ALDRIDGE ROAD GETS A SPEED INDICATOR DEVICE

At long last the first stages of the Aldridge Road safety scheme has been put in place. A new speed warning flashing indicator has been installed on the Aldridge Road near the Great Barr Schools.
It has taken two years and a least two public consultations to get this far. I know that like myself the public while welcoming the device will feel it has been one long slog to get it.
The next stage following yet more consultations is to finally get the Council to install pedestrian refuges on the Aldridge Road and to introduce some time restrictions for those wishing to park near the school.
I have also reminded the Council that this work is intended to be looked at in parallel with the Safer Routes to school programme which is being consulted on near the Sandy Lane entrance to the Perry Beeches schools. I will keep you posted as I hear any news.
In the meantime there has been yet another accident further down the Aldridge Road and still the Council refuse to take action ( a petition was turned down about a year ago?).
A police anti speeding operation has taken place recently in the vicinity and I will be interested to see their findings. I will also encourage the Police to use their new speed watch equipment and volunteers in the area.

REMEMBER TO HONOUR DISABLED PARKING BAYS.

I have been working for some time with the Oscott Disability Group to try and make motorists aware that they should not abuse disabled bay markings. Along with Mr Hough the Chair of the ODG we have managed to persuade the Council to introduce a number of these bays across the ward over the last few years.
The problem is the enforcement of these bays. I regularly bring up this subject with the Police at their Tasking Group meeting, and with the Transportation department, but some of these bays are not controlled by the Council for example.
Another issue of concern is when some disabled residents who has a disabled bay marking out side their home move away the marking remains. I am trying to get the Transportation department to look into this issue as car spaces for none disabled drivers is at a premium in many roads.
I would urge all motorist to please honour disabled bays as those who need them can really struggle when there are none available.

See also Blog 8th December 09

FRIENDS OF THE QUESLETT NATURE RESERVE

The Friends of Queslett Nature Reserve are looking for new members. There is no fee to join and if you would like more information about how this group try and look after the Queslett Nature Reserve for the wildlife and its users please give me a ring on 360 6486

DOG FOULING A REAL MESS

Dog fouling remains a serious problem throughout the Oscott area despite me putting a a constant stream of requests for action from the Councils Environmental department.
They have sent out squads to try and sort out this problem but it really does not seem to be making that big an impression. You only have to walk down some roads like Cooksey Lane to see what I mean.
I will continue to try and get more action from the authorities and hope that the message will get across to dog owners.
If you know of a particular area blighted by dog fouling please let me know (360 6486) and I will pass on your concerns.

MY COUNCILLOR SURGERIES

I would just like to remind Oscott Residents I hold surgeries most Saturday mornings at the 610 Community Centre at 10.30am if you would like to come and discuss any issues or concerns with me.

I am always interested to hear what residents have to say.

If you can not make one of my surgeries you can always leave me a message on 360 6486.

I can not promise to resolve or the issues and concerns I hear about but I will try and help if I can.

FIRST SPEED WATCH OPERATIONS A SUCCESS

I popped along to see how the first of the Community Speed Watch operations were going yesterday. A number of volunteers were working with the Police in Kingstanding Road and Kettlehouse Road. As a result a number of driver will get a reminder (at this stage) to keep their speed down in future. The new equipment a lamppost mount speed indicator and so on worked fine and the training received by the volunteers seemed excellent.
I would like to thank those who took part and those who have put their names down to help in the future. The funding for this initiative has taken sometime to obtain and the Police I am sure will make the most of it. It is a shame that the Council could not do more to put road safety measures like speed indicators onto our roads but this system I am sure will help deter speeding motorists in the area.

The Police also took the opportunity to organise and mount an operation looking for Road traffic offenses like no insurance or tax.

If you know of any roads where speed is of concern or would like to become a resident volunteer, ring me on 360 6486 and I will pass on your details to the Police who have the finale say as to where and when this scheme is used and who they need to help.

FAME AT LAST

I have recently been informed that I have achieved the status of appearing on the Glum Councillors blog. There is a picture on this blog of me looking at particularly nasty pot hole in Booths Lane in a some what unhappy way. I can hardly believe it?
You can not begin to imagine what this honour means to me being of that blog?
Mind you I did have the satisfaction of knowing at least I got that pot hole filled in. I will pass on the location after the elections in case some one else wants to claim the credit?

I was a bit disappointed though that this Glum Councillors Blog did not look further into my blog I am sure knowing the amount of pot holes I have had to report given the state of the roads in Oscott there must be worse pictures. I thought the photo they reproduced was one of my better ones and it caught my best side.

NEW SPEED WATCH EQUIPMENT READY FOR ACTION IN OSCOTT

The community Speed Watch team will be out and about in the Oscott area tomorrow trying out their new equipment. I will not tell you where they will be but it will in a road not be that far away .

I wish this new team of resident supported by the Police well and hope that the equipment paid for out of the Oscott Community Chest (fully supported by Councillor Barbara Dring and myself) proves to be just what the doctor ordered.

Community Speed watch is where resident with the support of the Police use speed detecting equipment to identify speeding residents who are then in the first instanced warned by letter by the Police.

If you would like to know more please ring me on 360 6486

POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS TANK UNITS MADE SAFE

Thanks to the Kingstanding Pensioners Convention and local residents I was tipped off about a potentially dangerous situation where former tanks container on the land at the corner of Warren Road and Hawthorn Road had been left open. This meant children or animals may have fallen into these tanks and been injured.
Thankfully the Environmental Department responded to my urgent request and has had the lids of these tanks replaced.

BOOTHS LANE STILL BLIGHTED BY FLY TIPPING

Just some of the rubbish I have helped get rid of this year.

Booths Lane has had a load of fly tipped rubbish removed over the last few weeks but it is as bad as ever. The who area is blighted by fly tipped rubbish.
I am continuing to ask the Council to reinstall the missing CCTV camera and to try and catch and prosecute fly tippers. You can help by being observant and ringing 303 9900 if you have any information about a fly tipper.

MORE MISSING LITTER BINS IN OSCOTT

You may remember I informed you that litter bins were going missing all over the ward (about 39) I did manage to get most of them replaced at the time. However we are going through another spaight of litter bin thefts. I have reported most of them and let the council now where a lot of the black covers are, (thieves are after the metal inserts). but if you know of a missing litter bin which needs replacing please let me know. 360 6486. In the meantime I have been requesting the Council look at other less desirable to thieves designs.
Litter bins are important as the lack of them often means more litter and dog mess on our streets which needs cleaning up. Dirty streets can lead to more anti social behavior.

DRAW A LINE AT POT HOLES

I managed to get in a oral Question at the last Full Council meeting of this political year. (this is sometimes easier said than done.). My question was to Councillor Len Gregory who has cabinet member responsibility for our streets, was about his staff painting a white line through a pot hole as seen in some news papers.
His reply and fair play to him, was the pot hole had since been filled in as had thousand more. I do wonder however if he had been to Oscott where many seem to have been missed.? I have never seen our roads with so many pot holes.

If you want to tell me about a pot hole in Oscott ring 360 6486

Len is stepping down as Transportation chief (I will miss he's "no" response to my numerous requests for improvements to our road) to be come the next Lord Mayor of Birmingham. I wish him all the best in his new role and think he will do a great job for the city.

A CHEAPER WAY TO CONTACT THE POLICE

Contacting the Police by phone can now be a lot cheaper (especially for mobile users) Since April the sixth it has been possible to contact the Police on a new 0345 number which has replaced the old o845 prefix.
This means for any of the those none emergency call you make to the Police instead of paying a premium rate you will only have to spend a few pence a minute. The old 0845 number will still continue to help the change over be more easy.

The new number to contact the Police for None emergency calls is 0345 113 5000

GROT SPOT SUCCESS

The grot spot next to the 610 Community Centre Kingstanding Road (see my post 7th April) has been tidied up and as requested a new litter bin has been put in place near by.

If you know of a grot spot let me know 360 6486 and I will do what I can to have it cleaned up.

CHANGES FOR THE POLICE IN OSCOTT

At a meeting of the local Police Neighbourhood Tasking Group last week along with Community Leaders and Council officials I met some of the new Police Officers who are looking after the area.
From April the 6th the Police made a number of strategic changes which have resulted in Local Police Units being set up to replace the old structure. The Oscott Ward now falls in line with the rest of the Perry Barr Constituency and joins Ladywood to make up the new structure.The main Police station will be Steelhouse Lane and the senior officer will be Chief Superintendent Mc Keogh.

At a local level Kingstanding Police Station will remain in use and the Neighbourhood Police Initiative volunteers will still be able to operate from the Kingstanding station. Volunteers like Brian Brookes and Ray Jukes do a great job for the NPI assisting the Police to prevent crime.

We have some new Police officers covering the Oscott area and they are quickly leaning the ropes. There will continue to be a dedicated team of officer for the Oscott area. The standard of service we receive will not change and I have to say it seems to have improved. Inspector Dorfield and Sergeant Scott the new Sergeant have got off to a very good start and are looking into a number of issues which need addressing.

WHAT IS IN A BUS NUMBER

I know a lot of elderly Oscott residents have been worried about the 376 and 375 bus routes which operate in the Oscott area. With the help of Councillor Barbara Dring I have manged to get a commitment that neither of these bus routes will change significantly certainly not at the moment. There will be a slight change for the 375 near its Aldridge destination but this should not affect residents in Oscott. I have also been assured the current time tables should not be affected.
There will be new numbers to look out for however on these routes. As with many of the bus routes using the 3 prefix bus numbering will be shortened soon.
Hence the 375 will become the 75 and the 376 will become the 76. As I stated earlier this should not really affect Oscott Residents unduly.

Having said this no bus route is safe without patronage so please use or lose these buses.

HAPPY EASTER.

Both Councillor Barbara Dring and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter and wish you all the best over the holiday period.

GROT SPOTS NEED ATTENTION

Not only is fly tipping (as can be seen in Booths Lane,) on the increase but simple littering is too. Having toured the ward it looks like the hard working Street Cleaning Teams have their work cut out. One example of littering is the house next door to the 610 Community Centre where there are dozens and dozens of empty larger cans and a load of political leaflets (not Labour I must add). Mind you I noticed these had started blowing away in the wind.
I am chasing up the Street cleaning squads as we speak and hope to get some of the grot spots sorted out soon.
If you know of any grot spots in Oscott leave me a message on 360 6486.

NOT IN THE PINK AT ALL

I am writing this to readdress the slander put about by Councillor Bob Beauchamp Erdington (Con) in a well known Birmingham evening paper (2nd April).

The article of concern is true when it says I was not aware that a Planning meeting which usually takes place on Thursday had been swopped to a Wednesday. It was also correct to say the above named Councillor took me by surprise and in my night attire when he came to give a lift to the Council House on that Wednesday morning.
What is fundamentally untrue, incorrect and not right at all is that the night attire afore mentioned were PINK PJS. They were in fact brown.
I now have considerable concern about Bobs eye site especially given he is a very experienced light air craft flyer.
I can only imagine these unfounded allegation were put about by him to counter my attempts to stop him talking so much at planning meetings, if that is the case Bob you will fail miserably.