Growth Deal Announces Funding - good news for Birmingham

This is a positive move for the regions - although Labour's proposals promise even more funding and freedom for regional groupings. The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership - the government's chosen method of delivering funding - has been given £357 million to support training and education and deliver on infrastructure needs. The GBSLEP will be able to fund 34 projects over the next few years. Unfortunately, this doesn't even reach the targets that Lord Heseltine proposed in his No Stone Unturned report, as that promised an annual pot five times bigger than the £2 billion that the government is offering a year. It is ironic that a Tory peer gets the regional need far better than his government.

Within Birmingham, this will help fund major repairs to the Tame Valley Viaduct (better known as the elevated stretch of the A38M that carries 100,000 vehicles a day) and station improvements around Snow Hill. It will also help us maximise the benefit of HS2 by improving local transport links - connecting New Street and Moor Street, extending the Metro to Centenary Square, down to the Curzon Street HS2 station site and on to Edgbaston, bus rapid transit from Quinton into the city centre and put some more money into improving walking and cycling in Birmingham. There will also be funding to support the extension of Battery Way in Tyseley - something I want to keep a close eye on, as regenerating the brown field site there is one thing, but I'm wary of other potential side effects.

In terms of business support and training, money will go into skills to support car manufacture, life sciences, aviation engineering, food technology and advanced technologies.

This is good news for Birmingham and the wider area - the Black Country LEP doesn't do badly either.

It is just a shame that the government haven't been brave or generous enough. Lord Heseltine urged them to do more and Labour will deliver our proposals quickly if we're elected next year.

Planning Applications to the 5 July 2014

I've not done this in a while, so I'm starting again.

2014/04523/PA - 2 Ingram Grove, Acocks Green, B27 7SQ

Erection of two storey and single storey rear extensions and alterations to roof

2014/04084/PA - 72 Oakhurst Road, Birmingham, B27 7PG

Erection of 1 no. two bedroom attached house within curtilage of existing house

2014/04404/PA - 168 School Road, Hall Green, B28 8PA
This site is within the School Road Conservation Area

Erection of two storey side and rear extension to form new retail unit on ground floor and two bedroom flat above and single storey rear extension to existing shop

2014/04499/PA - 78 Lulworth Road, Hall Green, B28 8NT
Application for a Certificate of Lawfulness for the proposed erection of a single storey rear extension

2014/04197/PA - 21 Glaisdale Road, Birmingham B28 8PX
Erection of two storey side and single storey front extension with porch

2014/04299/PA - Lidl UK Gmbh, Olton Boulevard East, B27 7RR

Variation of condition C2 attached to planning approval 2000/01878/PA to allow collection and delivery of goods 06:00 to 22:00 Monday to Saturday and 08:00 to 20:00 Sundays and Bank Holidays

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.

Road Repairs - Arden Road and Norland Road - starting wk comm 14 July

As a result of an inspection, there are some localised repairs to be made to the road surface between 75 and 91 Arden Road and on Norland Road between Pool Farm Road and Dolphin Lane.

The work is due to start during the week of the 14 July 2014 and is estimated to take about five days, with work being carried out between the hours of 8am and 6pm.

Road closures will be in place while work is in progress and there will be some restriction on access to property. Please don't park vehicles on this stretch of the road during this period, as they may have to be removed and there will be a charge for release. If you need urgent access to your property, then ask the crew on site or call 0121 303 6644 (option 2). Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout.

Strike action - Thursday 10 July

As you may have heard, local authority staff will be taking strike action on Thursday 10 July. This is likely to affect bin collections, so here's the advice on what to do if you have a collection scheduled for that day.

Please put your green bins, black or green sacks or recycling boxes out AS NORMAL.

If they have not been collected by the end of the day, please LEAVE THEM OUT for collection. It will be cleared over the weekend or sooner if possible.

There is no need to report a missed collection

Sorry for the inconvenience, but the rubbish will be cleared as soon as possible.

Quad bikes and antisocial behaviour

I've heard a lot of complaints about anti-social use of quad bikes and off road bikes. These have been passed on to the local police, who have responded, despite their limited resources.

Sadly, due to service cuts, there aren't as many traffic officers trained to ride the off-road bikes, so there is a huge demand for their services. These are the team that can conduct pursuits safely across areas like Fox Hollies Park - there used to be a unit operating out of Stechford, but that was removed. Nevertheless, the police have put together a sufficiently persuasive bid that saw the bikes put to work in Acocks Green and they recovered the stolen bike in the next picture.

They have also been tackling quad bikers who are driving in an anti-social manner, particularly on the Gospel Estate. Two have so far been issued with s59 notices, which means if they are caught repeating the behaviour, the drivers will have the bikes removed and impounded. They then face a £250 recovery charge, plus £10 a day until the bike is collected by somebody insured to take it.

The police have also had helicopter support to deal with the problem - with the chopper even lifting on a number of occasions specifically to support operations against anti-social behaviour and vehicle theft in Acocks Green.

The problems haven't been fixed, but it is really good to hear that the police have been able to respond to the concerns raised.

They always need your support, so if you have any information that can help tackle this behaviour, you can always contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Carnival 2014

A really good day at the Acocks Green carnival yesterday. After heavy showers very early on, the rain held off for the rest of the day and the parade went off well. We had our usual stall under the treeline and I spent some time helping with the parade marshalling (sorry to any drivers who were inconvenienced while the parade passed down through the Village).

This is a great annual event, which is part funded by the Ward Committee Community Chest, but driven by a dedicated community organisation. It just shows what people can achieve together.

And the Guess the Weight of The Cake competition was won by a Mr SW from Sheldon, who was closest at 3lbs 8oz.

Bob Jones

We've lost one of our own today. The first Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands, Cllr Bob Jones, died overnight. He was just 59. 

Bob was a fine PCC - competent, fair and knowledgeable. He was also a good man. For a busy guy, he managed to find the time to come over and visit us here in Acocks Green - he was out here on election day in May this year.

He will be much missed by his own family, but also by the West Midlands Labour family. You don't get many like Bob and we were lucky to have him.

My thoughts today are with Sarah and his family. 

Work on the Warwick Road

You may have noticed some road works starting along the Warwick Road from Dudley Park Road towards the city. These are spot improvements to help cyclists and pedestrians, with new road markings and build outs from the kerb. There will also be some sense brought to the traffic orders along this stretch and the signage update is ongoing.

The work should take about 11 weeks to complete along the whole length of the road. It forms part of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund works - the same pot that will fund the major work in Acocks Green Village.

Location:Douglas Road,Birmingham,United Kingdom

Brumtunnel Closures 2014 - deja vu all over again

A reminder that the A38 St Chads and Queensway tunnels will be closed again during the school holidays this year.

The full closure will apply from 10pm on Friday 18 July through to 6am on Monday 1 September.

Starting on the 4 July, there will be two weeks of overnight closures from 10pm to 6am and a further four weeks of overnight closures to the 28th September. There will be up to 120 people working in the tunnels at any one time and work will continue round the clock to ensure that the tunnels reopen for business on time

This will complete the upgrade work started last year, which left the tunnels resurfaced, cleaner and brighter. The new phase of works will see the ventilation system, pumping stations, plant rooms, security and communication systems upgraded. 32 vehicle detection cameras will be installed to spot breakdowns and set signs to warn motorists. New smoke extraction and fire response systems will be installed to ensure that in the event of a fire, emergency exit doors can be opened remotely to ensure people don't escape into moving traffic and to make sure that smoke is removed quickly and safely. Over 40 miles of cabling will be installed as part of the work. .

Clearly, this will cause inconvenience - that's unavoidable - but the work has to be done. The lessons of last year were that it could have been a lot worse. Carrying out the work during the holidays makes a difference and we also found that many people chose to find alternate routes or modes of transport into the City for the duration.

For the most up to date information, refer to Brumtunnels.

Acocks Green Station Lifts Update

Final designs for the lift installation at Acocks Green are now on display at the station. The roof caps have been changed to pitched, the towers are slightly lower, the panelling on the side is a little less 'silo-like' and there is good visibility across the whole length of the walkway because the sides are glazed. Apparently been a real challenge to find glazing that would meet the design brief and satisfy the tough safety demands of Network Rail.

The floor plans show the station now (top) and on completion. The new access to the walkway is on the right hand side as you come into the building, between the stairs to the car park and the booking office machines.

The need was amply demonstrated as I got off the train - helped a mother up the stairs with her pushchair. She can't wait for the work to be completed. 

It looks as though the steelwork will arrive on site during July and work will continue across the summer with completion in September. There will be delays as some of the work depends on having the tracks beneath taken out of service. This has been one of the causes of delay so far, as the Chiltern Line has been a diversionary route for other lines and gaining possession hasn't been without problems. 

Hopefully, things should pick up pace now. 

Incidentally, in answer to a question earlier - the lifts are 16-person lifts with walk through access, so they are perfectly capable of taking a bike, should you wish to. 

Also, two dates for the diary for residents immediately around the site. The heavy work of installing the foundations and the piledriving is all complete, but on the 17th and 26th of July, the steel sections are scheduled for installation and that will involve night work and a big crane. The noise will be nothing like that of the foundation work, but there will be some. 

Acocks Green Station lift update

On Monday 30 June between 1530 and 1800, representatives from CENTRO, Network Rail, London Midland and the contractors, J Murphy, will be in the booking office at Acocks Green Station to discuss progress and plans for the lift installation. This is now scheduled for completion in the autumn. I understand that there may be delays because of difficulties in obtaining possession of the tracks to allow safe working.

Canalside Community Litter Pick

I joined a number of local residents on Monday evening on a litter pick along the canal side. We picked up half a dozen bags full of litter either side of the Woodcock Lane bridge. Further up, opposite the Millennium Green, the remains of the burnt-out narrow boat are still sunk in the canal. The Canal and Rivers Trust are aware of it and say that it will be removed, but they have to follow a process that takes some time to go through.

Quieter nights for the Stockfield Estate

Last year, residents on the Stockfield Estate around the park and games area were disturbed on most nights by a group of young men who came out to play football very late at night and into the small hours. I had a number of complaints, so I made a point of coming out after midnight to see how bad it really was. Coincidentally, I was there just as the police response crew turned up to have a chat with the football players and see if they could be persuaded to move on. On that night, they did, after about half an hour or so of further play. The police were clear that there wasn't a lot they could do, despite the level of noise from the games area. It wouldn't have been a problem during the day, but on summer nights, the noise carried too far. 

There have also been other issues of anti-social behaviour elsewhere and to help deal with this, we've worked with the police to give them the power to disperse groups. This was used to great effect on the Gospel Estate last year and I'm hopeful that it will prove equally effective on the Stockfield. Residents have certainly been delighted with the news. 

The axeman cometh

Amey have provided a new list of trees for removal over the next month.

That's a fair few.

And in at least one case, the notice has gone up BEFORE councillors have been notified. It also contains the statement that we have been consulted and have given approval for these removals.

I have insisted that this is corrected, as it was supposed to be the last time it was used.

Location			Site Name	Reason for removal
	outside 141	SEVERNE ROAD			Decay
	outside 126	CHAUCER GROVE			Structural Integrity
	outside265	GOSPEL LANE			Structural Integrity
	outside 282	SHIRLEY ROAD			Decay
	outside 272	SHIRLEY ROAD			Decay
	outside 229	GOSPEL LANE			Highway Obstruction
	outside 67	LULWORTH ROAD			Structural Integrity
	side of 999 map required	FOX HOLLIES ROAD			Structural Integrity
	outside 24	LULWORTH ROAD			Highway Obstruction
	outside 2	NORTHANGER ROAD			Decay
	outside 31	ROYDON ROAD			Decay
	outside 52	POOL FARM ROAD			Structural Integrity
	outside 195	SEVERNE ROAD			Decay
	outside 520	GOSPEL LANE			Structural Integrity
	outside 112-114	GOSPEL FARM ROAD			New Planting Vandalised
	outside 251-253	GOSPEL LANE			Dead
	outside 301	FOX HOLLIES ROAD			Structural Integrity
	outside 4	WESTFIELD ROAD			Structural Integrity
	outside 155	CIRCULAR ROAD			Structural Integrity
	outside 361	GOSPEL LANE			Decay
	outside 247-249	GOSPEL LANE			Structural Integrity
	outside 14	ROYDON ROAD			Decay
	outside 289	GOSPEL LANE			Structural Integrity
	outside 435	FOX HOLLIES ROAD			Decay
	outside 71	GREENWOOD AVENUE			Decay
	outside 71,73	GOSPEL FARM ROAD			New Planting Vandalised
	outside 48	WOODFORD GREEN ROAD			Structural Integrity
	side of 467	FOX HOLLIES ROAD			Decay
	outside 4	POOL FARM ROAD			Structural Integrity
	outside 30,32	GLAISDALE ROAD			Decay
	right of 1291 Warwick Road	OLTON BOULEVARD EAST			Structural Integrity
	outside 186	TAVISTOCK ROAD			Decay
	outside 257	GOSPEL LANE			Structural Integrity
	outside 77	NAILSTONE CRESCENT			Decay
	outside 1005-1007	WARWICK ROAD			Structural Integrity
	opposite 28	SUMMER ROAD			Decay
	opposite 3	GREENWOOD AVENUE			Decay
	side of 50	THORNFIELD ROAD			Structural Integrity
	outside 261	GOSPEL LANE			Structural Integrity
	outside 221	GOSPEL LANE			Structural Integrity
	outside 16	TAVISTOCK ROAD			Decay
	outside 475	FOX HOLLIES ROAD			Decay
	side of 90	GOSPEL FARM ROAD			Decay
	opposite 912 Warwick Road	STOCKFIELD ROAD			Dead
	outside 95,97	GOSPEL FARM ROAD			New Planting Vandalised
	outside 24	ROYDON ROAD			Decay
	outside 121	ARDEN ROAD			Structural Integrity
	outside 34	BLOSSOMVILLE WAY			Damage to Structures
	outside 312,314	FOX HOLLIES ROAD			Dead
	outside 7	FIELDHEAD ROAD			Decay
	outside 28	DOLPHIN LANE			Decay

Defibrillator Training

Last year, Acocks Green Ward Committee helped to fund the Business Improvement District plan to provide an automatic defibrillator for the shopping centre. It has taken a long while to find a store prepared to host it - their insurers were all scared about the potential risks. Fortunately, West Midlands Ambulance Service stepped up and they have provided free training which also brings the trained users under the protection of WMAS' own insurance. They have also kindly provided an extra defibrillator, so we now have one stored in Costa and one in Dazzle and easily available.

85% of cardiac arrests can be helped with a defibrillator and some studies have shown that survival rates can reach 74% if an automatic external defibrillator is available. I've completed the training as well - just because it might prove handy in an emergency, although I sincerely hope I never need to use it.

Arden Road Residents Association - Big Lunch 2014

It is always a pleasure to join the Arden Road residents for their annual Big Lunch. They started this for the Diamond Jubilee, but this year was the first when they actually managed to hold the event in the street as the weather smiled on us. Dozens of people joined together to share food, chat and play in the street.

St Mary's Community Festival - Sat 14 and Sun 15 June

Get into your parks this summer! Active Parks spreads out across the city - Fox Hollies on the list

In 2013 Birmingham City Council launched a pilot programme in partnership with Birmingham Open Spaces Forum called the Active Parks Programme. The Active Parks pilot programme sought to demonstrate how much can be achieved by and for the health & well-being of local people in parks and open spaces. Working closely with Birmingham Open Spaces forum and Birmingham’s unique Friends of Parks Groups to create “Leisure Centres without Walls”, the programme to get people active and engaged in their local park was piloted in 5 Birmingham Parks, plus Edgbaston Reservoir. Activities took place in parks and green spaces giving people the opportunity to be active on their own doorstep and interact with the natural environment. They aimed to provide something for everyone including:

• YogaBugs, Buggyfit (mums and tots); 
• Park Fit and Community Fit (individuals and families, any fitness level);
• Tai Chi (popular with older participants but surprisingly, data has shown sessions popular with all ages from 3-79yr olds!) 
• Zumba (for all ages and abilities)
• Rowing and Cycling (for all ages and abilities, getting people who would otherwise not have the chance to try rowing, get out on the local reservoir with a programme of support)
• Walking and jogging (for all ages and abilities) 
• Non-traditional physical activities that get people engaging with their green space – Bushcraft, Little People in Parks (rangers linking with local early years settings to bring them into parks for various activities) 
• Volunteering – involving people in their local park and community has resulted in an increase in volunteering hours and an increase in social capital

We'll be expanding that programme this year and Coke Zero has agreed to support us as part of their commitment to invest £20m nationally by 2020 to encourage people to be more physically active. They'll be supporting 70 locations across the country and most of them will be in Birmingham. The multi-million investment will see Active Parks provided with hundreds of sessions of basketball, rush hockey, buggyfit and rounders - amongst other sports - with coaches, kit and equipment to promote activity outside during the summer months. 

Acocks Green isn't in the vanguard, but we should have activities up and running in Fox Hollies Park, the Stockfield Estate and Archbishop Ilsley in July at the latest. 

Fox Hollies Park in the rain

On Saturday, despite the rain, I joined some local volunteers and an advisor from Waterside Care (part of Britain in Bloom) to have another look at the state of Fox Hollies Park. Some bits need some serious attention - these two pictures show me looking like a drowned rat and gazing upon the collection of rubbish that appears to have been dumped by a local resident. That's too far from the road or path to have been dropped their by a passing fly-tipper, but just right to chuck over a fence. We'll have to get that cleared and I've already contacted the parks team to get them involved with it - it is too difficult for amateurs to have a go at that safely.

The walk also highlighted some potential areas for work and we'll have other agencies down there to try to work with the parks department and local volunteers to see what can be put together to help get the water flowing better under the bridges, which are clogged with rubbish and to stop the flooding that you can see below, making the path impassable at that point unless you want to get wet. I've also been in touch with Amey to find out what they intend to do about the light columns which have been completely wrecked along the footpath over the past few weeks.

Election Results

The result locally on Thursday wasn't great for Labour, although I'm delighted that our voters turned out again to support an excellent candidate, who put up a good fight against an established candidate who fought a better one. No excuses - we need to up our game for 2015 and beyond. The prize in 2015 is not just Acocks Green - that's a key part of defeating the current MP. Interestingly, the Labour vote in Acocks Green and across Yardley translated almost completely across to the European vote (in fact, we only lost 9000 votes between the locals and the Europeans across the entire city, with 93,000 votes cast in Birmingham for our European candidates). The LibDem vote pretty much halved, which means that we would have won both Acocks Green and South Yardley and UKIP would have taken Stechford and Yardley North and Sheldon, if that vote had translated to the local contests.

For those who missed it, here's the result:

Roger Harmer (Lib Dem)  2679
Rachel Seabright (Labour) 2041
Amanda Baker (Green)     422
Charlotte Hodivala (Con)   372
Eamonn Flynn (TUSC)      254
Peter Johnson (SDP)         98

So, congratulations again to Roger and to his campaign manager, Iain (who I'd also like to thank again for his service to the ward over his years as a councillor and wish him well for the future). It is really easy to forget that we don't (I think) actually dislike each other and we'll work together for Acocks Green.