GOOD BYE AGE CONCERN?

I was pleased to accept an invitation to a meeting of the Local Perry Barr/ Kingstanding AGE Concern areas where they were closing down to unite under the Age UK banner.

At the meeting all those who had worked or volunteered for Age Concern were rightly thanked for all their wonderful work.

I was also very pleased to see how good the refurbished (by Age Concern) Old Oscott Community Centre is looking.

Both Councillor Barbara Dring and myself along with the Oscott WArd Advisory Board have and will continue you to be supportive when it comes to Oscotts Community Chest and requests for funding from Age Concern/ UK.

In the past we have helped fund the Gardening scheme and Handyman scheme amongst others.
Residents should see no difference in the help they get from Age Concern / UK and it is only the name that may be different.

Well done to all those involved to contact Age UK Tel 358 0309

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YET MORE RESIDENTS SAY NO TO BOOTHS LANE MAST

I have been sent another petition from residents angry about the mast proposals in Booths Lane.
I will be handing in this petition to the Council shortly.
Booths Lane, Bowman Road and Caddick Road residents often say they feel isolated by the Council but I will a least ensure there views are heard regarding this matter.

BOOTHS LANE RESIDENTS SAY NO TO MAST

I have presented a petition from scores of residents from Booths Lane, Bowman Road, and Ashworth Road calling on the Birmingham City Council to reject a planning application for a mast. The prosed site for the mast is the junction of Bowman Road and Booths Lane.

Residents are very concerned that this mast may cause health problems, could obstruct the pavement and may bring down house prices. Other location further away from peoples house should be considered.

The petition was presented to the BCC Planning Committee.

GREENHOLM ROAD SCHOOL FETE THE BEST OF BRITISH

I had the honour yesterday to be asked to open the Greenholm Road School Fete yesterday.

The school had a great day and I thoroughly enjoyed watching along with parents, each class in turn doing a dance routine (along with their teachers) to a typically British song, even though it made me late for my next appointment.

The fete was based on a proud to be British theme and seeing and meeting the children reminded me there is a real future for this country.

OSCOTT HOUSING LIAISON BOARD AGM DATE ANNOUNCED

There will be an Oscott Housing Liaison Board AGM Public Meeting which is scheduled to be held on 4 August @ Great Barr Leisure Centre Aldridge Road @ 6.30pm.

Many people who had served of the previous Oscott HLB informed me they were very disappointed when, for what appeared to be more political reasons than anything else the board was abandoned a year or so ago.
For many years the board members had successfully tried to maintain their Independence with the help of Local Councillors, from too much control by the Housing department. Sadly they finally failed and the HLB was stopped from meeting.

It is to be hoped that if a new HLB is set up it will be made up of residents who will continue to remind the Housing department they (the members) first priority is to their fellow residents and not to make life easy for the Housing departments and its officers. Both Councillor Dring and I will be monitoring the situation on behalf of the community.

RESULTS OF 3 PLANNING APPLICATIONS CONCERNING THE OSCOTT WARD

There were 3 Planning decions made by the Birmingham City Councills Planning Committee (having a declared interest I was not allowed to participate) which involed the Oscott ward.

The first was regarding Old Oscott Lane/Oscott School Lane in Kingstanding (B44 9AE)
Installation of a 17.5 metre high telecommunications pole supporting 3 Vodafone antennas & 3 Telefonia (O2) UK Ltd antennas, one ground based equipment cabinet and ancillary equipment.

This was turned down by the Committee

The second was A development of 43 houses , the provision of car spaces and the realighment of part of a foot path on land adjacent to Booths Lane.

This was agreed by the Committee

The third was for change of use at 86 Bandywood Road to a Take away

This was approved by the Committee

ALDRIDGE ROAD YELLOW LINES WILL NOW FINALLY BE ENFORCEABLE

At long last I have had it confirmed thanks to the help I have received from Councillor Timothy Huxtable (Cabinet member for Transportation) that the yellow lines on the Aldridge road close to the Aldridge Road school Complex are legally sealed. This means from the 27th June they are likely to be enforced.

There has been some confusion due to other works as part of the Safety scheme and lighting scheme which have taken much longer to finish then expected.
Now it is quite clear these lines are now active and can be enforced. Hopefully this should help ensure the safety of the children attending the Great Barr Schools.

To avoid being fined for illegal parking please ensure when parking on the Aldridge Road between Dyas Road and Shady Lane, you note and observe the parking information plates on the lampposts.

OSCOTT PLANNING APPLICATIONS TO BE HEARD

It is going to be a busy time for the planning Committee tomorrow when it comes to Oscott. The committee will be looking at 3 Oscott planning applications.

The mast application for the junction of Oscott School Lane and Old Oscott Lane.

The development of 43 houses on land adjacent to Booths Lane

And the return following a site meeting by the committee of a Planning application for a Take away at 86 Bandywood Road.

If you are interested in any of these applications you can be in the audience when the committee looks at these applications tomorrow.

The Planning Committee starts at 11am and the meeting is held at the Birmingham City Council House

DO YOUR VIEWS COUNT?

I attended a "Your views count" walk about organised by the Perry Barr Housing Team yesterday.
This was in the Bowman and Caddick area of Oscott. A few local residents turned up and I managed to get a few other to have a say as we walked up and down the roads concerned.
From what I could tell it was a case of thank you for your views but we have no money to do anything you want us to do. For example there were requests for tree pruning and fence repairs which there is no money for. When it came to problems regarding anti social behavior residents were told they be reported to the Police.
With the best will in the world, to wonder round local streets with fixed agenda's does seem a little pointless.
I have no doubts those organising this sort of event mean well, but without funding which they are prepared to use on what residents want these meetings are not very useful. Residents views need to be taken into account.

THE ELDERLY MUST BE LISTEND TO

There have been a number of Council meetings of one sort or another which I have had to attend, I did however manger to find the time to pop in and see a number of elderly residents in the area.
As well as going along to the Oscott Elderly residents Group meeting (ring 681 1826 for details) where I took part in a relaxation and exercise class from which I am still recovering. I also popped to Edith Pope House.
I always enjoy these visits because you can learn so much from elderly residents.

One thing they all have in common is a nervousness about the way our streets are going. The Councils inability to kill and remove weeds growing on pavements in the area, concerns many elderly residents because of the potential trio hazard they can be.
Many older residents also feel betrayed about the way they are to loose winter heating allowances and so on.
I will certainly continue to press the Council to maintain our pavements and keep them free of weeds. Oscott has had weed spraying teams out but the results as yet leave much to be desired.

DOUBLE MAST MADNESS IN OSCOTT

There is not one but two proposals for new mast locations in Oscott and in my veiw both are unsuitable.

The first proposal is for a 17 metre high mast to be located near the Kingfisher Public House junction. (Old Oscott Lane) This is very close to the Little Ripley day nursery and the manor valley school.
It is my view that they should be looking for a more suitable location and given the hostility to this proposal I have lodged an objection and asked the Planning Committee to look into the issue.

The other controversial location this time for a proposed 14 metre high mast is at the junction of Bowman Road and Booths Lane.
Many residents here feel its strange how when it comes to having new pavement and carriage ways the Council conveniently forget their existence but things are different when it comes to installing a mast.
I have again lodged my objection to this mast given I believe given the amount of open space in the area there must be much better locations for this mast and I have asked the Planning committee to look into this proposal as well.

ALDRIDGE ROAD ALLOTMENTS OPEN DAY EVENT

I managed to spend an enjoyably hour or so at the Aldridge Road Allotments open day today.
This site on the Aldridge Road in Oscott is a little gem and as yet unspoilt by major council cut backs.
Allotment gardening at sites like is very popular and demand for plots is at its highest for several years. There is a real growth in new tenants, particularly women and those in the 25-35 age group and there is a new sense of energy and vitality out there on the plots.
At today events there were stalls and refreshments and a time to wonder around the site looking at all the hard work growers are putting in. The site is well cared for and a credit to its committee.
If you would like to try your hand at growing food or flowers in an allotment please ring 303 3038 for details.

OSCOTT HAS NOW LOST ITS ENVIRONMENTAL WARDEN

As of June 6th Oscott now longer has an Environmental Warden. These officers have now due to Council front line cuts been got rid of.
This decision will clearly mean for wards like Oscott, a deterioration in the standards we were used to when it comes to the environment and the appearance of the place.
These wardens in their hay day helped clean up grot spots quickly, they dealt with dog fouling issues, fly tipping removal, graffiti removal and they also dealt with members of the public on a one to one basis trying to resolve issues.
Complaints of this nature may still be dealt with by the Council but it will be on a much more hit and miss basis and they may take much longer to deal with.
There will be a long term effect of making Oscott a dirtier and less healthy place to live.
The ending of the Environmental Warden Service in places like Oscott where they have been used well, is a disgrace as for that matter is the proposals to get rid of ward support officers.

KIDS CLUB CHANGES VENUE

I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO PASS ON THE FOLLOWING DETAILS

Bali’s Kids Club & Sundridge Children's Centre
Present... STAY & PLAY
For local families (Birth â€" 3 years old)
Thursday Mornings 09:30 â€" 11:30
Starting From: Thursday 9th June 2011
from £1.50 per session, please enquire for further details
All staff are qualified childcare workers and Enhanced CRB cleared
Activities will be held at:
Oscott Community Centre, Birdbrook Road, Kingstanding, B44 9TY
Places are limited so please contact Bali Dadral
on 07989 977 781 to reserve your place(s).

WEEDING IS NEEDED IN OSCOTT''S ROADS

In a number of streets in Oscott weeds are clearly getting out of control. The lack of spraying and weed removal is really noticeable this year.
It has not helped that the weather seems to be on the side of these weeds and they are growing at a really steady rate. In places however there appears to be more weeds than pavements.
It is time the Council got to grips with this problem and I hope we are not going to hear about the cuts they are having to make.
I have been in touch with the Highways department about a number of weed invested roads in Oscott but if you would like me to pass on your concerns about the subject please ring 303 2039 and leave me a message.

KETTLEHOUSE ROAD SPEED INDICATOR SIGN MAY BE RELOCATED AT LAST

After months of wrangling with Transportation engineers, which has included discussions with residents and a meeting of the Oscott Ward Committee, the Speed indicator sign is now likely to be finally be re located to a more sensible position.
I have taken up the issue with Councillor Timothy Huxtable (Cabinet member for Street Services) who is going to find out why it is taking his department so long, to re locate the offending Speed indicator a mere 25 yards further up the the same stretch of road. The current location on the border of Kettlehouse Road and Bandywood Road does not get the best effect from the speed camera and it is simple going to be moved just up the road to a better location.

NOW IS THE TIME TO APPLY FOR A GRANT FROM THE OSCOTT WARD COMMUNITY CHEST FUNDS

Those wishing to apply for a grant form the Oscott Community Chest need to apply now.
This year because of cuts in real terms in the Oscott Community Chest grant which Oscott receives from the Council, it will be even harder for the Oscott Ward Committee to choose who will be given any funding so it is important you think carefully what you ask for a grant for.
For further information please ring 303 5502

QUESLETT NATURE RESERVE SPRING CLEAN

The Queslett nature Reserve had another "spring clean this week when volunteers from the Orange phone company worked along with Park Rangers (with an impute from the friends of the Queslett Nature Reserve.) As the chair of the Friends of the Queslett Nature Reserve I was please (along with other senior members) to be asked for advice about the reserve and about the clean up operations where dozens of volunteers were on hand.
After dialog with the Ranger service a number of events are being considered for later this year. It can only improve the reserve.