Acocks Green Library Update (Again)

We now have a revised closure date for the repair works required to the library. It was planned for Saturday 23 Feb, but it now looks as though the library will close on the 28 March.

Works are planned to start on the 2 April and complete on the 21 June.

In the meantime, South Yardley Library will be opening extended hours to support residents of Acocks Green:

• Mon 9am to 7pm
• Tue 9am to 5pm
• Wed 9am to 5pm
• Thu 9am to 7pm
• Fri 9am to 5pm
• Sat 9am to 5pm

Webcasting the change

We've got an excellent new site to stream meetings. It aligns video with the agenda and you can jump from point to point and even from speaker to speaker.

Cabinet on Monday agreed that South Yardley ward committee - comprising three locally elected councillors (two Labour and one LibDem) review the Oaklands Recreation Ground steering group to ensure that it is still fit for purpose to develop the ground for the future. Seems reasonable that we maintain democratic control over a £3 million spend. (This isn't within Acocks Green, but may become an issue within Yardley)

Cabinet has also agreed to preserve the Housing Liaison Board structure to engage with tenants and leaseholders - although they do need to be genuinely representative of the tenants and leaseholders within their area. Acocks Green has a strong HLB and I'm pleased that we'll be continuing it.

Also great to see Cabinet supporting a Birmingham Jobs Fund to support Birmingham's young people into work, following policies suggested by a policy commission comprising the council, local employers, voluntary groups and government. This fund will take money from the ward-committee community chest budget, but this contribution has the potential to make a real difference to the economic clout of Birmingham - with funding starting as soon as April this year. In some wards across Birmingham, a quarter of young people are out of work - totalling 15,000, with 3000 of them out of work for more than a year. Birmingham is lucky to have a young population and we need to ensure that they are placed to drive the city forward economically. What we can't tolerate is a future where we have some wards that are the worst affected in the country and we have to prioritise our spending.

Diary Date - Fox HolliesGreen Neighbourhood Forum - 13 February 2013

Fox Hollies Green Neighbourhood Forum Open Public Meeting
Wednesday 13 February 2013 - 7pm
The Oaklands Primary School, Dolphin Lane

Items on the agenda will be

• Community First Fund
• Police Report
• Issues of local concern

Yes, I know this clashes with the Yarnfield meeting, but Cllr Stacey will attend this one and I'll be along about 8pm! We have yet to master omnipresence, but being in two places at once is manageable.

Diary Date - Yarnfield Police Meeting - Wed 13 Feb

Yarnfield Police Meeting
Wednesday 13 February 2013 - 7pm

Scout Hut, behind Scanlon's on Spring Road
Meet with the local policing team for the Yarnfield and discuss issues of importance for the neighbourhood.

Planning Applications to the 9th February 2013

Only a single application this week.

2013/00643/PA - 61 Kilmorie Road
Erection of two storey side extension and single storey front 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.

Footway repairs in Avery Drive

The whole length of Avery Drive is due to be resurfaced over the three weeks starting on the 8 March 2013.

Residents should have received a letter by now informing them of the planned work

The work should not stop access to your home at any point, but please be aware that you don't park vehicles on the road outside your home while the contractors are working on that stretch of pavement.

I don't think it applies to any properties in Avery Drive, but if a dropped kerb is required to allow access to parking on the front garden of your home, then this can be installed for just £150. Existing dropped kerbs will be reinstated. Please bear in mind that you will have to have planning permission to install hard standing on your garden.

Post office news updated

The BBC have a rather more balanced piece here, which is clearer.

The Post Office are seeking to relocate Acocks Green post office into another local retailer as a franchised office. This would, it can be assumed, then result in the closure of the existing site.

However, they are clear that if a partner cannot be found, then the current post office will be maintained.

There will be a 6 week consultation prior to any move and while people will not be able to object to the principle of the closure/relocation, you will have an opportunity to object to the new location on the grounds of practical issues like parking, etc.

This is slightly more reassuring than the original spin, but will still require close monitoring and might mean another unoccupied store front in Acocks Green, which is never a good thing.

Acocks Green Post Office at risk?

A rather worrying article here which mentions the future of Acocks Green Post Office.

The headline suggests closure may be a risk if the Post Office cannot find a commercial partner, but further down the article, it says that if no partner can be found, the office will remain.

I'll try to find out more information on this, but it is a worrying development.

Temporary Library Closure

Despite government pressure on Birmingham City Council's capital spending, Cllr Stacey and I can confirm that we have protected the money put aside to repair the roof of Acocks Green Library.

The closure date has been confirmed as Saturday 23 February to allow for preparatory work to allow the contractors to start on the 4th March. The work to the roof and skylights should take about 12 weeks in all.

Cllr Stacey and I will be keeping a close eye on the works.

In the meantime, South Yardley Library will be opening extended hours to support residents of Acocks Green:

• Mon 9am to 7pm
• Tue 9am to 5pm
• Wed 9am to 5pm
• Thu 9am to 7pm
• Fri 9am to 5pm
• Sat 9am to 5pm

Stewart and I put a lot of effort into trying to sort out an alternative service in Acocks Green, but were unsuccessful in securing a suitable location, despite some advanced negotiations.

NOW UPDATED!

Planning Applications to 2 February 2013

This week's small crop.

2013/00510/PA - 31 Edenbridge Road
Application for a Certificate of Lawful Development for a proposed dormer window to rear and roof
alterations to side to form gable end

2012/07891/PA - 3 & 12 The Willows
Erection of detached garage to front of No. 12 The Willows and creation of 2 no. off street parking
spaces for No. 3 The Willows

2013/00136/PA - 1296 Warwick Road 
Retention of two self contained flats

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 - City Council Meeting - 5 February 2013

Full Council
Tuesday 5 February 2013 - 2pm
Council Chamber - streamed live too.

Key agenda items:

• Question time
• Public questions to any cabinet member or district committee chair
• Questions from any councillor to a committee chair or lead member of a joint board
• Questions from councillors other than cabinet members to a cabinet member
• Questions from councillors other than cabinet members to the leader or deputy leader
• Overview and Scrutiny Reports
• Birmingham - Where the World Meets
• Birmingham's Local Centres
• Motions for debate
• LibDem motion on community chest funding
• Labour motion on youth unemployment

Acocks Green Bins Update

Our local depot reports this morning that all black sack collections outstanding from last week were completed by the end of Saturday.

We are still outstanding the recyclate collections for last Monday and Tuesday, plus some from Wednesday (including my own road). This will all be completed by close of play this Wednesday.

City wide, that means we've caught up on a quarter of a million black bag collections and the vast majority of the 350,000 paper and plastic/glass recycling collections.

Again, sorry for inconvenience, but we are getting there!

Acocks Green Bins Update

Apologies to those of you who have had delays to your bin collections over the past few days. Unfortunately, the bad weather meant a huge backlog of rubbish to be collected and it has taken until now to get back largely on track. Some areas that have been raised with me - Francis Road, Gospel Lane, the Stockfield Estate and the Warwick Road - have been cleared of black bag waste today. Crews will be working late tonight and across the weekend to clear remaining rubbish and it is hoped that black bags will be gone by close of play on Saturday, with outstanding recyclable collections cleared by the end of Sunday.

In this situation, collections are placed in priority order with black bag waste being the highest priority, given the likely contents.

There will be a few problems outstanding as we start next week, but we should have the collection back on track by about Wednesday. Additional street cleaning resources will be put in place over the next week or so to tidy the ward up.

Again, apologies, but we are getting back to normal now.

Diary Date - Transport, Connectivity and Sustainability O&S

Transport, Connectivity and Sustainability O&S Committee
Friday 1 February 2013
10am - Council House
Agenda Items

• Flood Risk Management Annual Report


• Biomass Emissions Policy - Draft Response to consultation


• From Waste to Resource - Sustainable Strategy for 2019

Planning Applications to the 26 January 2013

Nothing last week and then we get this little lot.

2012/08372/PA - 10 Botteville Road
Change of use from dwelling (C3) to residential institution (C2)

2012/07821/PA - 1091 Warwick Road
Erection of conservatory to front and single-storey rear extension (This is the former Pasta di Piazza restaurant on the same run of shops as Pizza Hut, beside Acocks Green Primary School)

2013/00071/PA - Aldi Foodstore Ltd, Warwick Road
Installation of full height new shopfront to front elevation and new rendered finish to existing brickwork panels

2013/00319/PA - 8 Olton Croft, Land adjacent
Erection of a 3 bedroom detached dwelling house

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.
Details of the planning classes can be found here. 

Bin collections

We've done our best to maintain black bin bag collections on the main roads across the ward and Acocks Green, but many of the side roads have simply proved too treacherous for the heavy bin wagons and our crews to operate safely across the week. As the weather conditions have changed over the weekend, normal collections will resume this week and missed collection will be collected as normal, although we will try to prioritise missed recycling collections from last week.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused last week, but the weather was exceptionally poor and persistent and we have to put the safety of the public and our crews as our top priority.

Diary Date - Yardley District Committee 24 Jan 2013

Yardley District Committee
Thursday 24 January 2013
2pm - Committee Room 6, Council House

Key items of interest (check the agenda for full list):

• Revenue budget monitoring (April to December)
• Local Services Performance Report
• Fleet and Waste Management
• Newly Devolved Services - Regulation and Enforcement
• Amey - Consultation on Highway Programme 2013-14
• Reform of Special Educational Needs Provision and the role of the Parent Partnership

This is a public meeting and the chair has the option to allow members of the public to speak. 

School Closures for Monday 21 January

CLOSED (via Disruption in Birmingham)
Acocks Green Primary
Cottesbrooke Infants (NOT Juniors)
Holy Souls
The Oaklands

Ninestiles (via school website)
Archbishop Ilsley (via school website)

All Solihull Schools confirmed closed.

I would expect other schools to be added to this list tomorrow morning, so check local radio stations, follow @BCCDisruption on Twitter or on their website. The site will be busy and despite extra capacity being added, can be expected to be rather hard to access. Twitter has proved really helpful in terms of getting information out there.

Decisions on emergency closures are taken by the head teacher and governing body of each school, as they are deemed best able to understand the local situation in regards to the school site, transport for pupils and staff or even the roads around the site. The local authority can in exceptional cases, enforce closure on voluntary controlled and community schools, but not on academies or voluntary aided schools.

The current forecast is that the light snow will persist until the small hours of Monday and there is a chance of further snow on Tuesday, although that forecast will firm up one way or the other as we get nearer. Ice is certain to remain a problem, however.

Planning Applications to the 12 January 2013

Four this week - in just two roads.

2013/00001/PA - 295-297 Fox Hollies Road
Installation of replacement shop front and security door to rear

2013/00031/PA - 438 Fox Hollies Road
Erection of first floor side/rear and single storey forward extensions

2013/00135/PA - 86 Hazelwood Road
Erection of single storey rear extension

2012/08447/PA - 47 Hazelwood Road
Erection of two storey side 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.

Red Lion to reopen?

You have until Thursday to make any comments on a premises application under the Licensing Act which could see the Red Lion reopen as a pub. The applicants - the Hairy Lemon Pub Company - are looking to open to serve alcohol Sun - Thu from 10am to half-midnight and until 1:30am on Friday and Saturday. They are also applying to have live or recorded music until midnight Sun-Thu and until 1am Friday and Saturday.