Alcohol Restricted Zone signs

Friday 16th December

I have written to the head of licensing to see if we can get any further Alcohol Restricted Zone signs for Beckfield Close. Residents have alerted me to an increase in public drinking in this part of the Pennyacre estate. A number of these signs have been put up around the estate. I was successful for getting these around Manningford Road.

Scrutiny Reviews

Wednesday 16th December

I have been to meet officers to see which area of council work I am going to review within local services. I am looking at doing something around 'Customer First' as this will be a new way that enquries will be made through the council. Tradtionally this has been done through neighbourhood offices. I have lobbied the council to make sure that the neighbourhood office on Druids Heath stays open.

Access road Walkers Heath Allotments.

Monday 14th December

Anyone that has visited Walker Heath allotments will notice how bad the access road is. Over the last few months I have been lobbying the council to get something done about this. I am pleased to announce that we have secured some funding for repairs to the drive. No timescales have been set for this work to be done.

Marsham Road issues

Wednesday 9th December

I have been chasing up issues raised around anti social behaviour, graffiti, a gating scheme and broken fences raised at a recent Marsham Road residents meeting.

Any work to clear the alleyway and remove graffiti on garage doors, walls and fences would be organised following the installation of gates to provide only key holder access to the alleyway. The gate installation is going to be funded but it needs to get agreement from all affected residents. This is currently being done. The next meeting is on 9th January.

Druids Heath Tasking Board

Tuesday 8th December

The Board has now been running for one year. This was initially set up as a trial period to try and address some smaller problems such as broken fences, graffiti hot spots etc. We have managed to address about 70 issues by working with our partners to improve the estate. The Board has developed since it was set up and we are now getting funding so we will be developing the Board further to look at longer term issues.

Friends of Jasmin Fields

Monday 7th December

I attended the Friends of Jasmin Fields AGM. It ran smoothly and they mentioned the conservation work that they are doing. They have good links with St Albans School but few links with Woodthorpe School. I have contacted one of the local clergy who has been working on environmental projects within Woodthorpe School to help develop the links.

Campaigning

Wednesday 2nd December

I spent the day sorting out the results from canvassing for the ward that we have been doing over the last few months. I inputted this onto our new database. Unfortunately we don't have a army of paid staff to do this like people think.

Full Council

Tuesday 1st December

A long full council meeting but there were some good discussions. I was particularly interested in the Scrutiny Review of child victims of domestic abuse. This follows on from a review I did a few years ago about domestic violence. As the meeting did not finish until 830pm I didn't get the chance to attend the Friends of Brandwood Pool AGM.

Group meeting

Monday 30th November

The main meeting of the day was our group meeting which is when all of Birmingham's Conservative councillors meet up to discuss major policy issues. We had a long meeting nearly 5 hours. 2 of the main issues that came up were within my areas of scrutiny responsibility, namely neighbourhood offices and localisation of council services. It was a busy meeting for me fielding questions.

Kings Heath South Tasking

Wednesday 25th November

I attended the Kings Heath South Police Tasking meeting. This covers part of Brandwood Ward and Bournville Ward. The police boundaries are different to the political ones, this is changing next year. Nearly all the issues raised were within Bournville Ward as this particular meeting was in Bournville Ward. Luckily they are rotated around the area. The only issues that were raised within Brandwood Ward were parking on Colmore Road and the future of the Mountaineer pub. I was able to update the meeting on these.

Selly Oak Constituency Update

Tuesday 24th November

I attended the Selly Oak Constituency update meeting, which informs councillors of local issues that are coming up. We had an interesting update on new tree planting within the area. A small budget has been made available for this. I have suggested some on Kings Terrace/Hazelwell Drive and All Saints Road.

Commissioning Meeting

Monday 23rd November

I have been to a commissioning meeting to discuss employment funding for the selly oak constituency, I want to make sure that Brandwood Ward gets its share. A number of schemes were approved including the benefit advise at the brandwood centre, employment days in Druids Heath and around Allens Croft and catering training.

dumpred rubbish

Thursday 19th November

At a recent scrutiny committee we had a chance to review the work of environmental wardens. I have asked that more enforcement work is done. From my case work I have suggested the following areas:
Druids Heath
Rubbish dumped outside tower blocks.
Litter dropping - Pound Road (around the Precinct) and Idmiston Croft.
Litter dropping- Meadfoot Shops
Dumping in the Chinn Brook
Advancement and untidy gardens - Partons Road
Advancement - Kings Road/Vicarage Road
A focus on advancement by tenants in the Yarningale flats (above shops) and
the rubbish held for long periods in the shops' backyards.
Dumping in dilapidated garages behind houses on Brandwood Park Road
(Brandwood Sports Ground side)
If you want to suggest anywhere let me know.

Strategy Meeting

Wednesday 18th November

I normally do childcare for my daughter today but I have had to sort out a work mishap then off for the 2nd day for the strategy meeting with the management of the council. One of the main areas of discussion was around what should happen with the devolution of constituencies as there is currently a £2 million overspend. The point that I keep making is that residents don't care where services are run from as long as they are a good quality.

Meetings, meetings

Tuesday 17th November

A full day, I have been at strategy meeting with the management of the council for the morning then attended a local services meeting in the afternoon. This did have an unexpected break in the middle as a fire alarm went off which allowed me to pay a brief visit to the Frankfurt market. After all this I attended the Druids Heath Housing Liaison Board. They are a group of dedicated residents of the area who are interested in helping the local community rather than getting involved with petty community politics.

European Exchange Programme

Monday 16th November

Having recovered a bit from the latest lurgy that I've caught from my daughter (she always get the blame) I attended a seminar at the council house on the European exchange programme for local and regional elected representatives. It was very intersting to see how other European cities are run and gave me some ideas on how Birmingham could improve.

Sunderton Road Commerative Stone

Friday 13th November

Unlucky for some but hopefully not for you. You learn things everyday about the area you are involved in. I have been contacted by a resident about a commerative stone on Sunderton Road.

When Sunderton Road was built in the 1950s a commerative stone block was unvailed and erected half way down the road. When the road was rebuilt over the last few years the stone was removed by the developers and put in storage with the highways department. I am trying to find out what happened to this and when it will be put back.

Financial pressures

Thursday 12th November

I had a meeting with the Director of Finance of the Council to discuss the council's budget. I have been concerned about what I have read in the press about the £26 million financial pressures. This is now down to under £10 million. Birmingham's budget seems under control compared to a lot of councils.

Druids Heath meetings

Tuesday 10th November

As ever a balancing act of attending residents meetings and doing my non-council work as I need to get a train to London for 4pm. I chaired the Druids Heath Tasking Board and attended a meeting about the proposed garden at Easterton Croft. I organised the latter meeting to get all the partners around the table to try and take this project forward as the ground has been cleared but nothing else has happened.

Ward Committee

Monday 9th November

The main meeting of the day was the Ward Committee. We only had a few items on the agenda but it still managed to go on for 2 hours. I would normally blame the Chairman but that is me! The main issues that were discussed were parking problems around Allens Croft School , Dawberry Fields Park development and the continual problems with litter around the area.

Co-ordinating Committee

Friday 6th November

Today was the main scrutiny meeting of the month, Co-ordinating Committee which monitors the leadership of the council and does reviews of council related issues. We are doing a review of legal services and catering. We took evidence from catering services. They are often cited as being expensive but from the evidence that we had and questions that were asked I felt they provided good value for money.

Thrive Football Strip Amnesty

Thursday 5th November

I have been emailing my friends for an event called a Birmingham (Football) Strip Amnesty. The basic concept is to collect "redundant" replica shirts etc. from fans of our local Premiership and Championship football teams. Timing of this exercise will be between now and the end of year. Kit collected will then be cleaned, packaged and shipped to South Africa for distribution to underprivileged kids during the World Cup next year. If you have any that you would like to donate they can either be sent to me at 279 Harborne Road , Birmingham B15 3JB or I can collect them.

Full Council

Tuesday 3rd November

I have been at full council today - all the normal mud throwing. It only lasted for 4hours which is a record as it normally goes on for at least 6 hours. The main debates were over the transport policy, housing and the spending of the neighbourhood renewal funding. The main excitement came over the latter with lots of finger pointing and accusations.

Allens Croft School Visit

Monday 2nd November

I had a variety of meetings around the city today including one with the Head Teacher of Allens Croft School. Among other things we discussed the Ofsted inspection that is coming soon, improvements within the school and the school’s role within the local community. I try to meet with people and groups within the ward on a regular basis to keep up to date with what they are doing.

Drugs and Alcohol Review

Friday 30th October

We are drawing to the end of the Scrutiny Review that I am leading on drugs and alcohol in Birmingham. This has been taking place for the last year, and we have had evidence from a variety of people including users, police and service providers. I met up with some Council officers to pass on what I would like to be included in the review, including making sure that people in their 20s are not missed out of the provision of support, that provision needs to be as localised as possible and that professionals need to be able to get on with their work without their hands being tied. There are usually about 10 recommendations from Scrutiny Reviews.

Meeting with Inspiring People

Thursday 29th October

I attended an interesting meeting, as part of the drugs and alcohol review, where I had the chance to meet people that had previously been treated for drugs and alcohol addiction, but who have now totally changed their lives and are now helping out other people that have fallen upon hard times. It was very inspiring to listen to them.

Cabinet Member Interview

Tuesday 27th October

I had the chance today to meet up with the Cabinet Member for Local Services and raise questions with him about his portfolio. I spoke with him about neighbourhood working, the problems with crime while the recession continues and anti-social behaviour - which is a major concern for law-abiding residents.

Devolution of Council Services

Monday 26th October

Our weekly meeting of the review group for the role of constituencies in the provision of services. Today we were looking at local centres of excellence. The review group is due to report to the management of the council in a few weeks. I’m sure that most people don’t mind who runs the services as long as they are efficient.

Tower Blocks

Friday 23rd October

I have had several enquiries over the last few days about the demolition of some tower blocks on Druids Heath, these rumours aren't true.

There has been some discussion about this in the past, when Labour was the ruling group on the council. The first time was when the Council was looking at doing a stock transfer of the council houses, but this was rejected by the residents.

The second was when the Tennant Management Organisation (TMO) for Druids Heath was in existence - while they were looking at developing the estate there was some discussion about pulling down some tower blocks. This never got off the ground as the TMO were only responsible for the repair of council houses, not building new houses.

Employment, Regeneration and Commissioning Group

Thursday 22nd October

I am part of the Employment, Regeneration and Commissioning Group for Selly Oak Constituency which aims to help people back to work or employment related issues. There are a number of projects for Brandwood Ward that have been put forward. These are from the following:
The Spearhead Trust/ Bells Farm to help 200 young people with employment related issues
Project for the Renewal of Druids Heath project aims to raise awareness of the employment, training and volunteering opportunities within the area
Brandwood Centre to have the benefits and advice surgery
The Council are proposing some Employment Day at Allens Croft and surroundings areas.

Constituency Committee Meeting

Tuesday 20th October

Went to the the Constituency Committee meeting which is made up of the councillors of Billesley, Bournville, Brandwood and Selly Oak where issues that affect the whole constituency are discussed. The main items on the agenda were environmental activities, Section 106 agreements and the budget. I am pleased that Selly Oak is one of the few constituencies to have a balanced budget.

Another Licence Application on Druids Heath

Monday 19th January

I attended the alcohol licensing application for Durford Croft, Druids Heath at the Licensing Committee. This is the 3rd application this year from premises on Druids Heath for a licence to sell alcohol. I spoke against the application. The application was approved as the application changed their hours of selling alcohol from 7am to 10pm to midday to 8pm. The application was approved but there was a condition put on the selling of alcohol that when the premises are open for business but not allowed to sell alcohol then the alcohol has to be stored in locked units.

Connecting Communities

Friday 16th October

Parts of Birmingham including Druids Heath are getting a slice of £12million of funding for a new initiative to "connect communities" by tackling perceptions of unfairness and community tensions in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. This is based around concerns about jobs, migration, access to housing and anti-social behaviour but it recognises that more intensive engagement is needed in these communities to avoid the danger that extremists will try to exploit dissatisfaction and insecurity in ways which pull communities apart.

Community Garden, Easterton Croft

Thursday 15th October

There have been a lot of conversations around having a community garden at Easterton Croft. The area was cut back but is in danger of being overgrown. I met up with some people from the Druids Heath Neighbourhood Forum to discuss how to take this project forward as they were the ones that originally came up with the idea.

From the meeting, I agreed that I would organise a meeting of the relevant partners including the probation service, councillors, residents etc. This will allow a strategy to develop to take this project forward.

Full Council

Tuesday 13th October

The main meeting of the day was full council, this is where council policy is discussed, councillors can hold the Executive to account and motions can be put forward to highlight issues.

The main area of interest today was the scrutiny review that was done on the problems with protecting children and improving children's social care following several high profile cases. This had a lot of interest from councillors and had a lot of national press following the report's launch last week. I just hope that it helps the most vulnerable children in society.

Druids Heath Tasking Board

Monday 12th October

I had a day full of meetings within the ward and at the council house. I had our councillors' group meeting which discusses the full council agenda and major policy areas. I left this early to head off to the neighbourhood tasking meeting on Druids Heath.

This meeting is well run by the police in the area who are very dedicated to the needs of the community that they serve. The main issues that came up were the anti-social behaviour on Shrewton Avenue, the off road driving of motorbikes and kids hanging around in tower blocks. The police will report back on the action that they take at the next meeting in a month's time.

Missed refuse collection

Friday 9th October

It has been a quiet day with case work. I normally get 4-5 enquiries a day. I communicate through Facebook, Twitter, the web, newsletters, letters, emails, my blog etc. It seems the more work you do, the more case work you generate. The thing I enjoy most about being a councillor is trying to help people address their concerns.

I contacted Lifford Lane about the problems with consistent missed multi-material collection for Garretts Walk. Crates are put out for collection by the crews and for some reason are missed. This has happened so often that inevitably a loss of confidence in the service has set in and participation has been withdrawn.


I know from other parts of Druids Heath that the council is about to roll out innovative solutions to capture recyclable material from the tower blocks, which will go some way to meeting the tough targets we have set ourselves.

All Saints Church

Thursday 8th October

I met up with some people who has been involved with the development of the All Saints Project in Kings Heath. They outlined the plans to me.

They have applied for planning permission and it will go to the Planning Committee within the next few months. I hope it will be granted. They will start on site in the middle of 2010 and they hope it will be built by this time next year. The money has come through both fund raising and the council. It is hoped that they will get further funding from the lottery.

Druids Heath Management Board

Tuesday 6th October

I had my monthly meeting of the Druids Heath Tasking Board. The main issues that were discussed were about the proposed community garden at Easterton Croft, the renovation of Manningford Hall by the probation service and anti-social behaviour around tower blocks.

Council devolution

Monday 5th October

The main meeting of the day was to discuss how the devolution of constituencies can be strengthened. Constituencies like other parts of the council are under financial pressures. The constituencies have been particularly under pressure with the leisure centres. Selly Oak Constituency, under which Brandwood falls, has managed to keep a balanced budget. We have also managed to make Cocks Moors Woods a successful leisure centre.

Old buildigs demolished

Friday 2nd October

The council are looking at demolishing a number of vacant buildings/ garages and looking at putting residential property on them. The sites are on Shelfield Road, Tunnel Lane and Dawberry Fields Road.

The Dawberry Fields Road site was previously the location of 12 Cornish construction flats, which were demolished in 2001 (following approval to clear and redevelop).

The site in Shelfield Road contains two semi-detached houses, which were previously used by the Social Services Adoption and Fostering Team as office accommodation; they were vacated and handed back to the Housing Department in February 2008. The total cost of de-converting these houses back into residential use is in excess of £125,000 and is therefore not considered to be a financially viable option.

Adjacent to these two properties is a large garage site, which is in poor condition with many vandalised garages. None of the 32 garages are currently let. Due to their poor condition and as the site has attracted anti-social behaviour arrangements are being made for demolition of these garages.

The site in Tunnel Lane is a small garage site, there were previously 6 garages located on the site. Three have already been demolished leaving, only one of the remaining garages is currently in use

Premier Court street lighting

Thursday 1st October

I have been chasing the street lighting in Premier Court, Monyhull Hall Road, for what seems like a life time. Below is part of the response that I have got from the council

"It seems we are waiting for the mains connection to the street light; this does not explain why ithas taken so long and it would be easy for me to blame Energy Services butthey are not to blame for this. To get the matter sorted out I have spoken
to the manager at Energy Services about when the connection can be
completed and although he has not yet got back to me with a firm date, it
is likely to be next week."

Lets hope this is the case as it has been going on for ages.

Friends of Brandwood Pool

Wednesday 30th September

I attended the Friends of Brandwood Pool a fairly new group that has been set up to work on the conservation of the pool. A lot of people don't know of this but it is a beautiful spot. It is by Brandwood End Cemetery, the area by Sunderton Road. The main discussion was around the removal of graffiti, anti-social behaviour and having further clean up days. Following the meeting I have written to the council and the police as residents were unhappy with the amount of empty beer cans that are dropped by the pool.

Local services committee

Tuesday 29th September

After meeting with officers to discuss the council budget, I chaired the monthly meeting of the local services committee. The main items were evidence gathering for our drugs and alcohol review, local area agreements and the budgets for the committee.

Ward advisory Board

Monday 28th September

After delivering leaflets on Druids Heath, I went to the Ward Advisory Board. This is a group that consists of resident groups, voluntary groups, councillors etc. The main items that were discussed were the park ranger service within the ward, community chest spending and how local groups have benefitted from this and neighbourhood improvements.

Newark Grove

Friday 18th September

I have been chasing the council about the problems within Newark Grove. I have been advised that the walkway between 1 Newick Grove and 163/173 Brandwood Park Road is to be gated up at both ends of the walkway. Also, there are investigations around the possability of blocking off the road access to the disused garage site at the side of 12 and 14 Newick grove. This would involve a bollard and trip rail. I have been told that the residents are supportive of this.

Problem Parking Monyhull

Thursday 17th September

Following a number of complaints that I have recieved about illegal parking and broken bollards on Monyhull Hall Road (end towards Broad Lane) I have contacted the council and the police. The council have said that they will replace the broken bollards and the police will take appropriate enforcement action.

50 bus terminus

Tuesday 15th September

I have contacted National Exress, Diamond and Centro as residents are still complaining about bus drivers using the 50 terminus as a toilet. I know that National Express have an agreement with the bookies on Bells Lane for use of their toilet facilities but I am still getting complaints. I want to know what they are doing to prevent this and what their views are on on a super loo. When I looked at this I was amazed to discover that they have a capital cost/set up cost of approximately £30k and a yearly revenue cost of £25k.

Council Management

Monday 14th September

I attended the Executive Management Team Meeting of the council to discuss the devolution of services within the council. I made the following points: that the constituencies need to manage their budgets better and that councillors need to have more control over direct expenditure within their ward. 110 of the 120 councillors only have direct control of £150,000 within the ward they represent, not very much out of a £3 billion budget.

Friends of Jasmin Fields

Saturday 13th September

I had a busy day in the ward delivering leaflets and attending some local community events. The main one was the Friends of Jasmin Field open day. This is a group of residents who, with the help of the council, have set up a group to maintain an area off Bayston Road. The main part of the day was to raise awareness about conservation. To show that councillors from different parties can work together I made a bird box with a Labour Councillor.

Co-ordinating committee

Friday 11th September

I am a member of the council co- ordinating committee this is the main council committee where we get the chance to raise major issues with senior people in the council. Today is the turn of the chief executive. He got quite a hard time from councillors from all parties. This was particularly around single status, stopping additional papers been circulated at committee meetings and the pay deal with staff.

South Birmingham Community Radio

Thursday 10th September

South Birmingham Community Radio are based at the Maypole Centre on Druids Heath. They are internet based radio station but have had temporary licenses in the past for the radio itself, the last 1 was a few months ago. They are focussed on the local community and their activities.

They have contacted me about signing a petition, which I have, to support the sustainability and growth of community radio by substantially increasing the resources of the Community Radio Fund. The link is
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/allthevoices/

Druids Heath Management Board

Tuesday 8th September

A busy day. In the morning I was delivering leaflets for our Parliamentary Candidate, Nigel Dawkins in Kings Heath. I chaired the Druids Heath Management Board Meeting. The main discussion points were around the 50 bus terminus, empty properties and crossing Bells Lane.

In the afternoon it was Full Council, which lasted for 6 hours. Not one of my favourite meetings of the month as it is like the House of Commons, a bit of a mud slinging session and all the important decisions are taken by the Cabinet of the Council rather than in the Council Chamber.

Haunch Lane License Application

Monday 7th September

First meeting of the day was attending a licensing committee hearing for the license application on Haunch Lane. I spoke against the application as did a local resident but as the police didn't object to the application the license was approved.

In the afternoon there was a Conservative Group meeting. We have this the day before Full Council where we discuss the issues that are coming up. A number of issues were discussed: the local bi-election in Sparkbrook, PFI and the General Election.

Special Collection

Sunday 6th September

Off to deliver some special collection (unwanted bulky items) leaflets for Taylor Road, Beechwood Road, Tudor Road, Hartswell Drive and Maple Croft. The council will be carrying out this collection on 14th September. Residents can leave unwanted items outside their house and the council will collect these for free. All of the ward is done each year. This is funded from the council centrally and local community chest funding. We support this as it is popular with the local community.

Recycling in tower blocks

Thursday 3rd September

The Council has a target of providing recycling of 3 or more materials to 99% of the households in the city by March 2010, this includes flats.

The Council are looking at putting facilities in the following tower blocks: Middlefield/Harrison/Parker Houses - Britford Close
Kingswood/Saxelby/Barrett Houses - Kimpton Close

The Council believe that there is space near the blocks to put a recycling centre consisting of a paper bank and 3 glass banks. This would enable residents to recycle paper/card and colour separated glass/cans as cans are able to be put into the brown glass bank. With Britford Close it would be on the grass verge opposite Harrison House and with Kimpton Close it has been suggested to locate them on the wide
pavement area on the junction with Bells Lane - outside Barrett House.

I support recycling but have raised some questions
How often would this be emptied?
Who will be doing the emptying?

Kings Heath Park

Wednesday 2nd September

Whilst Kings Heath Park isn't within Brandwood Ward, it is a stones throw away. I have had a number of enquiries about the play area within the park. I am pleased to say that orders are being raised to replace the two pieces of play equipment which were removed a short while ago from the main play area adjacent to The Avenue car park. The Council are also investigating what opportunities may be available for carrying out future improvements of the play areas, including potential S106 and other funding sources.

One Way/ No Entry Signage All Saints Road

Tuesday 1st September

Following my post last week the council have acted quickly to my response to improve the signage for no entry into All Saints Road from Abbots Road and 1 way signage at the top of All Saints Road.

Highways Maintenance are going to re-orientate the `No entry’ sign and an order has been raised to install additional carriageway marking to highlight the one way system along All Saints Road.

Election campaigning

Sunday 30th August

Spent a large part of the day helping out with a Local Government bi-election in Sparkbrook. I am expecting the turnout to be very low as judging from the canvassing that I have done, people are still fed up with MPs and their expenses. Whilst I don't expect the Conservatives to win. It is important for councillors to go and help in these challenging areas as there are not many helpers and we need to try and get more of a presence here.

Alcohol License Application, Durnford Croft

I have been notified of another alcohol license application on Druids Heath, this time at Durnford Croft.

• I am concerned that this will lead to more anti-social behavior which is already a problem within the area.

• Litter is already a problems within the area despite the increased resources that are put into the area. Again I believe this will add to this.

• This could lead to the selling of cheap alcohol as there are other stores selling alcohol nearby. There has been a recent license to sell alcohol on Pound Road that was given approval. There are already problems of alcohol within the area, this is just the sort of thing that will add to this.

If you wish to object to this application ref no. 62852 you can so by contacting
Licensing Section, Crystal Court, Aston Cross Business Village, 50 Rocky Lane, B’ham, B6 5RQ, Tel: 0121 303 9896, E-mail: licensing@birmingham.gov.uk.

One Way problems in All Saints Road

Thursday 27th August

Following several enquiries within the last few days I have written to the council about the problems with no entry/ one way signage issues at the corner of All Saints Road/ Abbots Road.

The no entry signs at the junction with Abbots Road are not very well placed and currently do not face the correct way. The problem isn't helped by the fact that lorries leaving Sainsburys drive down the wrong way of the road.

Old Petrol Station, Bells Lane

Tuesday 25th August

I have had several recent enquiries about what is happening with the old petrol station on Bells Lane, Druids Heath, by the British Legion Club.

I have been informed by a council officer that there are no plans. In February 2005 approval was given for erection of a driving test centre on the site. However, I understand that the Driving Standards Agency is no longer pursuing that proposal.

Catch up

24th August

I have been away over the last week and come back to 400 emails and 200 letters. This is where I wish I had someone do to my admin. People think that councillors have back room staff to do all this work, if only. Luckily there doesn’t seem to be any major problems whilst away. Leaflets going out, canvassing being done and some residents enquiries have been resolved.

Crossing Bells Lane/ Kimpton Close

Friday 14th August

I have been contacted by some residents who have heard that a crossing will be built at Bells Lane /Kimpton Close. I have written in support of a proposal for a crossing here, and this also has support from Centro, National Express and Diamonds Buses. This scheme is still in its infancy stage, with information gathering currently underway. The Council will be carrying out a feasibility assessment and will consult me on the design proposals. The Council are looking at having a pedestrian refuge here.

Alcohol License Haunch Lane

Thursday 13th August

I have written a letter of objection to the selling of alcohol from the post office on Haunch Lane, see letter below.

In my role as Ward Chairman of the Brandwood Ward Committee I would like to comment upon the recently application for the selling of alcohol from the Post Office on Haunch Lane, Kings Heath. It is proposed for opening hours from 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week.

• I am concerned that this will lead to more anti-social behavior and it is currently a hot spot.

• Litter is already a problems within the area despite the increased resources that are put into the area. Again I believe this will add to this.

• This could lead to the selling of cheap alcohol as there are other stores selling alcohol nearby. Where measures have been put in place in the city centre to stop the selling of cheap alcohol this has helped reduce alcohol related problems. There are already problems of alcohol within the area, this is just the sort of thing that will add to this.

50 Bus Terminus

Tuesday 11th August

I had busy day in the ward delivering leaflets in Kings Heath and Druids Heath, attending the Druids Heath Neighbourhood Board meeting and a site visit about the 50 bus terminus. A good day to be out and about as the weather was so hot. A bit too hot to be delivering leaflets.

The main items that came up at the Board meeting were facilities for children, dispersal orders and funding for the area.

The purpose of the 50 bus terminus meeting was to look at issues around rubbish and the bus drivers going to the toliet around the area. It was agreed to look at putting a toilet there and trying to get joint funding for this.

Residents meetings

Monday 10th August

A busy day attending various things within the ward and around Birmingham.

In the morning I attended the demolition of 171 Sunderton Road an old community building. A few knocks from the digger and its over. This will be replaced by a new facility opposite.

In the afternoon I attended a street stall that was being organised by a charity Compassion in world farming. They were trying to highlight issues around animal welfare. I was the only councillor out of 120 that took up the invite to visit tyhe stand.

In the evening I attended the Druids Heath Neighbourhood Tasking meeting. The main issues that arose were anti social behaviour on Shrewton Avenue, dispersal orders and the increase in Quad bikes.

Grass verge cutting

Friday 7th August

The cutting of the grass verges is going well and everywhere looks good apart from the verge alongside the cemetery in Broad Lane which has not been cut, and is now overhanging the road in places and obstructing the view along Broad Lane for people exiting the cemetery. I have written to the Council to request that this is done ASAP.

Bus changes

Thursday 6th August

Whilst the council are not responsible for buses, I have had a lot of contact about the recent changes and I have been in regular contact with National Express over the last few months, trying to make sure that our area is covered well by bus services.

The main points from the network review of buses are:

27 will turn around at Alcester Lane End (near Wynfield Gardens /Leander Gardens ) rather than Allens Croft Road /Vicarage Road
The 85 will cease to exist
The 76 will run 4 times an hour and will go via Grove Road - Brandwood Road - Dawberry Fields Road - Doversley Road - Brandwood Park Road - Brandwood Road - Grove Road - Vicarage Road then onto Solihull .

The changes to the 76, 85 and 27 will happen from 6th September - no date has been set for the other changes but I assume they will be later this year.

License Application Jays, Pound Road

Wednesday 5th August

The application by Jays on Pound Road, Druids Heath went to the Licensing Sub Committee C today and was given approval for the selling of alcohol. I did write a letter of objection based around crime hotspot and anti social behaviour but to no avail.

Concern has been raised with me, that at the meeting documents from the previous application were not allowed to be introduced at this hearing and a police inspector attended and wasn't allowed to speak.

Speed warning signs

Tuesday 4th August

Birmingham City Council has placed two Speed Warning Signs (also known as Driver Feedback Signs) at selected locations along Brandwood Road. Residents will know that the section between the Red Lion Public House to the mini-island on Woodthorpe Road regularly experiences speeding traffic. The signs, which will remain in place for a designated period of time, will remind drivers that 30 mph is the lawful speed in a built-up area.

Resident's issues dealt with

Monday 3rd August

One of the main reasons that people come to councillors is that they get fed up with getting passed from person to person. Councillors usually know who is the correct person to speak to. I am pleased that a number of local issues have been sorted out over the last few days including lighting repaired at Dunster Close, lamp post painted at Poston Croft and litter removed from Broad Lane. Any local issues let me know and I will try and address them.

Cocks Moors Woods play area

Friday 31st July

The Cocks Moors Woods play area has been opened. It was a 3 year project funded through Section 106 monies, relating to the developemnt at Sunderton Road. There was some other funding from Cocks Moors Woods/Billesley Better Open Access To Services towards the boat in the play area. This is a support group of parents with children with disabilities committed to working in partnership to promote inclusive practise. The play area is fully accessible to all children and consultation was undertaken with local children by Cocks Moors Woods on the type of equipment.

Cafe on Lindsworth Approach/Monyhull Hall Road

Thursday 30th July

The cafe on Lindsworth Approach/Monyhull Hall Road has got a planning application to remove a condition that was attached to application forbidding the sale of hot food for consumption off the premises but allowing for extended opening hours for a period ending in April 2010. My only concern with this is the impact that it could have on the parking problems that already exist within the area.

All Saints Road

Tuesday 28th July

A number of residents have been in contact with me about improving the top end of All Saints Road by Vicarage Road. A resident has informed me that the Kings Heath Clean Partnership are happy to donate £500 from their budget towards a tree and general planting budget. It is hoped that the owners of the building and Sainsbury's and maybe some of the other shops could donate money to help with planting.

Constituency matters

Monday 27th July

The main meeting of the day was with Ifor Jones, Director of Constituencies, but also a local resident. We mainly covered the financial pressures that constituencies are under, sharing successful best practice and looking at operating pilot schemes to encourage innovation.

Canvassing in the evening which is important for councillors to keep in contact with residents whom they represent and help them address issues of concern.

Gardens Open for Charity

Sunday 26th July

Sundays are often spent with the family or catching up on campaigning. It's been a busy day with delivering leaflets around Lindsworth Estate, attending a Conservative Party fund-raising party and attending an event in Poston Croft called Gardens for Charity Event. The garden was lovely, it was like going into a tropical garden. The idea of the event is that members of the public can open their gardens to raise money for charities. This helps raise £2.5 million for charities each year.

Phoenix Members Club, Druids Heath

Friday 24th July

Following complaints from several residents on Druids Heath about recent loud noise that was coming from the Phoenix Members Club in the early hours of the morning I reported this to the enforcement team of the Council. I cannot really say anymore other than they will be taking action/ monitoring the situation.

Mountaineer Pub House

Thursday 23rd July

I have recieved notification that the The Mountaineer Pub has formally applied to change its hours of operation to as follows:
*Hours premises are open to the public - Monday to Sunday 1200 -2330
*Late night refreshment - Monday to Sunday 1200 -2330
*Recorded music – Monday to Sunday 1200 -2300
*Sale of alcohol by retail (both on & off the premises) - Monday to Sunday 1200 -2300
Lets hope this will help reduce the problems that have been experienced by people within the area.

Licensing Application, Druids Heath

Wednesday 22nd July

Further to my recent post about Jay's Convenience Store, Druids Heath applying for an alcohol license there is an update.

The applicant has been in consultation with the West Midlands Police and has agreed to amend their application as follows:

(a) The hours for the sale of alcohol will now be from 08.00am to 20.30pm
(b) All staff will be trained to at least BIIAB Level 1 and certificates
will be displayed
(c) All staff will use the "Challenge 25" rule as opposed to the
"Challenge 21" rule and Challenge 25 posters will be
displayed at the premises
(d) Staff may be required, when necessary, on request of the police, to
attend Aquarius Training.

Borad Lane Cafe

Tuesday 21st July

I would like to advise you that I and Councillor Summerfield have had a mixed response from residents about this. We found that residents, who live in close proximity to the café, were not supportive of the proposed new opening times, as there were concerns of noise, litter and parking problems. While on the other hand, those further a field showed their support and believed that the café provided a valuable service.

I have been informed by the Planning Department that an application was received on the 21st December 2007, which approved for a temporary period of one year (expiring on the 20th December 2008), that permitted the café opening on Sunday between the hours of 10:30am – 14:00pm.

I would like to advise you that the Planning Committee have considered the proposal to increase the Sunday opening hours to 08:00am – 14:00pm are unacceptable. However, the existing hours of 10:30am – 14:00pm are deemed acceptable.

Secured Sites

Monday 20th July

Our allocation for Secured Sites in Selly Oak Constituency during 2009/10 is £13,500. It has been split equally between each of the 4 wards (£3,375 per ward).

The following sites have already been identified as potential sites for this project in Brandwood Ward
Toilet block - side of 299a Alcester Road South - Awaiting revised costings
Marsham Road (rear of shops of Alcester Road South) - £1,216.72

If you have any further sites let me know by 7th August.

Recycling Centres/ Tips

Friday 17th July

An item which has been raised by several residents within the last few weeks was over the use of council recycling centre/ tips. Birmingham residents are not allowed to use tips in neighbouring authorities. We in Birmingham thought that rather unfair as the city allowed everyone to use our facilities. From July 14th, residents from neighbouring authorities will no longer be able to use our facilities. From that date, visitors to the sites will be asked to provide their postcode details. By doing this, it is hoped Birmingham can reduce the amount of waste and there will be less queues.

Anti social behaviour Bicknell Croft

Wednesday 15th July

I have been contacted by some residents regarding underage drinking near the garages at Bicknell Croft and throwing empty bottles/cans. Also litter being dropped and graffiti. People are scared to go to the shop because of gangs sitting on the wall. I have written to the council and police about these matters.

Customer First

Tuesday 14th July

The Council is undertaking a business transformation programme which aims to update and modernise the working of the council. 1 of the programmes is called Customer First. This aims to make customer enquiries more effective. I had a meeting about this. I suppport this programme, however, 1 concern that I have with this is that as the process is centralise local knowledge and sign posting will be lost.

local services committee

Monday 13th July

After giving blood for the 27 time I went on to Chair the local services and community safety committee. We had a full agenda today the main items were the drug and alcohol review, food standards and an update on progress of the domestic violence review that I lead on last year. Within the report we made a number of recommendations, we were tracking these. Progress has been made but more needs to be done.

Parking Lindsworth Approach

Sunday 12th July

I have been contacted by some residents regarding the parking on the pavements in front of the shops at Lindsworth Approach. I have been informed by the council that part of the pavement is a private frontage, so they have no enforcement measures. They have advised me that access to the private frontage was provided to facilitate deliveries to the shops. A suggestion by the council is that a controllable access could be organised to address the problem, such as a collapsible bollard with some form of locking device or maybe consider a gating access.

Brandwood Road

Thursday 9th July


Following an accident on Brandwood Road last week. I would like to update my blog readers about a couple of things that are happening within the area. We are going to have some temporary flashing speed signs put up on Brandwood Road . I have submitted some proposals for road improvements on Brandwood Road and Yarningale Road . The ones on Yarningale Road are going to be done very soon. These will include road markings so the residents from Denford Grove and Delvern Grove will be able to pull out more easily. The other proposals that have been submitted are for works on the traffic island at Woodthorpe/ Brandwood Road .

Missed refuse collections

Wednesday 8th July

I have contacted the council about the on-going problems of missed refuse collection on the Monyhull Estate. This has been on-going for far too long, so a number of people are not recycling. I have asked the Council to have a word with the refuse men and to distribute the calendars telling residents when to put out the different sorts of recycling.

Full Council

Tuesday 7th July

We had a fairly light agenda at Full Council today, but it still didn't stop the meeting lasting 6 hours. My main contribution was to propose an amendment to a Labour motion about localisation. The main points that I made were that Conservative run constituencies are managing to keep to their budget, unlike several Labour constituencies, and that we are improving services whilst keeping council tax at 1.9%. I must have done something right because the Labour Leader was getting very over-excited.

Visit to alcohol and drug project

Monday 6th July

As reported previously on my blog, I am leading a review of drug and alcohol services within Birmingham . Today, with some of the other people on the review, we went to see a project in Erdington to meet some of the service users. These kinds of projects are so important to help steer people away from drugs and alcohol dependency and the huge social cost incurred. Every one pound spent on treatment saves about £10 on treating crime and disorder.

Parker House

Sunday 5th July

I have been in contact with the Council and the police about anti-social behaviour in Parker House, Druids Heath. This is particularly around noise and mess. The identified people will be visited and warned to be considerate towards their neighbours. A number of temporary residents live here which doesn’t add to the community spirit.

Alcohol License, Druids Heath

Friday 3rd July

I have been contacted by the Council about a new proposal to sell alcohol from Jays, Pound Road , Druids Heath. This was refused at the start of the year this was for between the hours of 6am - 11pm Monday to Sunday. The new proposal is between 6am - 8.30pm Monday to Sunday. We are concerned that this will lead to anti-social behavior and the selling of cheap alcohol. You can lodge comments until 8th July 2009.

Budget Meeting

Thursday 2nd July

I have been to a council budget meeting on the services that are covered by the Selly Oak Constituency these include neighbourhood offices, libraries and sport centres. I am pleased that we are keeping to the budget while increasing services. This is important in these difficult economic times that we live in when it is even more important that the council provides value for money as people have less money.

Illegal Parking

Wednesday 1st July

I have contacted the police about on-going problems with illegal parking within the ward. One particular area that I have had several complaints about is on Brockworth Road , Druids Heath. Some cars and vans are parking on corners and on the pathways making it difficult for pedestrians, particularly with wheelchairs or push chairs.

South West Birmingham Bus Network Review

Tuesday 30th June

A briefing has been organised for councillors on the bus network review by National Express West Midlands. They have set out a vision on how to improve bus services with a key feature to review all bus services in the West Midlands to better meet current and future user needs. It is currently planned to introduce the new network some time in Autumn 2009, and consultation on the new network is essential to ensure it meets user needs. I have put over my concerns about the problems of the 35, 76 and 85 so National Express are aware of these.

Sustainable Communities Act 2007

Monday 29th June

At the Council Cabinet today there was an item about the Sustainable Communities Act 2007. This is designed to improve the economic, social or environmental well being of the communities or promote participation in civic or political activity. The Act invited people either through the Council or Government to think of ideas to improve the local community through the above. A number of ideas were put before Cabinet including increasing local food production, keeping essential local services open eg post offices, promoting production of local renewable energy.

Monyhull Estate Development

Friday 26th June

Bellway Homes have recently submitted an application to the City Council to build apartments on the green space between Monyhull Hall and Monyhull Church.
Brandwood Conservatives’ Local Campaigner Derek Johnson, Cllr. Mark Hill, Cllr. Neville Summerfield, and Parliamentary Spokesman Nigel Dawkins object to this application and have contacted the Planning Department to register their opposition.

If permission to build is granted, a valuable open space used for community events and local children will be lost forever. In addition, the picturesque scene of the church, its grounds, and Monyhull Hall will be destroyed. The new flats will bring more motor vehicles into the area and will add to the already established problem of speeding traffic around the estate.

Management Team Away Day

Thursday 25th June

I attended an away day with the management team of the Council in my role as Scrutiny Chairman. There were a number of important issues that were covered particularly around improving services within the current difficult economic and budgetary pressures so that we can keep the council tax increase at 1.9% since we have been the ruling group on the council. This is 1 of the lowest in the country.

Kings Heath South Police Tasking Meeting

Wednesday 24th June

I attended the Kings Heath South Police Tasking Meeting. A number of issues were raised relating to problems of rubbish collection within Brandwood Ward and on-going problems with the Mountaineer Pub and anti social behaviour on Grove Road.

The Mountaineer Pub has seen some recent changes over the last few weeks. The people running the pub have left and it is now in the hands of Enterprise Inns. They have agreed to remove the entertainment license and close the pub by 11pm. This is good news, lets hope this will help reduce the problems that have been experienced by people within the area.

Selly Oak Working Neighbourhood Fund Group

Tuesday 23rd June

I attended an interesting meeting about the working neighbourhood fund for the Selly Oak Constituency. This covered the bidding process for local groups to provide services to help reduce unemployment or, as the Government now call it, worklessness. Selly Oak Constituency (covering Brandwood, Billesley, Selly Oak and Bournville Wards) has £113,000 to allocate. The deadline we are looking at is 31st July 2009 . Funding will be available upto April 2011.

Dispersal Orders

Monday 22nd June

You may be aware that the Police are currently putting together a case for a Dispersal Order to operate within the area where you live. This Order will give them the power to remove groups of individuals if they are causing a nuisance in a public place. Local Conservatives Cllr Mark Hill, Cllr Neville Summerfield and Local Campaigner Derek Johnson all support this proposal.

The use of a Dispersal Order means that a Police Officer can within a given area and time, yet to be decided, order groups of 2 or more to leave a location where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that intimidation, harassment, alarm, or distress is taking place. If an individual or group returns to the area within 24 hours they can then be arrested without a warrant.

In addition, between 9pm and 6am, people believed to be under the age of 16 and not under effective control, can be taken to their home address. No timescale has yet been set for the duration of the Dispersal Order.

Parker House/ Marsham Road

Friday 19th June

I have made a request to the Housing Liaison Board for Druids Heath to improve a fence between Parker House, off Manningford Road and the rear of Marsham Road, as it gets full of rubbish around there as it is used as a cut through. Currently there is a wooden fence. If it is upgraded to a metal fence it will hopefully prevent the youths climbing over, would help reduce antisocial behaviour in the area and improve the lives of many residents.

Easterton Croft

Thursday 18th June

Some residents are developing the idea of a community garden at Easterton Croft. They organised for the land to get cleaned up about 1 year ago. I am concerned that it has become overgrown again with the summer months still ahead. I support what they are trying to achieve for the site. The scheme seems to have stalled around land use and ownership so I have contacted the council to try and get the information.

Cafe – 301 Broad Lane , Kings Heath

Wednesday 17th June

We have been notified by the Council that the Café situated at 301 Broad Lane , Kings Heath, Birmingham , B14 5AF has applied for Sunday opening times between 8:00am – 2:00pm. I and Councillor Summerfield have been contacted by various constituents, who have raised concerns around noise and parking issues. We would like to hear your views regarding this matter. If you have any comments please let us know.

Domestic Violence

Tuesday 16th June

Today I met up with someone from the Lantern Project that deals with domestic violence. It was an interesting meeting which gave me further insight into some of the issues relating to domestic violence. A couple of years ago I lead a review of domestic violence in my role as Local Services Chairman. One of the interesting findings in the evidence gathering was how rare it is for a Ward to have local domestic violence groups. We have two in Branwood Ward at the Allens Croft Project and Bells Farm Community Centre.

Brandwood Ward Committee

Monday 15th June

Today I attended the Brandwood Ward Committee and was re-elected Chairman as it’s the first meeting of the new municipal year. Also I was appointed to the Allens Croft Project as the Council representative.

There was a lot covered at the meeting - the main items of discussion was the Section 106 money that is given to local projects when there are major planning applications. We also had the ward based cleansing representatives who dealt with issues about rubbish collections within the area. The grants for the Neighbourhood Forums were approved, as was new street lighting for Taylor Road.

The Pathway

Friday 12th June

Birmingham City Council is going to be carrying out a consultation exercise with local residents to find out their views about The Pathway and Tunnel (between Allenscroft Road and The Worthings). The main question is what would you like to do with the Tunnel? The suggestions are: Inter-generational art project on the walls inside the tunnel, pink lighting underneath the tunnel, the removal of bollards (Allenscroft Road entrance) – to be replaced with retractable posts, and CCTV cameras. Do you have any other suggestions?

Brandwood Sports Ground/ TASCAS, Tunnel Lane

Thursday 11th June

I went to the Neighbourhood Tasking Meeting at St Bedes today. People were generally happy with the progress of issues within the area. One issue on which I managed to update the meeting was regarding a one month temporary licence (until 3rd July) that has been granted for model car racing at Brandwood Sports Ground/TASCAS. The first that I knew about this was following an email to tell me that this has been granted. I am against this proposal and I am sure the residents will be as they have had problems on this site for years with motorbikes

What Can Be Recycled?

Wednesday 10th June

Several residents have recently contacted me asking what can and cannot be recycled. Things that cannot be recycled are juice and milk cartons, jiffy bags, foil, plastic tubs and yoghurt pots.

I contacted the Council and the main points from the response were that the yoghurt pots and other products that have been diligently 'recycled' will have been removed from the recycling stream during a sorting process at the waste plant. The good news is that they don't end up in landfill - instead they are used as a fuel at the Energy from Waste Plant at Tysley, which produces sufficient energy to power over 20,000 homes in the City. In fact Birmingham has one of the lowest landfill rates of all Local Authorities in the country, with less than 15% of all waste ending up in landfill. The Council would like to recycle more products but will only be able to do so if the recycling sector has the plant and processes in place to allow us to do so economically.

Mountaineer Pub

Tuesday 9th June

I have had 6 meetings today in the ward and around Birmingham, relating to council matters. The meeting about the Mountaineer Pub was particularly difficult to manage because the problems coming from the pub are making the residents’ lives very difficult. It didn’t help that the people responsible for the running of the pub didn’t turn up. The police, council and residents are compiling evidence to present to the Licencing Committee.

Counting of votes

Sunday 7th July 2009

The counting of votes has finally taken place at the NIA. The Conservatives have done well despite the surge in the UKIP vote. We have returned 2 Conservative MEPs for the West Midlands: Phil Bradbourn and Malcolm Harbour . Nationally the vote is:
Conservatives 28%
UKIP 17%
Labour 16%
Liberal 15%

Unlike the rest of the work force I am thinking thank goodness it is Monday - now the elections are over I can get on with the real task in hand of helping to improve our area.

The day after the night before...

Friday 5th June

Pleased that the elections are finally over. During the final week of campaigning you feel that all you do is knock on doors, telephone canvass and deliver leaflets. I have picked up a lot of case work during the campaign, so I will be catching up on this today.

From the verification stage of the count it seems that the minor parties are the big winners, particuarly UKIP. The results declared so far show that Labour have lost the last 4 Councils that they controlled - all to the Conservatives. The Conservatives have 38% of the national vote, Lib Dems 28% and Labour 23%.

Polling Day

Thursday 4th June

Today is polling day for the European Elections the day that all parties have been working towards over the last few months. I will be spending the day encouraging people that have pledged their vote to the Conservatives to actually vote.

Delivering Pledge letters

Wednesday 3rd June

I spent most of the day campaigning, delivering pledge letters which are encouraging people to vote for the European Elections tomorrow. People I spoke to were fed up with MPs over expenses. I am concerned this will lead to the BNP doing well and them winning seats. When BNP politicians are elected they are hugely devisive and have a poor track record of getting things done in the area they represent. I will be voting. I am sure that you can guess who for. Will you be voting ?

street lighting

Tuesday 2nd June

Following some new street lights being put up in Granton Road that we allocated through the £30,000 minor improvement programme, I have contacted the council as the contractors have left the area looking untidy, with barriers left around and holes in the pavements. Residents have told me it has been like this for several weeks so I expect it to be sorted ASAP.

Postal Votes

Monday 1st June

I spent most of the day campaigning. I have been telephoning postal voters to see if they have sent back their postal votes and seeing how the counting of the postal votes was going. This is done on a ward basis so I could see how well we are doing in Brandwood. From the sample that I saw, Conservatives were quite well ahead of Labour. Both parties were some way ahead of the other main parties BNP, UKIP, Liberals, Greens, who all had a similar share of the vote. All the other parties had a very small number of votes. I am expecting turnout to be low based upon the negative comments about MPs expenses and also expect the smaller parties to do well.

New Bus Service 35E

Friday 29th May

I have had a number of residents contact me regarding problems of reliability with the 35E bus service, this was particularly so in the first week of the service. Following my contact with the operator, Diamond, I have got a response from them. They admit that they had problems with the introduction of the new route but these have now been resolved. They have now put 1 of their staff on the route to monitor usage, check reliability and timings of the service.

Land clean up infront of Millpool Church

Thursday 28th May

A fence was erected by the council at the land in front of Millpool Hill Church, Alcester Road South. Unfortunately it is stil attracting rubbish particularly empty cans and take away detritus. As a result I have organised for it to be cleared by the cleaning team within the ward.

More from the Mountaineer Pub

Wednesday 27th May

Following various complaints from local residents about the disturbances from the Mountaineer pub over the weekend I have contacted the council and police again to take stronger action.
At the moment the police and licensing officers from the council are trying to agree a series of voluntary measures to control the disorder. However agreement has not so far been reached. Amongst the measures being discussed are installing CCTV, having door staff on special function nights; and for staff to regularly patrol the car park to deter outdoor drinking and disorder.

However the incidents of disorder that occurred this weekend will now trigger a review of the license. This review will compel the licence holder to appear before a licensing committee made up of city councillors. The outcome of this review could be to impose strict conditions it may involve reducing the closing time back to 11pm or may even involve removing the license.

Customer First

Tuesday 26th May

Been to discuss the pilots for Customer First, a way of hopefully improving the speed and efficiency of housing and council tax payments. A new centre is being trialled in New Town. If this is successful, it will be rolled out across Birmingham .

Campaign Trail

Monday 25th May

Another day helping with leaflet delivery across the Selly Oak Consituency. This was led by Nigel Dawkins, our Parliamentary Candidate. We were joined by our local Government Candidate Derek Johnson and various helpers. We got several thousand done.

Litter pick at Brandwood End Cemetery

Sunday 24th May

Another lovely day, surely it cannot be a bank holiday. The Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery organised a litter pick for the morning. About 12 people turned up including Derek Johnson, our Local Government Candidate for 2010. I did a litter pick around the Catholic and Muslim graves.

Election campaigning

Saturday 23rd May

What a lovely day. Didn’t really make the most of it as I spent the day campaigning for the European Elections and helping out with a Local Government bi-election in Lozells & East Handsworth. I am going to be voting, are you ? I am sure that you can guess who I am going to be voting for! I am expecting the turnout to be very low as judging from the canvassing that I have done, people are fed up with MPs and their expenses.

Brandwood End Cemetery emergency access

Friday 22nd May

Following my entry a few weeks ago about the fire at Brandwood End Cemetery I have got a response from the council. The trees which were alight have now been removed and the memorial kerbstones returned to the grave spaces to which they relate. We are currently in the process of arranging a 24 hour emergency contact number for display on the cemetery gates in order that keyholders within Bereavement Services can be raised where necessary. The cemetery fencing is currently being replaced in parts and we are planning to install CCTV at key points in the cemetery during this financial year. It is anticipated that these two security measures will reduce the volume of incidents of vandalism/ unauthorised access within the cemetery.

Lamp post painting

Thursday 21st May

Following the Ward Advisory Board meeting a couple of months ago where the allocation of community chest funding was decided for this financial year, one of the bids which we supported for new lamp posts to be painted has been approved. I can now confirm the following will be done in this financial year: Poston Croft, Chanston Avenue , Jasmin Croft and Broom Drive .

Brandwood End Cemetery security

Wednesday 20th May

A number of residents have raised concerns about the fencing at Brandwood End Cemetary. I have raised this with the council. The fence has been removed as part of the S106 works which are currently taking place at Brandwood End Cemetery as a result of the Sunderton Road housing development. The sections of the cemetery railings which are being replaced cover the area by the allotments, Brandwood Pool and a portion which forms a boundary with housing adjacent to the cemetery. The works should be completed by week ending 5 June 2009. Although the contractor and clerk of works walked along the planned line of the fence and looked at the housing boundary prior to removing the fence and were both satisfied that the gardens would remain secure due to the presence of a high concrete retaining wall and the private fencing on top of this, as an additional precaution temporary fencing panels will be erected to prevent access being obtained into private gardens.

Mayor Making

Tuesday 19th May

Today is the Mayor Making where one of the current councillors becomes Lord Mayor. It is done on a rotational basis between the parties. This year Liberal Councillor Mike Wilkes has been chosen to be Lord Mayor. He is well respected by all parties. He is supported unanimiously by all councillors present at the vote. I wish him well in being Birmingham's first citizen and in the fund-raising for his good causes.

Leadership Challenge

Monday 18th May

There has been much discussion in the local press about the leadership challenge by Councillor Randal Brew to Councillor Mike Whitby to be Leader of the Conservative Group and, as a result, Leader of the Council. It is the big day as it's voting at our Group Meeting. This has been done by the 49 Conservative Councillors. Mike Whitby won, Randal was gracious in defeat and wished him well.

Mountaineer Pub

Friday 15th May

I have had a response from the Police and the Council over the Mountaineer Pub. The Licensing Officers for the area have met with the Mountaineer owners. The police have been monitoring the area. They have both reported that things have got a lot better. I hope this is the case.

New litter bins

Thursday 14th May

I have managed to get two litter bins - one sited by the bus stop on Monyhull Hall Road, near the junction with Earlswood Road, and the other in Brandwood Crescent, by the cycle route sign near the entrance to the new estate.

Two further litter bins have been ordered for Brandwood Park Road, to be located by the bus stops at either at the bottom of Yarningale, and another two to be located by each bus stop around the corner at the bottom of Allens Croft Road.

Yarningale Road/ Brandwood Road junction

Wednesday 13th May

I have been contacted by various residents in the past concerning problems of speeding along Yarningale Road by the Brandwood Road junction. I have been in contact with the Council regarding this. I have sent something out to affected residents. There will be carriageway markings at the junction of Denford Grove/Yarningale Road and at Dulvern Grove/Yarningale Road . The provision of give-way markings and a centre line on Yarningale Road should improve the situation for residents. This work will be carried out as soon as funding is made available to us for this financial year. If you have any comments please let us know.

Druids Heath Neighbourhood Management Board

Tuesday 12th May

I attended the Druids Heath Neighbourhood Management Board to discuss about improving the environment of Druids Heath. I raised an important issue: that the area can get money through a commissioning process to provide employment service to the residents through the Working Neighbourhood Fund. In another part of the ward we have tried to get the benefits advisor who runs sessions at the Brandwood Centre funded through this. If you have any ideas let me know.

Allens Croft Project

Monday 11th May

I was a bit late to the Allens Croft Project meeting, as my house and car keys ended up getting locked in an office. The main things that were covered are that the negotiations with the council seem to be going well over the problems with the rent. The council seem a lot more open to discussions around this. The Project are preparing their budget and have been successful in getting money from various sources. The Ward Advisory Board has given some money for the domestic violence and older peoples projects.

Recycling in Flats

Friday 8th May

The Council would like to offer recycling facilities to all flats which currently do not have them. There will be a site for a 360 litre wheelie bin by the entrance or exit to the flats or by the existing storage for residual waste. The council are looking for contacts at the flats who they can liaise with to assist in the process, so any help in this area would be gratefully received.

Alcohol Restricted Zones

Thursday 7th May

I have recently had a number of enquiries about Alcohol Restricted Zones. All of Brandwood Ward is covered by this, which means that alcohol is not allowed to be consumed in public places. There are a number of signs up about this across the ward and some more will be going up on Druids Heath. Just because there isn’t a sign up it doesn’t mean that the police cannot enforce this. If there are any problems near where you live, let me know and I will ask the police to monitor the area.

Grove Road accident

Wednesday 6th May

It has been brought to my attention that an accident occurred at Tenbury Road / Grove Road junction. There is a school crossing site nearby which makes the situation even more worrying. I have written to the 'safer routes to school' section of the council to see if there is any funding to try and reduce the speed of traffic along this section of road.

Enforcement of illegal parking

Tuesday 5th May

I have had various complaints from residents about the problems of illegal and inconsiderate parking. I have contacted the police and the council about taking enforcement action. The council are responsible for trying to find a solution to the problem. The police are responsible where people park inconsiderately eg parking on verges. The police will give warnings first and if they are then ignored fixed penalty notices will be issued.

European Elections

Monday 4th May

Spent the much of the day delivering leaflets in Kings Heath. No doubt residents are getting various communications through as elections are approaching. This year there are no local elections only European Elections. Polling day is 4th June. These elections are often seen as not being very important but so many decisions are made through Europe these days. Also this will be the last major test of the popularity of the parties before the next General Election.

Dawberry Field Park

Friday 1st May

Following my recent enquiry to the council about various issues to do with Dawberry Fields Park I am pleased to announce that all the damaged and vandalised equipment will be replaced. A order has been placed and we are awaiting delivery. I imagine this will be installed over the next month or so. I just hope that the few mindless yobs that have ruined this facility don’t do the same again spoiling a excellent local facility.

Mountaineer Pub

Thursday 30th April

It has been brought to my attention that there is anti social behaviour taking place at the Mountaineer pub, Kings Heath following its reopening four weeks ago. As a result I have contacted the licensing department of the city council and the police. I have asked that the licensing task force visit these premises as a matter of urgency. The task force is made up of police officers, environmental officers and licensing officers. I have also asked that they have their licence renewed.

Brandwood End Cemetery Fire

Wednesday 29th April


I have contacted the city council following a enquiry from local residents about a fire that occurred at Brandwood End Cemetery, luckily it wasn’t too serious. The incident occurred with a large tree just off the main drive being caught on fire. A group of local resident quickly phoned the fire brigade. It took the fire brigade a while to get in as the key that they had didn’t fit the main gate entrance. Thanks to the local residents helping out they managed to contact the parks department and they responded quickly allowing the fire brigade in and the fire was put out.

Employment

Tuesday 28th April

I have received a copy of the latest unemployment figures for Birmingham, which are very worrying indeed. As of March 2009, the unemployment rate in Birmingham was 11.8%, compared with 8.2% a year ago. This is apparently one of the fastest increases in the country by a major city. This compares with the national average of 5.5% and the West Midlands average of 7.1%. The Council is trying halt this by working with large employers, developing an apprenticeship scheme for young adults not in training or employment and expanding the benefit advice service.

Dome Hawk Cameras (CCTV)

Monday 27th April

As reported previously, we have given £10,000 from the community chest fund for mobile dome hawk cameras (CCTV) to help improve people's safety and hopefully help catch criminals. I have had a number of requests for these to be put around the ward which I have passed on to the police. The dome hawk cameras need to be near an electricity source and on a suitable poll/lamp-post. If you have any suitable locations please let me know.

Ash Meadow development

Friday 24th April

I have spoken with various members of the public about the proposed nursing home on the site of the Ash Meadow Pub. Residents are generally supportive, they feel that it is better than the housing proposal that was there, and that it will provide a valuable resource to the local community - particularly as there are a number of elderly people that live within the immediate area.

Improving Employment Prospects in Brandwood

Thursday 23rd April

Selly Oak Constituency (which Brandwood Ward is part of) has been given some funding to help improve employment prospects within the area. One bid that I am keen to get approved through this funding is the Benefits Advisor who works at the Brandwood Centre. Another idea that was suggested was to get large companies within the area to work with the unemployed, to help them back into work. If you have any ideas for helping employment let me know.

Neighbourhood Offices

Wednesday 22nd April 2009

In my role as Scrutiny Chairman of Local Services I have to question and challenge services that the council provides. I am looking at doing a piece of work about neighbourhood offices which have been in existence for about 20 years and need to be kept modern. Some of the problems that people have raised to me about the offices are that they are often shut due to staffing shortages, don’t have standard opening times and give inconsistent advice. What is your experience of your local office?

Bus Lanes

Tuesday 21st April

Today I received a communication from the council about a trial of Powered Two Wheelers (PTW, e.g. motorcycles) which began in November 2007. The trial covers bus lanes along the A435 Alcester Road corridor, between the Inner Ring Road and the Maypole, and is currently in operation on an experimental basis until 15th May 2009. Prior to this date, the Cabinet Member for Transportation and Street Services will make a decision on its future. What are your views, should it be extended?

Poice Tasking Bells Farm

Monday 20th April

The main council issue today is that a Labour Councillor has resigned in Lozells & East Handsworth. This will result in a bi-election. This is a safe Labour seat, so we don't have much chance of winning but you never know.

I attended the police tasking meeting at Bells Farm Community Centre. This covers Druids Heath. The police reported that crime on the area has generally been low but warned that, with the lighter evenings, members of the public need to be more careful. The main issues that arose were quad biking on the estate, patrols that had been done in the tower blocks to reduce anti social behaviour and five drug raids had been carried out across the estate.

Buses

Saturday 18th April

Diamond buses are making a tour of the new 35E bus route this Saturday and next Saturday, so I took this as an opportunity to meet them to discuss the buses within the area.
I welcome this service, as I think will other people in the area. It is due to start on Monday 27th April. Whilst there, I took an opportunity to discuss the problem of some bus drivers being rude to passengers, and the problem of the 50 terminus.

Allens Croft Primary School

Friday 17th April

I have been working with the council and school to try and resolve the issues of parking around Allens Croft Primary School. Here’s an update on some of the things that are planned or in progress:
· To enhance the safety of school children, and to guide them across the road at designated crossing points, 44 metres of standard guard rail has been arranged. The guard rail will be installed outside the school from the park side entrance to the bus shelter in the next couple of days. · To cover the remaining frontage of the school about 30 metres of additional guard rail will be required. A request has been made for this from the ‘Safer Routes to School’ budget. · A scheme for the construction of a lay-by, to provide a drop area for parents outside the school, has been submitted to the central council budget for consideration.

Police Neighbourhood Meeting

Thursday 16th April

The main item of interest today was the neighbourhood tasking meeting held at St Bede’s Church. This is a partnership between the Police and the City Council. Members of the public can raise concerns at these regular meetings attended by Councillors, the Police, and representatives from the council’s housing and street cleaning departments.

The main points that were raised at the meeting were:
The problem of graffiti at Dawberry Fields Park - the police are in the process of organising a graffiti clean up day. The council has recently removed some graffiti through the cleaning team.
Mobile CCTV is going to be installed. Some of the locations will be Brandwood Park Road, Brandwood Pool and Boatmans Reach.
The speed of traffic down several roads - the police have carried out some enforcement work and will soon be in Alcester Road South.

If you would like further information about attending these public meetings, or if there is an issue you would like to raise please feel free to contact me.

Ash Meadow Pub

Wednesday 15th April

I have a look through the planning applications and see that there is 1 for the conversion of the Ash Meadow Pub to a nursing home with 30 single rooms (planning application number S/00541/09/FUL. This is a new application, the old 1 was for residential use. I have the Evening Mail onto me about the planning application. I tell them I think residents will welcome that something is going to happen on the site due to constant vandalism and it being an eyesore.

If you want further information or pass comment this can be done on www.birmingham.gov.uk/planningonline.

Catch Up

Tuesday 14th April

After the Easter break back to the endless emails, letters and phone calls. I spend the day catching up. I get about 30 resident enquiries a week. Some are reasonably easy to sort and can be done with a phone call ie missed rubbish collections other take months eg housing transfers and then I cannot get the response I would want on behalf of the residents.

Delivery

Saturday 11th April

Spent the morning delivering leaflets in the ward. I was delivering leaflets in Kings Heath on behalf of our Parliamentary Candidate, Nigel Dawkins. I was joined by our local Government Candidate Derek Johnson, Nigel Dawkins and various helpers. We got several thousand done.

Endless meetings

Thursday 9th April

I seem to have spent most of the day in meetings, whilst trying to catch up with all my resident enquiries before the Easter break. Still have two more residents' meetings to attend tonight.

I am still getting enquiries about the bus services within the ward. National Express say at the moment, the turning of the 27 service bus will occur in Wheelers Lane, and layover to be taken on the Alcester Rd. The final position of the 27 service will be determined through the framework of the South West Birmingham Review.

There will be a new bus service 35E, which will be operated by Diamond, 6 days a week, between approximately 7am-8pm. The route for this service will be from the City Centre to Kings Heath High Street, along Vicarage Road, down Grove Road, then along Brandwood Road and on to Pool Farm. I have been advised that this service will be running every 20 minutes, and that timetables will be distributed to residents in due course.

Druids Heath play area

Wednesday 8th March

Had a meeting with some local residents and officers with a view to applying for £50,000 of lottery funding for a play area at the end of Shrewton Avenue, Druids Heath. This will be a valuable resource for the children that live in the 15 tower blocks on the estate. The deadline for application is May 09, and they will make the announcement a few months after that with a view to it being built with 12 months. There will be consultation with those residents that will be affected before any work commences.

Brandwood Centre Meeting/ Full Council

Tuesday 7th April

Had my daily exercise by cycling to the Brandwood Centre Meeting. When I turn up at meetings on a bike, I always find residents are slightly taken aback. The idea of a Conservative Councillor in a posh car rather than on a bike is a very outdated image.

The Brandwood Centre continues to go from strength to strength. This year they have raised approximately £30,000 from people using the centre. This will help it become self-sustaining. Through community chest funding we have provided money to the Centre for the Benefit Advice Service and Heart and Stroke Club - two of the many groups that are run from the centre.

Back on the bike, and to the city centre for Full Council. A fairly quiet meeting. The main cause of excitement was the Liberal motion about the current state of the economy, which is obviously nothing to do with Gordon - he took all the credit in the good times, but won't take any of the responsibility in the bad times.

Group

Monday 6th April

The main meeting of the day was the Conservative Group meeting. This is a monthly meeting where we discuss council policy for Full Council the next day. There were good discussions about a possible Bank of Birmingham, LDV and the upcoming elections.

There was also an announcement that there will be an increase of £4 million for the road repairs budget following the recent icy spell. I have already reported pot-holes at the junction of Howard Road & Alcester Road South. If you spot anywhere that needs to be done let me know.

Leaflet Delivery

Saturday 4th April

Spent most of the day delivering leaflets in the ward. We had about 20 people who came out to help so we managed to get a lot done. We were delivering a leaflet on Druids Heath about what we are doing in the area. Our local government candidate has been working hard to address residents' concerns. In other parts of the ward we were delivering a leaflet about our Parliamentary Candidate, Nigel Dawkins.

Drug and Alcohol Review

Friday 3rd April

At the Council Co-ordinating Committee I had to get formal approval for the Drug and Alcohol Review, that I am leading in my role as Chairman of the council's Local Services and Community Safety Committee. The review will focus on the services that are provided, what the role of the coucil should be in this, and what can be done at a local level.

Ward Advisory Board

Thursday 2nd April

Today we had the Ward Advisory Board which consists of residents, councillors, voluntary organisations and other partners. The main agenda item was deciding community chest fudnding. This is the main way that councillors have direct control over money that is spent in the ward. It is £100,000 which isn't much out of a total £3 billion pound council budget for Birmingham.

These meeting are always difficult as everyone is fighting for their own corners. We approved part funding for most of the bids. Some of the bids approved were: an annual special collection of bulky household waste for all of the ward, domestic violence workers, lamp post painting, mobile CCTV, etc.

Sunderton Road

1st April

Went for a look around Sunderton Road to see how the development is progressing. There are a number of eco-homes which are some of the first in Birmingham.

Whilst in the area I went to look at Brandwood Pool because I have had numerous enquiries about youths gathering here. I have reported this to the police, who are monitoring the area and will take appropriate action against people causing damage. I hope this doesn't get worse with the holidays and lighter evenings.

Neighbourhood Offices

Tuesday 31st Macrh

Had 6 meetings today covering a wide range of issues from Neighbourhood Offices to meeting residents. The main item of interest was the recent Audit Commission's report on housing. This was very favourable, but they felt that neighbourhood offices could be improved through standard opening times and having a mystery shopping element.

The only neighbourhood office within the Brandwood Ward is at the Maypole by Druids Heath. The office has recently moved to the library as the old building was in need of major repairs - this has proved successful in terms of user numbers.

Constituency Committee Meeting

Monday 30th March

There was nothing hugely controversial discussed. The main parts of the meeting were the involvement of the Primary Care Trust provider within the local community, the good work that the wardens do in cleaning up the ward and the need for a safer crossing at Allens Croft School.

About a month ago I submitted a capital bid to have a crossing by Allens Croft School and improvements to the parking facilities/grass verges within the area. Lets hope we are successful at getting this.

Post

Sat 28th/ Sun 29th March

Arrived back from holiday in Wales to approx 200 letters, 400 emails and various answer phone messages so you can guess what I spent the weekend doing as it takes ages to catch up. Councillors don't have an army of support staff like people think, so we do most of our own administration.

Bus routes 27, 76 and 85

Friday 20th March

Had another meeting with National Express about the problem bus routes of 27, 76 and 85. They have agreed that the 76 will turn around at Allens Croft Road/Vicarage Road, the 85 will go down Grove Road, Vicarage Road, Alcester Road South, Howard Road and Grove Road. They want to put the 27 back down All Saints Road and Abbots Road. I can imagine this will go down like a lead ballon with the residents.

I won't be doing any posts over the next week as I will be on holiday in Snowden, Wales, with my partner and daughter. We thought that we had better go now because her maternity leave will finish next month and holidays will be harder with two working parents.

Alcohol and Drug Conference

Thursday 19th March

Spent most of the day at Alcohol and Drug Conference, because in my role of Chairman of Local Services and Community Safety Overview and Scrutiny Committee we are looking at how the council and its partners can work together to combat these problems.

Newark Grove Fence and School Visit

Wednesday 18th March

This morning Derek Johnson (our candidate at the local elections in 2010) & I have been to see some residents in Newark Grove (off Brandwood Park Road) about problems with youths causing anti-social behaviour around the entrance to the Dawberry Fields Park. The proposals that came forward are to landscape the area or have it fenced off. I will be pursuing this with the council.

In the afternoon I went to the opening of a new kitchen at Broad Meadow School, off Monyhull Hall Road. The children's choir sang songs about healthy eating. How things have changed from when I was at school.

Druids Heath Housing Liaison Board

17th March

Been to the Druids Heath HLB meeting. This is for tenants and residents to discuss their views on housing and council related matters on the estate. The main issues of the meeting were re working with the probation service to help improve the estate, doing further estate clean up and looking at funding opportunities. Everyone at the meeting was very positive about improving the area that they live in.

Allens Croft Project

Monday 15th March

After being out of Birmingham all day I rushed back to attend the the board meeting of the Allens Croft Project. The main parts of the meeting were updating those present of the community activities that they do: dealing with domestic violence, working with older people and community clean up. They have received an award of approximately £100,000 from the National Lottery to help tidy up the area and help people tidy up their gardens and houses. This will hopefully give people greater pride in the area that they live in.

Druids Heath clean up

Sunday 15th March

I have been out on Druids Heath with Derek Johnson, our hard working candidate for the local elections in 2010. We have been out with residents and people from the Council tidying up litter, amongst other things, from Chinn Brook. I am never surprised at what you find - my discoveries today were a bike frame, basket ball and 6 bricks that were tied to a piece of rope. There were about 16 bags of rubbish that we filled at the last count. I hope that people will notice the difference and that we are trying to improve the area.

Broad Lane/Brandwood Park Road Trip Rail

Friday 13th March

Luckily I am not superstitious, as it's that day that some people dread: Friday 13th! It was just like any other day, trying to help residents address concerns that they have.

Been to see some residents about the trip rails that have gone up on Broad Lane/Brandwood Park Road. Parking on verges has been an on-going problem for many years.

Plans were draw up in consultation with residents following a site visit organised by myself, Cllr Neville Summerfield and Derek Johnson towards the end of last year.

I have had phone calls, emails and letters from residents thanking us for our efforts.

Traffic Lights Brandwood Road/Broad Lane

Thursday 12th March

I have been delivering some of the many leaflets that we send throughout the year. Today I've been delivering a leaflet about traffic lights improvments at Broad Lane/Brandwood Park Road. For a trial period, the alternate sequencing of the signals has been changed. There is now a separate traffic light sequence for those motorists on Brandwood Park Road and Broad Lane wishing to turn right. The changes do not appear to have adversely affected traffic flow, and feedback so far has been positive. I'd be interested to hear your views.

Druids Heath State Walkabout/The Pathway

Spent most of the day on the ward dealing with residents' problems. Went on a walkabout with local residents on Druids Heath. A number of issues were identified, mainly around litter problems and graffiti - officers are going to address these. The Council has recently put huge resources into this problem, which has generated much positive feedback.

Next was a meeting organised by the Council over a problem on The Pathway in Allens Croft where an alleyway has had a build up of graffiti. The Council will be consulting with residents over how best to deal with this. The suggestion from the meeting was to have a mural that the residents would create themselves.