POTENTIAL DRUGS DEN PARTICALLY DESTOYED

A potentially dangerous construction which could be used as a drugs den has been found in woodland inside the Queslett Nature Reserve. The quick actions of local residents and member of the Friends of the Queslett Nature Reserve, have made sure this structure has partly been broken down. Sadly a number of healthy trees were vandalised by those building this structure.

I have informed the Parks department requesting the rest is removed as soon as possible.
The whole structure was in an unstable way and could have fallen on a child who may be playing in the reserve. It is thought that this large shed like structure could have been used by youngster to take drugs or drink alcohol unobserved.
I would like to thank all those who alerted me to the situation.

SAINT ANNE'S ROLLING COUNCILLOR'S SURGERY

I was pleased to be able to hold a rolling surgery at Saint Anne's Court today.
I had a number of issues brought to my attention by residents. These included the state of the Old Cross guns public house, which was converted into flats and is now derelict and an eye saw.
Although this building is in the Kingstanding Ward I have asked that the Council consider compulsory purchasing this building if it can not be sorted out in a reasonable time.
Litter in some of the near by shopping parades, the state of some shop fronts, and the pot holes on college Road were also amongst the issues raised with me.
Clearly the College Road is like many other of our roads in that it has been left to deteriorate through lack of adequate maintenance over the last few years. Naturally because we had a colder winter than usual this time the authorities are blaming the weather for the state of many of our roads rather than their neglect.

BOOTHS LANE FLY TIPPING ON THE INCREASE AGAIN

Fly tipping along the un adopted section of Booths Lane is again on the increase. Rubbish of all sorts is piling up on the land next to this stretch of road. This is not just unsightly but may cause rats to increase in the area.

I am convinced due to the cuts in the bulky item clean up service which means after 3 collections you will be forced to pay for any rubbish collected from your home. This will mean in the long run people will fly tip more and Booths Lane is an easy target. It is made easier by the fact that a CCTV Camera has gone missing. I have asked the Council to look at restoring this camera.
They have also agreed to a request to sent in the You are your City Cleaner safer team to do a clean up in the Booths Lane area in the next few weeks.
If you see any fly tipped rubbish ring303 1112 or if you know any one fly tipping rubbish ring 303 9944.

COLLEGE TO HAVE MORE CAR SPACES SOON

I have had it confirmed by the James Watt Metropolitan College Site Manager that work is to start on creating up to 150 new cars spaces on the college site. Work is expected to start on demolishing the old Care Takers house as the first phase of the work to create the car spaces. It is hoped the work should be finished by the start of the Autumn term.
Along with the yellow lines near the Burnham Road and Birdbrook Road junctions with the Aldridge Road slip Road and the new parking bays on the same slip road, the proposed car spaces will make a huge difference in easing local parking problems.
Local residents along with Councillor Barbara Dring and myself have been pushing for these parking improvements for some years now and at long last there is hope at the end of the tunnel.

REPAIRS TO BOOTHS LANE CARRIAGE WAY AGREED.

After much argument I have had it confirmed that the Birmingham City Council now recognise the dangerous state of the Booths Lane (unadopted) carriage way. For months Council Barbara Dring, local residents and my self have been asking the Council to do something about this carriage way which looks like it has been bombed.
Following my most recent demand Council Engineers inspected the road and have agreed it is in a dangerous condition They have now agreed to do the work to make it safe and charge the owner of the Lane.
This Lane still needs to be fully taken into the ownership of the Council and Councillor Barbara Dring and I will continue to press the Council to do so.

OSCOTT GROUPS HAVE THEIR AGM'S

I attended a meeting of the Oscott Residents Groups today (these include The Oscott Residents Association, the Oscott Disability Group and the Oscott Elderly Residents Group) where they held their AGMs.
It made a refreshing change to see residents groups not hog tied by petty burocracy and just determined to get on and get things done. It proves to me that resident groups should where possible break free of the dogged rituals sometimes imposed on them by the Birmingham City Council. Residents Groups are much better when they are independent and free of Council involvements.
Khalid Mahmood MP attended this meeting answered questions ranging from the BCC Child protection events in the news recently to questions about Policing in the area.

There were also a range of Questions for the Councillors.

NEIGHBOUR HOOD OFFICE CHANGES

Due to deep cuts being made in Council budgets the Perry Beeches Neighbourhood Office, Beeches Road (Perry Barr Ward) is set to close in the summer of this year. This office which has been open on a 2 day a week basis has given good service over the years and although not in the Oscott Ward area some residents from Oscott have used this office and the staff there have done a good job.
Councillor Dring and I have insisted that Oscott where there is no Neighbourhood Offices should receive out reach assistance from Neighbourhood Office staff and sites within the Oscott Ward are being looked at to offer a place for Oscott residents to go.
The nearest other Neighbour hood office is on Rough Road near the Kingstanding circle.
Unfortunately due to the Council changing the way Neighbourhood Offices are operated you may need to make an appointment to attend and may even be diverted to other offices. In some cases these appointments are offered at Neighbourhood offices at the other side of the city which is completely inappropriate.
There is a new call centre however who can give advice and may make appointments for you.

Alternatively why not send your query via e-mail to: adviceline@birmingham.gov.uk or phone Contact Birmingham on 0121 303 1111 where they can deal with all your enquiries. The lines are open from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday.

DOG FOULING IS ON THE INCREASE IN OSCOTT

If the amount of complaints I am recieving about dog fouling is anything to go on, there seems to be a big increase in the problem.
Towards the end of last year I found out because of cut backs, libraries in the area were no longer giving out free doggy bags. I had that sorted out at the time. However even if for some reason there are no free doggy bags or scooper's available, there is still not excuse for letting a dog foul the pavement and not removing the mess.
This year I have been in touch with the Environmental department asking for their officers to monitor the streets more and ensure offending dog mess is dealt with. I have also asked that the Pan City Environmental team take some time in the Oscott area, looking into the problem.
I am sure if this is a success, we will find out about it in someones leaflet but there you go.

Dog mess should be collected and either taken home or put in a litter bin (if wrapped first) Most dog owners know this and are responsible, but I hope the rest remember the message pick it up wrap it bin it.

COUNCILLOR BARBARA DRING TO HAVE NEW WEB SITE

My colleague Councillor Barbara Dring is in the process of creating her own web site.
Barbara has told me she just has to get a few more details put on it and it will be up and running.
I will let you have the web details shortly.

Stop press Web details are as follows www.birmingham-labour.org.uk/oscott

For futher detail please ring Barbara on 360 7535

BIRD STUDY EVENT AT THE QUESLETT NATURE RESERVE

There will be a chance to observe and study birds in the Queslett Nature Reserve on the 27th of March. Dr Stephan Bodnar the former? Bio Diversity officer for Birmingham, has kindly volunteered to come along and give the FQNR a talk about birds in the reserve.
The meeting will start at 11am and the venue will be the Ashworth Road entrance to the reserve.
Children are welcome under the supervision of an adult and please come prepared for the weather.
For further details please ring 360 6486

LEND A LIGHT WEIGHT MOBILITY SCOOTER IN OSCOTT

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The Oscott Disability Group offer a loan service for those who may need a light weight motorised disability scooter of a wheel chair.
Chair George Hough and his group can lend (small donation would be welcome) the above equipment to disabled Oscott residents who for example would like to go on a coach trip but their own scooters are to large.
This service has been used on a number of occasions last year and has helped a number of disabled residents get about more. George and his group have done Stirling work over the years, campaigning to improve the lot of disabled residents and this scheme has been a great success.
I am delighted to be able to say I am associated with it.
However storage is a problem for the ODG if you can help store some of their equipment or for more detials regarding lending equipment
For further details please ring me on 360 6486

LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS TO (ORG) TO HOLD AGM'S

I have been asked to publicise Oscott Residents Groups AGM which will take place on Saturday 6th March at 11am. The venue will be the 610 Community Centre Kingstanding Road.
The AGM's will be for .
The Oscott Residents Association
The Oscott Elderly Residents Group
The Oscott Disability Group.

Nomination for the committees can be sent by post to arrive by 12noon Wednesday 3rd March.
Please wright to Mr. N. Quinn.
ORG
C/o Tambridge
Constituency Office.
Perry Barr
Birmingham.



All the above named groups are made up of volunteers and do a lot of hard work much of it unseen for the local community. Please consider going along to their meeting and offering your services.

ROVING SURGERY SUCCESS

I have just got back from carrying out a Councillors roving surgery at Milnes Walker Court, where I had a good turn out of residents to see me.
I know many elderly residents feel a bit left out of things at time generally and I try and address those feelings as much as possible. I am pleased to say I always seem to get a good response from residents in the elderly residents complexes I go to.
Many of the problems I hear about are the same the ward over, the poor state of our pavements, trees needing pruning and so on. At Milnes Walker Court however one of their main concerns is the 375 bus how it runs and its future. I have let them know that both Councillor Barbara Dring and I will continue to support efforts to keep this service and to try and get it improved.

USE THE 375/376 BUS SERVICE

I have been using the 375 and 376 buses a quite bit over the last week or 2.
Unfortunately they were not been that well used by the public. Though I can understand why the elderly in particular have not been using these buses due to the weather recently , I hope they will start using them as much as possible when the weather improves. We do not want to lose these bus services after the fight we put up for them.

COMMUNITY SPEED WATCH COMING TO OSCOTT SOON

The problems regarding speeding vehicles in Bandywood Road and Kettlehouse Road have been an issue for some time. As a result, as you’re local Councillors Councillor Barbara Dring and I have had to raise this issue with the Transportation Department and the Police on a number of occasions.
The Council’s Transportaion Department have constantly rejected calls to take action. We have however now got a commitment from the Police, to work with local residents with portable speed camera equipment.
Both Councillor Barbara Dring and I as part of the Police Neighbourhood Tasking team have received assurance that this equipment funded by the Oscott Ward Committee will be used in the area regularly. This should help act as a deterrent to speeding motorists. Although it is not the complete answer to speeding in the Oscott area. It is a move in the right direction.
We will however continue to put pressure on the Transportation Department to deal with the problems residents face with speeding motorists.

Community Speed Watch is where the Police and trained volunteer members of the public use hand held speed cameras to help detect speeding vehicles on designated roads. Offenders will receive warning letters and persistent offenders may have action taken against them.
If you are interested in taking part please contact me on 360 6486

IT IS EASY TO CONTACT ME - SEE MY SURGERY DETAILS

Both Councillor Barbara Dring and I think it is more important than ever to give Oscott Residents the oppotunity to meet with us face to face to discuse their problems or concerns. about the Oscott area.
This may not be a popular conception in the minds of some other Councillors but there you are.

If you want to come along to speak to us please see our surgery time table below.

We also hold a Councillors Advice Bureaux on the 1st Wednesday of the Month 7pm at the 610 Community Centre, the 1st Thursday of the month 3pm at the 610 Community Centre. And Most Saturday mornings 10.30amt to 11.30am
At the 610 Community Centre.

You also ring either of us us on 303 3039 and leave a message.
Write to us C/o Birmingham City Council
Council House
B1 1BR

My E.mail address is Keith.Linnecor@birmingham.gov.uk

My Phone No is 360 6486

Or why not leave a comment on one of my newer posts on this blog?

NEW ISLAND FOR QUESLETT RESERVE LAKE

I would like to thank Mike Garvey (Great Barr Leisure Centre Manager) and many of his staff who in their own time are building a wild life island refuge for the lake in the Queslett Nature Reserve.

I have to admit when I suggested the island was what the lake needed for its wild life I never thought Mr Garvey and his volunteer group would be able to do as well as they have.

The island will float in the middle of the lake in the Quslett nature reserve after being weighed down. The Parks department have been very helpful in the guidance they have given and the friends of the Queslett Nature Reserve have also been very supportive.

It is hoped that the new island will be ready to be "launched" in a matter of weeks?

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE fRIENDS OF THE QUESLETT NATURE rESERVE PLEASE RING 360 6486

COUNCIL CUTS THREATEN OUR WILD LIFE.

On a sadder note during today’s Planning Committee I asked how the Councils proposed deletion of the of Biodiversity Officer and Nature Conservation Manager Post will effect the Planning committee and its commitment to Bio diversity.
You may not be aware that it has been proposed that the posts of Biodiversity Officer and Nature Conservation Manager be deleted – leaving the city open to be challenge regarding its duty to safe guard our wild life.
It would also mean for example that the Council would be unable to meet the new requirement to register outdoor pools under the Aquatic Animal Health regulations 2009, without which Park rangers will be unable to legally remove fish from pools that require de-watering.
The Planning officers present were unable to answer my Questions and those of my colleague Councillor Ian ward later on. I also insisted that they contacted the Leisure Service department for clarification and I have been in contact with Councillor Marin Mulaney (Lib) Cabinet member for Leisure Services, asking him to look again at the Issue

OSCOTT HOUSING LIAiSON BOARD MEETING ENDS IN DEADLOCK

I attended a meeting of the Oscott Housing Liaison Board tonight to discuss the future of the Board. The HLB is made up of Council tenants and owner occupiers and Councillors, who try and work to improve their local community and look after Council tenants interests. It is over seen By Housing Officers.
Sadly the meeting ended in dead lock when residents either abstained or rejected Housing officers instructions to change how the meeting is run. The sticking points are how quickly a new AGM should be organised and how to organise the membership of the board.
Sadly over the last year or so many residents on the HLB feel they are not been taken seriously and that the constitution of the board is being used against the best interest themselves and those they represent. Also other motives seem to have been introduced to the meetings recently.
Most if not all the residents agreed with my view that after officers have failed to organise the last 3 meetings correctly rather than rush into organising a 4th meeting (they are not cheap to organise) which could be as badly organised as the last 3, time should be taken to consider the best way forward. One Oscott Councillor wished to organise an AGM regardless of the veiws of the residents present.
Unfortunately this leaves the HLB in limbo unable to make decisions for the moment.

A NEW STATION FOR BIRMINGHAM BY 2015

I was very pleased to be on the Planning Committee today when we gave the go ahead for the next stage of replacing of New Street Station.
Once work starts this potential Icon building, later in the year, it will create as many as 1,000 new jobs.
You will see in the fullness of time massive improvements including. More accessible and clearer platforms reached by 26 escalators and 14 lifts.
A new Facade. Eight different entrances, a much bigger concourse with much more light. It is hoped that at some stage in the future the Metro will link up with the new station. The committee has been assured little incontinence will be caused by the work to be carried out and the work should be finished by 2015.
This is a welcome boost for Birmingham's economy I just hope some of the expected wealth this new station will bring will end up benefiting Oscott residents. I will do what I can to ensure it does.