May 19, 2012
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We are expecting the plans for the Mere Green Development to be published for consultation during the summer months. To allow us to provide a meeting to discuss this, when announced, we have cancelled our next meeting.
The date for the development discussion meetings will be advertised here and by posters in the locality.
Our Next Forum Open Meeting & AGM will be on Thursday 11th October 2012 at 8.00pm in the Mere Green Community Centre
November 19, 2011
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All suggestions about ways in which Birmingham City Council should deliver huge public spending cuts will be published as part of a unique consultation exercise.
Chief executive Stephen Hughes has promised that everything said at public meetings, and comments made on a live internet blog discussion he is leading, will be recorded and the details passed to councillors, who must decide how savings of about £400 million can be achieved by 2015.
Mr Hughes said he had been pleased at the response of people attending the meetings and taking part in the internet debate, and he stressed that no decisions have yet been taken about the cuts.
However, one proposal, that the council should save money simply by defaulting on its loans, has been ruled out as illegal.
Mr Hughes explained: “At both meetings, people have expressed strong feelings about the broader economy, suggesting that we should not have to make any savings, or that we could default on repayment of our loans.
“I argued that the latter is not feasible because, as a statutory body, the council is obliged to obey the law, and this means re-paying money that we borrow, as well as ensuring that our expenditure doesn’t exceed our income.
“Comments about the scale of the savings programme that councils have been asked to work to are something that should be addressed to central government.”
The probability of cuts to social services budgets have provoked the most opposition.
A plan to scrap council-funded care packages to about 4,000 people whose needs are substantial have been dropped after a judicial review found the council had acted unlawfully by deciding to save the money without proper consultation.
However, the £53 million that would have been saved by shifting care provision to the independent sector, as well as £5 million from a postponed shake-up of home to school transport, must still be found by the council.
A final decision will be made at the end of February next year.
As well as attending public meetings, people can make their views known about the council budget by emailing to budget_views@birmingham.gov.uk, or texting by starting a new message with the word ‘Budget’ followed by a space and sending to: 07786 200 403.
by Paul Dale, Birmingham Post
Read More http://www.birminghampost.net/news/politics-news/2011/11/03/birmingham-city-council-to-make-all-spending-cuts-suggestions-public-65233-29709793/#ixzz1eBa1DXOa
November 3, 2011
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WHY ARE THE CHANGES BEING PROPOSED?
The Boundary Commission for England has been instructed by Parliament to reduce the number of Parliamentary Constituencies by
50 (thus reducing the number of MPs) Number of electors in each Constituency must be made more equal: (between 72,810 & 80,473) Ward boundaries are to remain the same.
HOW WILL THE CHANGES AFFECT SUTTON?
New Hall ward will become part of Erdington Parliamentary Constituency, but still remain within Sutton Town (with no changes to residents’ addresses, postcodes or Council Tax.) Kingstanding ward will become part of Sutton Parliamentary Constituency. (Also, Castle Bromwich will become part of Erdington Parliamentary Constituency. At present there are no significant joint boundaries between Castle Bromwich & Erdington. New Hall has a reasonably long boundary with Castle Bromwich. Is that why the Commission wants to move New Hall into Erdington, causing unacceptable knock-on effects upon Sutton?)
COMMENTS
There are no valid reasons for this change to Sutton’s boundaries. The existing Parliamentary Constituency of Sutton Coldfield has the correct number of electors. The number of electors in New Hall & Kingstanding are very similar.
WHY IS THIS BAD FOR SUTTON?
Ties within Sutton’s strong existing community will be broken. New Hall residents feel they belong within Sutton & that they have no natural bond with Erdington. The residents of Kingstanding do not have a natural bond with Sutton’s community.
HOW TO GET MORE INFORMATION
Read the proposals at Sutton Council House (Town Hall, Upper Clifton Road) Visit the website: www.independent.gov.uk/boundarychanges
WHY SHOULD YOU RESPOND?
Residents in Four Oaks are not affected, so why should we do anything? New Hall’s residents feel they are being adversely affected. How would we feel if we were no longer in Sutton’s Parliamentary Constituency? If there is not an overwhelming response from individual residents opposing the proposals as they stand, these changes will take place. If enough residents write against the proposals, we might persuade the Boundary Commission to change their proposals.
HOW CAN WE RESPOND?
Write a personal response to the Commission giving reasons for your objections. NB the Commission’s guidelines mean that they will ignore duplicated letters, petitions or letters written to MPs & forwarded to the Commission. Either submit your response by email at reviews@bcommengland.x.gsi.gov.uk or write to Boundary Commission for England, 35 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BQ
IF YOU WANT TO OBJECT THESE ARE SOME POINTS YOU MIGHT CONSIDER
The existing Sutton Coldfield Constituency has an acceptable number of electors
The proposals will result in breaking ties within a strong existing community
There are no valid reasons within Sutton itself to alter its Constituency boundaries
Proposed boundary changes elsewhere have had an adverse “knock-on” effect on Sutton
October 21, 2011
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Council house tenants in Birmingham are being reminded to give the winter weather the cold shoulder this year by making sure their central heating works now.
Severe weather conditions over the past two years and the associated problems with hundreds of frozen ‘condensate’ pipes – which drain outside rather than inside the home – stopped boilers working. As a result the housing department is preparing early and wants its tenants to do so too. ‘Turn it on…let it run…TEST IT!’ is a campaign of articles, leaflets and letters to all tenants to encourage them to switch on their heating systems, make sure radiator controls are working properly and that they are hot from top to bottom.
Don’t fall foul of the next cold snap For those with affected ‘condensing’ boilers the city council is working on a programme to either bring external pipes inside or insulate outside pipes. The work is well underway and more than 10,500 properties have been surveyed and 3,250 completed. Tenants are being urged to allow engineers into their homes to carry out both these necessary checks and works on the ‘condensing’ boilers and also to give access for routine gas servicing, which is ongoing.
Councillor John Lines, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “I know we have been experiencing extremely warm weather recently, but I want to encourage tenants to think about the months ahead. We saw an unprecedented number of repeat calls to our contact centre from last November through to the end of January this year as pipes froze, re-froze and burst as the thaw set in. “Working with officers, gas contractors and elected members we identified a number of areas where the service could be improved to mitigate such problems in the future. “However, I am concerned that a large number of our tenants – more than 900 – have refused to have works carried out to remedy the problem and our engineers have been unable to gain access to approximately 1,500 properties.
I urge tenants to contact us before the winter sets in. “We have also worked with the contact centre and gas contractors to ensure that the cause of failures is analysed much quicker and that operatives are well equipped to deal with jobs more effectively. Contractors have undertaken to train their engineers to become multi-skilled within their workforces to address any problems quickly. “We have also worked with our medical advisor so we can get to those most in need of our service first.”
October 20, 2011
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NOISE inspectors will be monitoring a supermarket to ensure its extended operating hours do not affect its elderly neighbours.
Members of Birmingham’s planning committee yesterday agreed to allow the Sainsbury’s store, in Mere Green, Sutton Coldfield, to open for deliveries from 6.30am to 11pm, Monday to Saturday, and from 8.30am to 4pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
The approval was only granted for one year and is on condition that the authority monitors the supermarket to ensure it is complying within the hours set and that noise levels do not wake up people living near to the shop.
Four Oaks councillor Maureen Cornish (Con) said: “There are a number of mature residents living along the road from the supermarket and they are being woken up at 5am. That is unacceptable.
“We must ensure that the store is monitored to ensure it is sticking to its end of the bargain.”
by Vicky Farncombe, Birmingham Mail