Unemployment in Yardley & the economy

Despite a poor outlook across the rest of the city, Yardley constituency saw a welcome slight month on month drop in unemployment - 113 people have stopped claiming Job Seekers Allowance, a percentage drop of 0.6%. I wonder whether this has anything to do with the imminent opening of the Tesco store at the Swan (Monday 20th)? Year on year, the figures continue to rise - up 2.4% on January 2011.

Women are being particularly badly hit, as claimant numbers have climbed by 7.1% since January 2011, while men have remained broadly static with a 0.1% increase - although that means that 10% of the men in Yardley are claiming JSA.

Yesterday we saw the government's hike in VAT work itself out of the inflation figures, but that still remains high and is outstripping wage increases, meaning that your wages are worth less than they were. One of the credit agencies has put the UK government on notice that our treasured AAA rating is now at risk and George Osborne claims - with a straight face - that this is a vindication of his economic policies. Just as he claimed that when the agencies took the UK off-risk, it was a vindication of his policies. This is, of course, a political issue rather than a practical fiscal one - neither the US nor France have seen rises in the cost of borrowing as a result of losing their AAA ratings and there is no reason to think that the UK would be any different.

Even if we can't find the money for tax cuts from public spending savings, we could add it to the deficit and it is not going to send the markets into a tizzy, I don't think anyone really believes that. The markets will not go haywire if there was a modest loosening in borrowing in the short run if it was for the right reason.

It is becoming increasingly clear that we have been on the wrong track for two years with this government. Growth is the single most important element of reducing the deficit and closing the gap between government income and spending. Osborne's blind faith in austerity will lead us into the same spiral that has afflicted Ireland. It doesn't work and ordinary people end up as the collateral damage in a policy that has failed and was always likely to fail. That's a Tory MP, by the way, David Ruffley.

Planning Applications to 11 February 2012

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

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

Gritting Map

Mappa Mercia Gritting Map

A useful reference - this Mappa Mercia map shows the routes that are gritted and their priority level. I've taken a snap showing the ward, but it is best seen on the full site above.

• Red - High priority
• Dark blue - Medium priority
• Pale blue - Low priority

There's a handy fact sheet here on the whys, wherefores and limitations of grit.

The gritters will be out again tonight, covering 700 miles of roads across the city, which takes the fleet of trucks about 3-4 hours to complete. City Centre pavements - and some in Sutton Coldfield - are also gritted around 4am. If you are on Twitter, #wmgrit will keep you up to speed with progress and there's some good advice here on driving in winter weather. Be careful!

Planning Applications to 4 February 2012

Just a single application this week.

2012/00444/PA - 38 Flint Green Road
Erection of single storey rear extension

Full Council - 7 Feb 2012

You can find a video record of this week's matinee performance here.

Of particular interest is the Liberal Democrat motion on the promised increase in tax thresholds. In the original form, the wording actually supported a tax increase by reducing these thresholds - something I wrote about here. Cllr Eustace's speech is particularly interesting, as it rambles over a range of issues and only occasionally makes passing contact with tax. While I agree with increasing the take home pay of some of the lowest paid in the economy, I hold that there are better and more efficient ways of doing it, as increasing the tax threshold actually benefits the wealthier more than it does the lower paid. It also has no effect on many pensioners, those working part-time or the very poorest, as they are already beneath the tax threshold and don't pay a penny. I wrote in greater depth on it on the other place.

During that, Cllr Reg Corns (Con) makes sound points - about job insecurity and that payday loan firms like Wonga.com are "the biggest enemy of the ordinary working man." These firms do charge terrifyingly high rates of interest - well over 1000% APR is common. Curiously, one of the investors in Wonga.com is not only a major donor to the Conservative Party (£500,000 in the past five years), but also came up with a plan to allow employers to sack workers without any fear of unfair dismissal action, despite a complete lack of evidence that this would make any difference to firms.

Cold weather payments triggered for Acocks Green

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

Those eligible are those on the following benefits:

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

*Income Support and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance

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

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

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

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

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

You can find more information here.

Planning Applications to 28 January 2012

Two weeks to work through - the Birmingham City Council website was very flaky last week. 


2012/00230/PA - 33 Fox Green Crescent
Erection of replacement single storey rear extension


2012/00241/PA - 1 Sherbourne Drive

Erection of new sun-room replacing existing rear conservatory


2012/00120/PA - Yarnfield Primary School, Yarnfield Road
Erection of 4 no. additional playing apparatus - low level adventure playground and fitness equipment. 


2012/00411/PA - 120 Tavistock Road
Erection of single storey rear extension


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

Diary - Yardley Constituency Committee

Thursday 26th January
6.30pm at South Yardley Library - Yardley Constituency Committee

Agenda items other than the usual include

• Verbal presentation on the debt advice team
• Integrated community safety tasking framework
• Amey consultation on their five year programme for the roads
• Report on s106 agreements across the constituency (s106 is a legal agreement between the local authority and a developer which requires the developer to do something. There is a large s106 planning obligation which attaches to the Tesco Swan development, which allocates a pot of money to enhance the playing fields adjacent to it, although thanks to the Liberal Democrats and the Tories, there's less than was originally agreed)
• Community Chest applications for South Yardley and allocations for all 4 wards

Diary - Acocks Green Neighbourhood Forum - 7.30pm tonight

Tuesday 24th January
7.30pm at the Baptist Community Hall, Yardley Road (corner of Alexander Road) - Acocks Green Neighbourhood Forum public meeting with the tempting offer of refreshments.

A representative from Birmingham City Council's Waste Management team will be present to talk about the changes in bin collections over recent weeks. I know this has caused some confusion around the ward, so come along and find out what's happened.

The local police will also be present to listen to any concerns.

Acocks Green Police Station Update

Talking to Cllr Jones about the police station

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

Cllr Jones, me (windswept) and Cllr Stacey

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Planning Applications to 14 Jan 2012

Late getting to this - hectic week.

2012/00295/PA - 24 Westfield Road, Acocks Green

Removal of existing side extension and erection of single storey rear and side extension

2011/08659/PA - 136 Yardley Road, Acocks Green

Change of use from retail shop (A1) to 2 no self contained flats (C3)

Acocks Green Ward Committee - 11 January 2012

Just a brief meeting last night and only a few members of the public present. Planning proved interesting, with much discussion of the Asda proposal for the Eaton site at the top of the ward - there will be a substantial objection as this will break up a large chunk of industrial land and the transport connections are grossly inadequate for a development of that size in that location. It was also suggested that Asda be extended the courtesy of an invitation to the next Ward Committee on the 7 March at Oaklands School to present on their proposals, assuming that it hasn't come to Planning Committee before then.

A couple of other applications were discussed in some detail - the proposal for the car sales lot on the Warwick Road on the pub site and a change of use for a shop on Yardley Road beside the Baptist Church. These were chiefly on design issues, not wholehearted opposition. Cllr Stacey suggested that the shop change of use might be an ideal time to have the frontage restored to fit in with the proposed conservation area and also to request that the car lot is landscaped and has removed trees restored.

Other than that, positions on the Business Improvement District board, the board of a local housing trust and the community funding board were allocated to the councillors, with the Liberal Democrat majority ensuring that they hold the important BID seat.

Racist graffiti reported

While out and about on Sunday, I spotted some offensive racist graffiti in Botteville Road. It has been reported to the council for removal and should be gone within a day or so. I will check that it has been cleaned off.

If you need to report something like this, you can do it online through this page of the council website.

Planning Applications to 7 Jan 2012

2012/00020/PA - 122 Westley Road
Erection of 1no. 3 bedroom detached dwelling house
This is proposed to replace an existing garage and garden store backing onto Ilsley Drive.

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

At last - the smart card comes to the local buses

It may only be small steps at the moment and only available on a handful of services in Solihull, but the Midlansd equivalent of the London Oyster travel card looks to be on its way. The Rotala Signature card will be road tested on the S2, S2A, S3, S4, 30 and 82 services in Solihull and will allow a cash-free payment method for bus fares, bringing an end to that desperate search for change that characterises bus usage for those who haven't invested in a pass. It will even be slightly cheaper than paying in cash.

A tip of the hat to The Birmingham Press, who have the full story here. We just need to see this rolled out across the CENTRO area as soon as possible.

Planning Applications - 3 January

Happy New Year to everyone - an interesting year ahead. Just three applications to kick off with.


2011/08546/PA - 42 Flint Green Road, Acocks Green

Change of use from dwelling house (Use Class C3) to offices (Use Class B1).

Information on the planning classes can be found here.


2011/08168/PA - 10 Stonehaven Grove, Hall Green
Erection of two storey side extension


2011/08614/PA - 23 Studland Road, Hall Green

Erection of single storey rear extension.

Planning Applications - 19 December

Just one now until the New Year.

2011/08254/PA - 87 Hollyhock Road, Acocks Green, B27 7SU
Erection of two storey side and single storey rear extensions and forward porch extension.

Planning Applications Received

2011/06519/PA - 904-906 Warwick Road, Acocks Green, B27 6QG

Conversion of 1st and 2nd floors to 4 self-contained flats, installation of dormer to rear of No. 904, erection of single storey extension to rear of No. 906 and installation of new shop fronts and roller shutters. This relates to shops on the slip road between Stockfield Road and the Warwick Road. 


2011/08182/PA - MEM Site Reddings Lane / Olton Boulevard West / Formans Road / Battery Way, Tyseley, B11 3EZ
This is the Asda application mentioned a little while back.


2011/07747/PA - 909-911 Warwick Road, Acocks Green, B11 2ER

Change of use from public house - formerly the Britannia - (Use Class A4) to car sales business (Use Class Sui Generis).

Unemployment update

The most recent figures for Acocks Green have showed a worsening against last month and the year on year figures. 1215 people are now claiming unemployment benefit in the ward - 10.8% of the economically active population. That's up 33 on this time last year and 15 on last month's figures. It sits below the Birmingham figure, but well above the national average.

Birmingham continues to have the worst record of the other core cities, with a claimant rate of 12.5%, which compares poorly to 6.7% across the Midlands and 5.4% across the UK.

This doesn't show the full picture, as it relates only to those claiming unemployment benefit, but the outlook is very worrying given the continued problems with the economy.

A million to lift you up (and down) in Acocks Green

I'm delighted to see that CENTRO have finally secured funding to improve access to Acocks Green - the busiest station on the local network without disabled/pushchair access to the platforms. It may take until 2014 to complete the work, but at least it means that those disabled spaces on one side of the station, separated by a few yards and stairs or a very long push from the actual platform, will be accessible. There's £1 million of funding coming to fit lifts to the station as part of the Department for Transport's Railways for All scheme, which was launched under the last Labour government and is planned to run until 2015. This was something that I discussed with the then CENTRO lead member back in 2008, so it is great that things have finally moved forward.

The station is great for access to the City - you can be in the heart of Birmingham in a little over five minutes - so I hope that these changes will mean that even more people will use the station to travel.