Planning applications to 10 March 2012

2012/01611/PA - 247 Douglas Road
Erection of single storey rear extension. Erection of single storey rear extension

2012/01528/PA - 136 Yardley Road
Change of use of part of ground floor from retail (Use Class A1) to a 1 bedroom flat (Use Class C3)

2012/00843/PA - 30 Station Road
Change of use from retail shop (Class A1) to childrens day nursery (Class D1)

2012/01595/PA - 904-906 Warwick Road
Conversion of 1st and 2nd floors to 4 self-contained 1-bed 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 a shop building on the slip road between Stockfield Road and Warwick Road.

You can find the details by inputting the reference number into the Council online database here and details on planning usage classes here.

For information:
A1 - Shops - Shops, retail warehouses, hairdressers, undertakers, travel and ticket agencies, post offices (but not sorting offices), pet shops, sandwich bars, showrooms, domestic hire shops, dry cleaners, funeral directors and internet cafes.

C3 - Dwellinghouses

D1 - Non-residential institutions - Clinics, health centres, crèches, day nurseries, day centres, schools, art galleries (other than for sale or hire), museums, libraries, halls, places of worship, church halls, law court. Non residential education and training centres.

Latest unemployment figures - hurting, but not working

270,000 public sector jobs were lost in 2011 - a huge number of people affected across the country. Independent observers of employment trends seem to think that unemployment will continue to rise this year, with no likelihood of it starting to fall back until the start of 2013. In Yardley, unemployment has risen slightly year on year, up 0.3% to 7.3% or 4820 people. That breaks down to 10.3% of men and 4.4% of women claiming JSA - not a full count of unemployment, but the most accurate figures available. These are the worst national figures in 17 years.

As Liam Byrne pointed out this week, we've also seen a return to the 1980s as one in ten young people in this city - over 16,000 of those aged 18-24 are currently claiming JSA. As a city blessed with a good supply of young people, not having work for them is a prime concern for Labour, which is why we've got a plan for jobs that would fund 100,000 jobs for young people across the country and provide 25,000 affordable homes.

Sadly, this government continues to fetishise austerity and cuts, risking a downward spiral. Even within the government, they admit that 'there is still something important missing; a compelling vision of where the country is heading' (Vince Cable, 8 Feb 2012).

Labour has been clear from the start - the deficit will be closed by a mixture of spending cuts and growth. That's why we planned slower reductions in public spending. That's why we created an agenda for growth.

The Liberal Democrat/Conservative government have got it horrendously wrong for the past two years and we're all paying the price.

Tory/Lib Dem government make it tougher for working families in Yardley

Thanks to the Tory/Liberal Democrat government, 850 low income families in this constituency would actually be better off if they left their jobs and went onto benefits.

Working Tax Credit is currently paid to those who work at least 16 hours a week, but from April that will be raised to 24 hours, with one member having to work at least 16 hours. This means that a two child family with one member working for 16 hours a week on the minimum wage - hardly a life of luxury - will face a whopping cut in income of £73 a week, £14 less than they would get on benefits.

The Liberal Democrats are feeling satisfied with themselves because they plan to raise the income tax threshold - but not yet - and put £60 a month back into your pocket. That's a drop in the ocean compared to the £292 a month some families will lose within a few days.

We should be encouraging people into work - even for a few hours a week - not punishing them.

At the other end of the scale, we have them restricting aspiration by taking away child benefit for those who have a single earner on 40% tax, so families with a single earner on £44,000 annual income lose out, but families with two earners on £41,000 each can bring in £82,000 and keep the child benefit. That is simply unfair.

Thanks

Despite the rain last week, we had a good turnout for the next big leaflet delivery - a thumping A3 size double issue. Thanks to all those who came over to this outpost of Labour in Birmingham. If anyone else fancies helping out with the remaining delivery rounds - you will typically need about an hour to an hour and a half to complete a round - please get in touch. We do have a handful left to distribute. Even if you can just do your road, that would be appreciated.

May 3 is now only a few weeks away and we're pushing hard to repeat last year's success. It won't be easy and it shouldn't be, but following on from Stewart's great win last year, we've got a chance of repeating it this year and sending a real message to the Liberal Democrats in local and national government.

Let's keep Sell Out Clegg looking sad.

Acocks Green Ward Committee - 7 March 2012

This week’s ward committee was a relatively quiet affair and also the last one before the elections in May.

On the agenda was a briefing from the Education team about plans to expand The Oaklands school to provide an additional primary class to cope with expected increase in demand from September 2013. They are working to a tight timetable, as construction work will be required to make the school fit for a modern, two form entry and this will need local consultation and planning permission. Cllr Stacey pointed out that the school governing body have yet to agree to this expansion and have only approved that the City Council study the feasibility at their own risk.

On planning, there was little of controversy. The original application to change the use of the former pub on the

Warwick Road

(just by the rail bridge) to a car dealership was turned down because the applicants failed to provide some additional technical details. These have now been provided in the form of another application. There was some discussion about the property to be constructed at the rear of 122 Westley Road and while there was some concern about this setting a precedent for other back gardens along the same strip, it was also pointed out that this might not be sufficient reason to block it in planning law terms.

The Community Chest spending was approved, as well as some continuation funds for the John Gayle football project, which has been a long term success in the ward and is currently looking for grant aid to provide ongoing support for a great scheme.

The only other thing was a note for future agenda to discuss access to the Leisure Centre from the public footpath between Fox Hollies Road and

Shirley Road

, which has been closed for some time now. This has been raised on Restirred and I will keep an eye on it. I can see no reason why access should not be restored – but this won’t come up until after the election in May.

As ever, watch this space.

Love maps? You want this link.

I love old maps and this site is a mine of information of maps of all kinds and ages. Even just looking at Birmingham, you can trace the expansion of the city and see as it draws in bits of the surrounding counties. A truly brilliant use of the web. (HT to @mrrobinmorley)

Library cuts bite

Changes are afoot in Birmingham's library system. The news for Acocks Green is that because our library is so popular in the community, it is secured as one of the primary libraries around the city and will be assured of funding for 40 hours opening time each week. The actual breakdown of those hours is a matter for the constituency to decide, but it is likely to be five days including Saturday and one late night, which is a disappointing reduction on the current six-day opening.

It is possible that further funding may be found from the Community Chest to restore the lost day, but that's still to be decided. Perhaps this is a question worth asking - should £10,000 of the ward's allocation be spent here on or on other projects? Which has the most value to you as a resident? Let me know.

Across the city, library hours have been cut by 13.7%, but worryingly, the library staff in the constituency libraries (excluding Central) have been cut back by 27% since 2010.

Planning Applications to 5 March 2012

2012/01135/PA - Ground Floor, 1119A Warwick Road
Change of use of ground floor from amusement centre to retail shop.

2012/00932/PA - 77 Oxford Road
Erection of two storey side extension and single storey rear extension

2012/01197/PA - 71 Woodford Green
Erection of single storey rear extension

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

Planning Applications to 18 February 2012

2012/00020/PA - 122 Westley Road
Erection of 1no. 3 bedroom detached dwelling house

2012/00979/PA - 96 Olton Boulevard East
Erection of single storey side and rear extensions

2012/01059/PA - 30 Summer Road

Erection of single storey rear extension and conservatory

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)