noticed some discrepancies over the issue of lost open space, as the plan is to build on the playing fields behind the former private school. Accordingly, the plans were pulled pending the resolution of this matter, but not before some notifications had been sent out to some local residents. Once answers have been obtained, then the public consultation process will start again - probably this week.

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.