Tower Hill Library Campaign

Today Jon Hunt submitted 917 signatures to the city council's budget meeting in support of Tower Hill Library.

The library has been under threat since managers came up with a plan to close it for three months in December. We stopped that - but had to concede two days of closure including Saturday.

The argument was it was the least used library in the Perry Barr constituency. The figures were dodgy (based on lunchtime closures) and in fact it is the only library in the heart of the constituency. Nobody wants libraries to close anyway.

So what are the chances? The council's leadership has declared it is not closing libraries - but today's meeting agreed massive savings from constituency budgets. The constituency committee will discuss libraries later this month - and we predict another huge tranche of signatures will be ready for that meeting!

There are several things that can be done - even in spite of the massive budget cuts the council has to make. The campaign is winnable and, as councillors, we must make sure it is won - as losing this library would rip the heart from our community. Saving money on local council management and getting the council to put in place its plan for city-wide savings on library budgets (by using more automatic machines and cutting costs, not by closing them) are among the options.

Photo: Jon and Ray begin collection of signatures outside the library.

Bin bag pile-up

Residents who read the papers will have an idea of why so little refuse has been collected this week.

The refuse collectors are taking industrial action. On Mondays they strike and the rest of the week they "work to rule" - which means not doing overtime and various go-slow techniques.

The council has hired extra crews to try to clear the backlog but the combination of rubbish left over from the snow, Christmas rubbish and the go-slow has made this a tough job.

We're now being told the backlog in this ward will not be cleared by the weekend - as they are still working on the backlog from Monday and Tuesday.

We do not think this is acceptable. We are pressing the council to take on more temporary staff. We have made it clear to senior managers and leaders of the council that this area is taking a big hit. We don't think the council can buckle in to the industrial action which is about long-running issues over overtime, pay etc which must be resolved. Once this is settled the council plans to take on permanent extra staff to make up for reductions in overtime working (which had become a routine part of the working week and was effectively preventing the creation of extra jobs.).

We also think the snow was used as an excuse for not collecting rubbish (on health and safety grounds). This picture shows a private refuse collection vehicle using Derrydown Road. It wasn't a council vehicle but showed that a council vehicle could easily have got down that road in the week before Christmas - yet it was missed on that Wednesday. Thankfully the black bags have now been cleared from Derrydown after we highlighted this.

Many thanks to all those residents who have contacted councillors about non-collection. Believe it or not we want those calls! We have highlighted every complaint we have received and, as during the snow, will badger managers to take action on roads that are missed. So we do also want to know when a road does get collected. We are doing our own patrols but may not check every road. Drop an email to councillors@perrybarr.com

Tree planting ideas

The estates of Great Barr and Perry Barr were built in the woods on the edge of the historic Cannock Chase. Lots of trees survived the house-building and new ones were planted down the new roads.

This all helped to mop up the water and the hillside streams displaced by the house-building.

So for local reasons, as well as good global ones, we've been keen to retain trees and find sites to plant new ones. It's not always easy and sometimes the wrong roadside trees can annoy residents and cause serious nuisance. Shortage of parking space has also played havoc with trees as front-gardens have been up-rooted and drop kerbs installed.

Mostly residents like their tree-lined roads and the woody view from a thousand trees growing in back gardens. In one or two cases we've been able to support community tree planting - where residents have undertaken to help maintain new trees planted by the council.

Sometimes there's a stretch of grass verge which could take more trees - or a patch of land. There's nothing like a cherry blossom in the spring!

Do you have any ideas? If so here's a new on-line scheme from the Woodland  Trust to help you. It allows you to select trees and see how they would look on your photos.

Interested? Give it a try:  http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/myview

New advice bureau arrangements

Councillor advice bureaux will continue to be on Wednesday evenings but there have been some changes of venue, starting this week.

The weekly advice bureau in Perry Barr/Great Barr will now take place at the Trehurst Community Centre between 7pm and 8pm. That can be found just behind the Neighbourhood Office building on Beeches Road.

A monthly advice bureau for the Witton area will take place on the second Wednesday of the month at 5.45-6.45pm at the Witton Community Centre, Deykin Avenue.

We are currently awaiting details of a venue for a new monthly advice bureau on the Yew Tree estate. In the meantime if you cannot make another venue, please call our office on 240 9689 to arrange to see a councillor.

Neighbourhood Office and Advice

Jon Hunt writes:
The future of the Beeches Road Neighbourhood Office has been under review for some time. Originally it was opened as a walk-in office but as residents know, its hours have increasingly shrunk and talks have been going on for some time about the best way to provide neighbourhood advice services..

As councillors we take a special interest as we hold our weekly advice sessions in the same office on Wednesday nights.

So I was a little shocked to turn up last Wednesday and see notices announcing it would close this Thursday on July 22nd.

I have contacted senior managers and as a result advice workers will continue to work from the office throughout the summer. They will only see residents by appointment however. If you need an appointment please call 303 1111. So final closure will not take place until the autumn.

Three questions to answer, then.
What's happening to advice services?
What's happening to the Beeches Road Neighbourhood Office?
What's happening to our councillors advice bureaux?

Advice services: these will mainly be by appointment in the future.This enables workers to manage their time and ensures no queuing. The advice workers tend to be expert in the benefit and housing system and if you need help with these, please do use their services and call 0121 303 1111 to make an appointment.

The management plan was to create a base at the Old Oscott community centre where advice workers could keep their appointments with local people.

We've said this is not good enough. There needs to be a base in the Beeches Road/Walsall Road area. Many users of services will need to use buses and we don't think Old Oscott is accessible to our constituents.

Beeches Road Neighbourhood Office:
This is a good building and we're pressing for it to be kept in community use. It's right next door to the Trehurst Community Centre, which is currently housed in a container. So that's one possibility.

Councillor Advice Bureau:
We're currently reviewing all our venues - as they all have to change - but intend to keep the same schedule as in the past. That is weekly at 7pm in the Great Barr/Perry Barr area, first Wednesday of the month on the Yew Tree estate at 5.45pm and second Wednesday of the month in Witton - probably back at the refurbished Witton Community Centre.

Because we've been using schools in Witton and Yew Tree, we've not been able to open in the school holidays recently. We're hoping we will be able to offer a holiday-time service soon. But please bear in mind we take holidays too - so we may not be able to open every week.

In the meantime if you want an appointment with a councillor during August please call our office on 303 4204.

Turnberry Woods clean-up

Snow and rubbish

The heavy snow in the middle of last week meant most of the rubbish collections were not done.

Crews worked on Saturday to catch up but didn't manage to clear the backlog. As today is bin day for most of Perry Barr, we hope most bags and boxes will be cleared today.

We're now asking residents to let us know which areas are worst affected. We know that in some roads bags have split spilling rubbish.

Most people realised collections were missed because of the snow and have been pretty patient. But please don't put up with rubbish on your road. Let us know! You can post here or email cllrs @ perrybarr.com . (You'll have to type out this email address as I've added spaces to prevent spam).

We have a good local cleaning team, which will tackle the worst areas. We also have access to extra help over the next few weeks - but we need to know where the problems are!

Happy Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year

Delivery of the annual Christmas card and calendar is now well under way. And this year's has a historical mystery.

The photograph shows Perry Pool House, Perry Barr, pictured in 1909. But where was Perry Pool House? We have studied the 1890 maps of Perry Barr and cannot find a trace of it on the River Tame or by the pool in Perry Barr Park.

A day out over the holiday?

Would you like a day out over the Christmas holiday? Here are some offers you may not have heard about.

You can get a £5 day return ticket to London from Snow Hill or Moor Street. You have to book in advance using London Midlands' "rapid advance purchase" system.

You can also get a £10 day rover ticket which allows you to travel anywhere on the London Midland service.

These are special ticket offers the company has agreed following its failure to run Sunday services earlier this year. This emerged at the meeting of the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority yesterday. There are 400,000 of the London tickets and just 50,000 day rover tickets so expect to have to hunt around to find the offers. This is the London Midland site.

* In a second development at the ITA, Jon Hunt was pleased to put through a ground-breaking deal to ensure the future of the Ring and Ride service. Centro has agreed to fund Ring and Ride for at least three years, enabling Ring and Ride to invest in new services and equipment with a view to carrying more passengers more efficiently.

If you have special transport needs and are eligible to use Ring and Ride, look out for special day-time trips such as shopping expeditions.

* And there's more good news on public transport because for the first time in donkey's years, bus fares on National Express West Midlands - that's the old TWM - will not be going up in the New Year.

Queslett Road lights hold up

Today Jon Hunt raised the deadlock on the Queslett Road/Nova Court junction at the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority.

As a result Centro is to talk to Sandwell and Birmingham Councils to try to get joint working resumed on this junction.

Queslett Road, as has been well reported, has had a tragically high accident rate in recent years with several unpleasant crashes near this particular junction.

Speaking to the authority Jon stressed that quite a lot has been done. New traffic light junctions have been installed at Netherhall, close to Nova Court, and at Asda a little further on. In addition there are speed cameras on this stretch of road.

However access to Nova Court and the estate around it remains hazardous.

At last month's ward committee, the Perry Barr councillors were told that Sandwell Council had withdrawn its support for lights at this junction, claiming they are not necessary any more. Birmingham officers said they are now looking at other ways to spend their share of the cash to improve safety here. However, without lights, this junction is always going to be hazardous.

The Transport Authority received a report on progress in the region which stated that:
1/ road casualty rates are still too high'
2/ the local authorities do not think there are many more major engineering schemes that can be put in place to deal with the problem.

Jon took his opportunity, asking who could "bang heads together" and gained backing from officers and members for taking up the problem.

Ward committee in Witton

Perry Barr ward committee meets on Monday at 7pm at the Methodist Church, Wyrley Road, Witton.

The main topic is the proposed Aston and Lozells Action plan. It proposes a new zoning arrangement for Witton, between industrial and domestic housing. We had some concerns about the plans we saw as they did not include Deykin Avenue School. We have been assured this will be corrected.

A second major issue is the fate of the Serpentine Site, which used to be a supermarket and is now a parking area for Villa and includes the Villa Leisure Centre. It was previously intended it would be for housing and leisure - it is now being zoned for industry and commerce.

Whatever happens, it needs cleaning up. However we are concerned it will leave the Yew Tree estate isolated and also that earlier plans to replace or develop the Villa Leisure Centre should not be abandoned.

Art exhibition

A terrific art exhibition by the Perry Beeches Art Group at St Paul's Church Hall, Great Barr, today, demonstrating some hidden talent in Perry Barr and Great Barr.

This group started just six years ago in the Trehurst Community Centre. They have had a little bit of community chest to help them along.

There were pictures to see - but the group has also produced its own calendar for next year.

Many of the artists had never believed they could paint before they joined the group. Yet all produced a range of excellent and interesting pictures in a range of styles. We understand that one of our Christmas cards inspired an intriguing painting of the old Perry Mill Farm, which stood roughly where One-Stop is at Perry Barr.

The photos here show secretary Jill Barnard with proofs of the calendar. It costs just £5 and can be obtained by calling Jill on 358 0781.

There's another opportunity to take up art on Wednesday nights, we hear. Classes are held at Great Barr School at 6.30pm. The contact is Mrs H Davies at the school.

Speedway Hopes and Trees

Two developments on Wednesday which offer hope of a rapid solution to keeping Speedway at Perry Barr.

Firstly during the evening the Speedway tested out the new reduced noise exhaust systems on Wednesday night. The aim is to reduce noise levels by about 10 decibels.

Jon and Karen listened at various locations and were pleased to note the way it reduced the volume of noise across Perry Barr. If you live in the area of the track we'd value your feedback (please email with your address ) on the success of this.

Earlier in the day Karen, Ray and Jon visited the track and met promoter Graham Drury to discuss further environmental measures.

This was an exciting and productive meeting. Graham is suggesting planting about 100 metres of fast-growing high conifer trees along the line of the bank of the River Tame. We've expressed concerns that the river is acting as an echo chamber - you can see in the picture behind Ray Hassall, there's a chain-link fence and then the river, which is flanked by factory walls. Once fully grown, this line of trees would help prevent sound reaching the river and screen the track from both the Nash Square and Cliveden/Teddington neighbourhoods of Perry Barr.

It would also have a big environmental impact. It would hugely improve the appearance of Perry Barr as you approach it from the Birchfield flyover and would provide a green, leafy backdrop to the stadium.

Ray said: "As everybody knows, I've made it my mission in recent years to get trees back into Birmingham. This proposal from the Speedway would make a big contribution as well as helping to ensure the noise from racing does not give residents cause to complain in future years.

"I shall be doing what I can to provide advice and support to Speedway to make this happen and have begun talks with our experts in the parks department."

He added: "During the three years I was cabinet member for the leisure department we increased the rate of tree planting from 1,000 trees a year to 3,000 trees."

Speedway result

Planning committee today deferred a decision on speedway at Perry Barr for one year "minded to approve" and with a request to the officers to come up with appropriate conditions.

This is a wise decision very much in line with the submissions from the local councillors and many local residents, who wanted to see noise problems resolved before permanent permission is given.

The committee made it clear they want to ensure that the reduced noise exhaust systems are being introduced into speedway. Members were also supportive of our suggestion that other measures need to be taken.

The issue has generated a lot of heat and misrepresentation in the last few days as emotions have run high in some quarters.

Here is the text of what Jon Hunt said the planning committee this morning:

"Mr chairman, committee members,

Most residents are happy to live with speedway and let fans enjoy it. They just want something done about the noise. I am here to advocate solutions.

Unlike the old Perry Barr speedway, which was banked, this track is open in several directions. In addition the River Tame is flanked by factories and acts as an echo chamber creating some weird acoustic effects.

Reduced noise from the bikes would be welcome and I hope very much would work - but we also need specific measures to close boundaries of the track.

Tall fencing would be good and what about some tall, leafy trees?

Speedway says it wants to be good neighbours and many of its fans tell me it’s a community activity. We need to see it invest in good neighbourliness, not run down the residents affected by the problem as NIMBYs. Please don’t denigrate the genuine concerns of residents who have been to see me about this on a regular basis over the last three years."

Park-life

Volunteers spent Saturday planting new flower beds in the moat area of Perry Hall Park and working on clearing and tidying up the stream through the "Chinese garden".

Volunteers, police, park staff and local councillors all worked together in the latest stage of the enhancement of this park.

Second picture shows Cllr Jon Hunt planting a bed all on his own and the third picture shows some of the thousands of goldfish that now inhabit the moat.

Sadly work on enhancing another of our parks, Turnberry Park, is being blighted by the vandals who are flytipping large amounts of rubbish in its woodland. Details to follow.

Speedway decision on Thursday

The application for permanent planning permission for the Speedway at Perry Barr is to go to the planning committee on Thursday.

The current recommendation to the committee, from the city's planning officers, is to refuse the application.

That is because the council's environmental protection department have advised there is no way of guaranteeing that the noise can be controlled. They argue that the reduction of 10db promised through new exhaust systems cannot be enforced if it does not go ahead and concur with local residents and businesses that the current level of noise is not tolerable.They also confirm what we have been saying - that the planning decision is the best point to settle problems of noise.

In addition there have been heavyweight submissisions from Birmingham City University as well as many from local residents.

Speedway have apparently collected more than 500 signatures of support, including some from residents around the track.

When the return of Speedway was given temporary permission three years ago, the planning committee overruled the advice of officers to refuse it.

We have proposed that a sound proofed high fence be erected on the west side of the site, which adjoins the River Tame. We believe if sound-proofed fences can be used on the motorway they can also be used by the Speedway. The Speedway have told us that this would cost them at least £40,000.

Both Speedway and the environmental protection department agree that they don't think a fence will work.

We say it is a shame it was not tried, when we suggested it a couple of years ago. We've walked the site and note the noise is hitting the south-west corner of Nash Square most, where it is coming up the line of the river, past the factory buildings that lie between Nash Square and the stadium. On the west side of the track there are no buildings to block the noise and that may explain why there are so many complaints from roads lying the other side of the Walsall Road. As this is an industrial site, a high barrier would not be obtrusive.

Directly north of Nash Square a new FE college is to be built. That will almost certainly have evening sessions and could experience the same problems as BCU complains of.

Otherwise, if the decision goes to a straight reject or approve on Thursday, without any attempt at finding a workable solution, there will be a great many people upset.

Cricket review

Review of community cricket in Birmingham announced.

Here is the Birmingham Post report - a useful update on the controversies over the summer over Perry Hall Park.


"Council to review grass roots cricket

Sep 10 2009 by John Marsden, Birmingham Post

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A Birmingham-wide review of grass roots cricket is being launched in a bid to build on the huge enthusiasm for the game following England’s Ashes success this summer......."

Summer News 3 - Booths Farm area

Football in the Park!

Continental Star Football club, Turnberry Park, daily from 10.30am-3pm, Mon to Fri.

NOW RUNNING UNTIL SEPTEMBER 4^TH.

During term-time the club will run on Thursday nights at 5pm until half-term.

 Food provided (free). Contact 07773 321568 for more info; There’s skills training in the morning and games in the afternoon. In the wet weather they use The Motorway Tunnel. All ages welcome from 8 to 18.

Thanks for the Funday

A big thanks to those who supported the FunDay and Classic Cars in the park in June. A special thanks are due to the organisers, Melvin and Pauline, Booths Farm Neighbourhood Forum, the Trehurst Centre and the Booths Farm Neighbourhood Watch.

Improving the Park

We’re continuing step by step improvements to the park.

• The football club is possible because of the £20,000 spent from community chest earlier this year to drain the field after our consultations with you, the local residents.

From community chest we’ve also agreed:

• to replace the barrier at Turnberry Road;
• to replace the litter bin in the children’s play area;
• to install a pair of permanent goal-posts for knock-about football.

Next priority: get the woodland cleared of rubbish. This has been stuck in red tape for years because the woodland is owned by the housing department. Now some ideas are being explored to get round this and make this an area that can be used for pleasant walks.

This wood is NOT a tip!

One set back: money was going to come from the Booths Lane development for the park. Because of financial problems at the Golf Range and the economic depression it looks as if that development may not happen for some time.

Do you have ideas for improving the park? Let us know.

Crime Alert

There are criminals operating in this area. Please ensure you keep security gates closed and locked and watch for any suspicious activity.

Don’t forget you can chat to the local police teams by calling 428 6140

Other summer holiday activities:

     There are also activities at the Alexander Stadium, the GMAC(gymnastics and martial arts) and the Beeches Fitness Centre. These involve small daily charges.

Summer News - Edition Two

Carnival update and details of some summer activities...

1. Birmingham Carnival – new noise controls
   The Carnival is being held in Perry Park on August 2nd. The procession is due to arrive at Church Road between 3.30 and 4.30pm
   
   A number of residents supported us in making a submission to the Licensing Committee about the Carnival so we could get new and tougher noise controls.
   
   The committee has now met and agreed tight restrictions on noise levels.
   
   It’s not to exceed 65 decibels in any nearby properties (including the flats) and there will be professional monitoring on the site. Last time sound levels reached 84db in the Perry Villa estate.
   
   In addition the carnival organisers have agreed to set up a hotline for residents if noise gets intolerable – and to do something about it. We did not get all the restrictions we asked for. However we have explained to the organisers that last time, very loud sound systems were placed facing down the hill in Perry Park – and this sound reflected off the big lake, leading to many complaints on the Beeches Estate.
   
   If you think the noise is getting too loud this time, please call the Carnival hotline 303 3008. By all means let us know also!
   
   We are also looking for a couple of residents to volunteer to host noise monitoring equipment on the day so the problem can be properly monitored. These are small devices which will be installed by the council’s environmental protection unit. Please call Cllr Karen Hamilton 507 1047 if you can assist.
   
   If you are in the usual “exclusion zone”, you should have received a residents’ access pass. Stewards should be directing carnival visitors to the official car parks around the park site and we’ve been promised the Walsall Road closure – which can cause big problems – will be better timed this year.
   The official carnival residents’ hotline is 303 3008.
   
   If you have additional problems, Karen Hamilton is on stand-by to assist in the run-up to the event on 507 1047. During the day you can call the following mobile number 07505 351416.
   
   Perry Park
   As many residents will have noticed, the contractors were ordered to “try again” after they made a hash of the area between Perry Park Crescent and the GMAC. It’s improved but we still don’t think it’s good enough.
   
   We also ordered, through community chest, a pair of goal posts to create a kick-about area that side of the park for local residents.
   
   Some summer holiday activities:
   - Open air play activities for 5-13 year olds, Mon-Fri, all day, Turnberry Park ( access from Trehurst Avenue) until August 7th. Contact 0121 675 8528.
   -Football club, Turnberry Park, daily from 10.30am, Mon to Fri, until August 28th , food provided(free) contact 07773 321568;
   -Holiday club, Beeches Chapel, mornings, July 27 to 31;
   -Thornbridge Allotments Summer Show, Saturday August 8th;
   -There are also activites at the Alexander Stadium, the GMAC(gymnastics and martial arts) and the Beeches Fitness Centre. These involve small daily charges.
   

SUMMER NEWS ROUND-UP

Ward committee – meet your councillors!
Updates on the carnival, speedway and parks are due to be given at the Perry Barr ward committee to be held at 7pm on Monday July 13th at the Methodist Church on Rocky Lane (by junction of Lavendon Road).

Speedway
An application for permanent planning permission has been submitted for this. Residents who live in the vicinity of the stadium will receive further details from us. As ward councillors we recognise the event has many fans but also that the noise disruption from racing is currently intolerable for many people living close by.
This may be the last chance for residents to do anything about the noise.
You can comment on-line at: http://tiny.cc/speedway1 or by writing to: Planning Management, Birmingham City Council, PO Box 28, Alpha Tower, Suffolk Street Queensway, Birmingham B1 1TU .
quoting application number: N/02660/09/FUL. Deadline July 29th

Last posting on this

Birmingham Carnival
A reminder that this is due to be held on Sunday August 2nd . The event’s in Perry Park with parking in Perry Hall Park.
There is to be a licensing hearing on July 20th and many residents have made submissions – so there may be last minute alterations. We have submitted strong evidence that there needs to be better control of noise and that the Carnival Procession needs to keep to time (because of the disruption to traffic lateness causes).
If you live are in the usual “exclusion zone”, you should receive a residents’ access pass the week beforehand. The official residents’ hotline is 303 3008.
If you have additional problems, Karen Hamilton is on stand-by to assist in the run-up to the event on 507 1047.
Last posting on this topic


Perry Hall Park
Two petitions have recently been submitted to the council about issues over this park. The local councillors are fighting a proposal to remove the park warden, who has done excellent work with the Friends of the Park and other volunteers to improve things.
We’ve also followed up complaints about access to cricket pitches and rubbish left following cricket games. The park keeper has mowed practice pitches for people who’d like to try their hand at cricket (but please don’t use hard balls!). In addition we’ve agreed to develop two community playing fields on this side of the river. New football posts will be erected (paid for from community chest), the ground surface checked and repaired to remove hazards and the grass mowed short over the area of a football pitch. A third pitch will go in by Perry Park Crescent on Perry Park when the grassing of this area is finally complete (following mistakes made by the contractors)
Previous postings on this here and here.

Letting Boards
Following complaints from residents and the local councillors, the planning department has launched a crackdown on “TO LET” signs. It’s become clear these are being left up for advertising purposes even when properties have been rented. Please let us know if you think this is happening in your neighbourhood.

Skips
Many thanks to the civic-minded individuals who have ordered skips for neighbourhood clean-ups. If a City Council skip appears on your back-land it is there to enable you to clear the shared land and drive areas. Please do not use them for personal use!

Church Road – will be closed for through traffic July 13th for eight weeks for water mains work.