Author: Izzy Knowles

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Grade 2 Listed Moseley Rd Tram depot to be turned into flats?

Izzy has been in regular contact with Birmingham Planning Enforcement team about the condition of the Grade 2 listed Moseley Road Tram Depot at 582, Moseley Road which has been in an appalling derelict state for many years.

Moseley Road Tram Depot was opened on the 1st January 1907 and had a capacity of 77 tram cars. In 1949 it was converted for buses, it later became West Midlands Travel Engineering Workshops. The Office building remained in use as offices for most of the 20th Century but it has been empty and derelict for over 25 years.

The council has conducted a survey of the building in order to serve a notice of essential repairs on the owner. Recently the frontage has been cleared of rubbish.

A planning application has now been submitted to turn the building into 9 self contained flats. Comments can be made until 27th October 2023

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Moseley & Kings Heath Places for People (LTN) latest update

Birmingham City Council have issued an update on the Places for People project (phase 2). I have copied the update below. It can also be found on their website
I welcome the release of the details of Phase 2 measures and am supportive of the revised design, having given some initial feedback concerning access to Moseley Golf Club. I am however disappointed no provision has been made to take into account the potential impact on Boundary Roads. I will continue to ensure community representations are fed back to the council to try to ensure the best possible scheme is implemented for the residents and businesses of Moseley. Cllr Izzy Knowles.

Council Update on Kings Heath & Moseley Places for People project (phase 2) – September 2023

“Places for People in Kings Heath & Moseley aims to reduce traffic in residential neighbourhoods so that it is safer for people to walk, wheel, and cycle and nicer to be outside, for children to play and neighbours to chat.
A first phase of this scheme was delivered in 2020 in the form of temporary measures, which were made permanent in April 2022, with the intention that a second phase would implement a revised area-wide scheme.

The Outline Business Case for this next phase of the Kings Heath & Moseley Places for People project was approved by Cabinet in January 2023. Our specialist delivery team are now overseeing the completion of scheme designs and other points required to progress this to delivery.

Following engagement with residents in Autumn 2022, some minor changes have been made to the final concept design layout ahead of delivery, specifically:

  • the addition of a modal filter at the junction of Yardley Wood Road and St Agnes Road (in
    place of the proposed one-way ‘gyratory’ by St Agnes church)
  • the introduction of a diagonal modal filter (south-west to north-east) at the junction of
    School Road / Greenend Road / Greenhill Road, instead of the existing modal filter on School Road (and in place of the proposed modal filters on School Road and Greenhill Road)
  • making the section of Springfield Road between Addison Road and Institute Road one-way (northbound) along with consideration of any other traffic calming measures required here (as with Billesley Lane)

A revised final concept design for Kings Heath & Moseley Places for People is shown below

An updated delivery programme is now being put in place based on a phased approach, with measures being delivered through separate packages as follows:
1) improvements to phase 1 measures to the west of the High Street – including the York Road pedestrian zone – which already have TROs in place.
2) new measures being introduced as part of phase 2 (to the east of the High Street) which will require new TROs – this includes modal filters, one-way streets, and traffic calming.
3) a 20mph speed limit across the project area, including on ‘boundary’ roads.
4) bus gate on Addison Road and reinstate a right turn from Vicarage Road onto High Street.
Work is underway to complete design work, obtain internal approvals, advertise Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) including statutory consultation, and award construction contracts. Further details, including envisaged timescales, will be shared as available.
Notwithstanding the requirement to comply with any spend restrictions in place in advance of the Council setting out its Financial Recovery Plan, the funding allocated to this scheme comes from grants and income which is ring-fenced for sustainable travel and environmental improvements. This funding was committed by the Council’s Cabinet on 17 January 2023 and due to the nature of the funding, it cannot be used to fund any wider financial pressures across the City Council.“

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A community centre not serving the community.

Notice has been served by planning enforcement officers on the owners and tenants of a premises on Alcester Road near to Edgbaston Road East. The premises, an old factory unit is leased as a community centre, however it is being used almost exclusively for evening pre weddings and parties.
Izzy has received numerous complaints about anti social and obstructive parking, loud music, loud prolonged drumming and fireworks being illegally and dangerously let off in the street. It is not clear if any health and safety or fire safety checks have ever taken place.

Izzy has previously spoken to the organisation leasing the premises and brought the complaints to their attention, however nothing has been done to stop the issues continuing sometimes two or three times a week.

The owner and tenants have until 4th September to appeal the notice. In the event of no appeal being made they will need to cease all activity at the premises after 4th October..

They now have a chance to appeal the decision by planning enforcement and apply to regularise the use of the building as a community centre.

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Public Space Protection Order – Consultation.

The wait for the Moseley & Kings Heath Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to be renewed is almost over:

The previous order expired during Covid and Izzy has been lobbying for it to be renewed ever since. In March this year she provided a statement of evidence to support the extension of the map to cover some hot spot areas and for the seizure of Nitrous Oxide (Nos) to be included in the order. The number of Nos cannisters collected by Moseley Litterbusters helped evidence the need for this. Other residents including Streetwatch members have also provided evidence to support the order and we thank them for their help.

The PSPO is an important tool for use by police and community safety officers to tackle Anti-Social Behaviour in our streets, parks and open spaces within the designated boundaries. This is to address anti social behaviour that includes, but is not limited to, street drinking and associated behaviour, street violence, consumption of intoxicating substances including nitrous gas, large anti social groups gathering and destruction of public property including graffiti.

The order is now subject to a public consultation which ends on 17th September and we encourage you to please complete.

There will be engagement events in Moseley in August for people who are not on line to take part, including at Moseley Farmers Market.

The new PSPO is expected to be live by October.

Take part in the consultation here

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Keep Train Station Ticket Offices Open

Birmingham Liberal Democrats are campaigning to save the train station ticket offices in Birmingham from closing.

West Midlands Railway propose to close almost all ticket offices in the region, meaning that many staff will lose their jobs, and the office doors will be closed. This is part of a move to close ticket offices across the country.

Group Leader Roger Harmer commented: “I am alarmed by the fact that people have had just 3 weeks to respond to this consultation. This does not give enough time for people to think through how this might impact them and their dependants.

“At this time of year, lots of people are on holiday. Parents and children are focused on finishing the school year. It’s a busy time. Giving people just three weeks to respond to a consultation means that many people will not have the time to think this through.

“Come September, parents will be putting their 11-year-old children onto trains, bound for new schools. Staff to help guide them to the right platform and train are crucial.

“There are many people that need extra support to board trains. From wheelchair users to cyclists, having expert staff on hand is not just a comfort, it can be a necessity.”

“There’s also tourists needing help to plan a journey, and the many people who don’t use a smartphone, as well as the million people in the UK who don’t have a bank account – how will they purchase tickets?”

The Birmingham Liberal Democrats are calling for an extension to the consultation period, and more thought on how train staff support the community.

A Lib Dem staff member added “I use the trains several times a week and I regularly see the vital service that staff offer to customers, especially vulnerable people and those

unable to access services in other ways. There is so much that just hadn’t been thought through about this proposal. We must fight to protect this vital service for our community.”

“We will continue to campaign on this issue, but time is against us. The consultation ends on Wednesday 26 July, and we will only be heard if we respond in number. We encourage Birmingham residents to respond to the consultation here.

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SUPPORT OUR ROAD SAFETY CAMPAIGN

In the past month alone, the lives of eight people and their families have been ended or changed forever through violent driving on our roads.

In response to these tragedies, West Midlands Police released a statement on 19th June 2023 confirming what they already do, not what they will do, to make our streets safer. You can read their full statement here:

This response has done nothing to reassure our communities that West Midlands Police are treating this endemic road violence as a serious emergency.

In April 2023 the Chief Constable Craig Guildford announced a new local policing model which put Neighbourhood Policing at its core, including a pledge for “increased neighbourhood presence”. In reality, our neighbourhood teams are continually being taken away from neighbourhood teams to reduce demand on other services.

Neighbourhood policing must be prioritised if we are to tackle and prevent crime.

Click here to sign our petition

Click here to sign our petition 

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Celebrating Communities Fund

A new city-wide fund has been made available to all 69 wards across Birmingham, building on the success of the Celebrating Communities initiative, part of the Birmingham 2022 Community Fund. 

Grants of up to £10,000* are now available from Birmingham City Council (BCC) for community groups and organisations to run initiatives that meet the aims of the fund. Round 1 of the fund is open for applications from 1 June to 30 June 2023.

In Moseley Ward we have a total of £35,000 of funding available.

How to apply

Please complete the short application form (attached) and email it to celebratingcommunities@birmingham.gov.uk by Friday 30th June 2023 at 5pm.  Applicants should contact their Local Councillor(s) to discuss the application before submission. In Moseley that is Cllr Izzy Knowles and Cllr Kerry Jenkins

Applications should support the goals and objectives in the Moseley Ward Plan.

Please visit Beyond Birmingham 2022 – Celebrating Communities webpages for more information.

Come along to an information session to find out more

The NDSU will hold information sessions where potential applicants can come along to hear more about the fund, discuss ideas and find out more about what makes a good project. To register to attend one of the information sessions click the links below:

Beyond Birmingham 2022 – Celebrating Communities Fund 2023-24 Information Session Wednesday 14 June at 6pm

Beyond Birmingham 2022 – Celebrating Communities Fund 2023-24 Information Session Monday 26th June at 5:30pm

If you have any questions, please email the team at celebratingcommunities@birmingham.gov.uk

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Road Safety in Yardley Wood Road, Hayfield Road & Wake Green Road

On 1st June Clr Izzy Knowles went on a walk about with local residents, Cabinet member for Transport, Cllr Liz Clements, Cllr Jenkins and the Highways Engineer Garry Dalton to point out and discuss road traffic issues, especially speeding in Yardley Wood Road and Wake Green Road.

Izzy has made previous representations for a pedestrian crossing to be installed on Yardley Wood Road. She has also talked with the Highways Engineer about adding double yellow parking restrictions on Wake Green Road outside Moseley and St Bernards Schools.
After the walkabout she sent a further email to Birmingham City Council:

Dear B’ham Connected team

Yesterday Cllr Jenkins and I together with Cllr Clements , Highways Engineer Garry Dalton and local residents completed a walk about of Yardley Wood Road, Moseley between Swanshurst Lane/Coldbath Road and Wake Green Road. 

This is a boundary road in the Kings Heath & Moseley Places for People scheme. 

As part of the scheme this section of Yardley Wood Road is due to become 20mph. So is Wake Green Road from Yardley Wood Road to St Mary’s Row.

Two things were raised during the walkabout which we would be very grateful if you could consider in the final design of  the scheme.

Firstly – There is a big need for a pedestrian crossing on Yardley Wood Road. This could be one of two locations – where there are currently pedestrian refuges. The first is just after the junction of Windermere Road where many families and children cross to go to Windermere Playing Fields and Moseley school and the other is opposite the entrance to Moseley Bog. I have suggested in my previous feedback to the PfP scheme that if funding is the issue the proposed pedestrian crossing on Billesley Lane could be re-located to Yardley Wood Road. My rationale for this is Billesley Lane will have chicanes and speed humps which should reduce speeding considerably, whilst Yardley Wood Road is reduced to 20mph with no further measures.

Secondly: Hayfield Road is used as a cut-through between Yardley Wood Road and Wake Green Road and a number of speeding-related collisions have occurred.  It is currently 30mph. Residents there have petitioned for calming measures and are concerned traffic will increase due to the PfP scheme. Wake Green Road, between Swanshurst Lane and Yardley Wood road is currently also 30mph. There are two schools along it’s length, Moseley School and St Bernards Primary School. St Bernards in particular has reported issues with speeding including a car overturning at 8.30 am outside the school on a school day a few weeks ago. Both schools are trying to encourage pupils to walk or cycle but safety is a huge concern to staff and parents.  We discussed yesterday that these two roads could be added to the TRO to also be made 20mph as part of the PfP scheme and it would not add significantly to the cost. This seems a very sensible and cost-effective action to take to address the real and increasing issue of speeding on these roads, to assist both schools with their active travel plans and reassure residents.

I look forward to hearing more about the design and the progress of the scheme in order to update residents. 

Best wishes

Izzy

Councillor Izzy Knowles

Izzy has received a reply:

Dear Cllr Knowles,

Thank you for sharing these comments with us following your recent site visit.

I have forwarded these onto the project team responsible for producing the detailed design for the Kings Heath & Moseley Places for People project to take into account as part of this work.

We are meeting with them shortly to discuss how to keep people informed of developments over the next few months as this scheme progresses to delivery, and will update you further following this.

Regards, Joe

Joe Green

Travel Demand Manager – Transport Planning & Network Strategy

Birmingham City Council

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The Wake Green Park Dell – Saved!

Earlier this month Councillor Izzy Knowles wrote a joint letter, together with Councillor Jenkins, to the Wake Green Park Management Board concerning the proposed sale of the area known as The Dell which is behind Bowen Court.

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She first voiced her concerns a year ago when it transpired the board were considering selling The Dell, which was designated a Nature Conservation Area by Birmingham City Council in 1985, has protected species and a Tree Preservation Order, to the MIA property group .
Since that time she became further concerned about what appears to be a lack of transparency over the proposed sale towards the shareholders, who are all residents on the estate. She urged the Board to discuss the issue with shareholders at the forthcoming AGM.

Councillor Knowles has today learned that MIA property group have now withdrawn their offer to purchase The Dell after being informed by the council they would be unlikely to be given planning permission for a number of reasons, including the concerns raised by Councillors and residents.

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Kings Heath & Moseley Places for People (LTN) -approved at cabinet

On Tuesday members of the City Council Cabinet approved the Outline Business case for the Kings Heath and Moseley Places for People (LTN) project. The team who prepared the report and who will deliver the project have today published a list of frequently asked questions for residents and businesses on the council website. It includes links to other documents and studies that may be of interest and help to explain the rationale and aims of the scheme.

The timeline above shows the expected progress – the next stage being preparation of the detailed designs for the LTN, Billesley Lane Traffic Calming, Addison Road bus gate and extension of the 20 mph zone.

Please do email Councillor Knowles at izzy.knowles@birmingham.gov.uk if you have further questions.

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Planning Ahead for Moseley

Moseley Ward Plan 2022-2026

The next Councillors Ward meeting will be held on:

Thursday 26th January 2022 7pm – 8.30pm

Moseley Hive, 93, Alcester Road, B13 8DD

The meeting will be devoted to putting together our Ward Plan & Priorities for the next four years. We very much want it to reflect the aspirations, vision and experience of our residents and businesses whilst fitting into the wider Birmingham Local Plan.

The plan will focus on the themes:

A Bold Prosperous Moseley

A Bold Inclusive Moseley

A Bold Safe Moseley

A Bold Healthy Moseley

A Bold Green Moseley

A Bold Local Moseley

A further ward meeting will take place in February to follow up on matters raised previously, especially focussing on road safety. The minutes of the last meeting held on 19th October 2022 can be read here:

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Kings Heath and Moseley Places for People – latest

Birmingham City Council has published the outline business case for the second phase of the Kings Heath and Moseley Places for People scheme, setting out the next steps in the process. The business case will be presented to cabinet on 17th January. If approved the plans will see the following introduced and we will keep residents and businesses informed as to the next steps:

• Modal filters and one-way streets at various locations across the area

• A bus gate, on Addison Road

• Traffic calming along Billesley Lane

• All roads within the area, including boundary roads, to have a 20mph speed limit

BCC says: ‘Further localised consultation will be carried out on the bus gate, traffic calming and 20mph speed limit and there will be statutory consultation carried out later in 2023 on any Traffic Regulation Orders required to implement the schemes’.

If approved the scheme will now be delivered under a permanent Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) rather than an Experimental Order as was previously proposed. BCC say: ‘Proceeding with a permanent TRO will still afford citizens and stakeholders a right to make a submission to the statutory consultation process (in advance of implementation)’.
The full report can be seen here.

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Homes for Ukraine – Blueprint for how we treat all refugees

A Birmingham Lib Dem motion received cross party support at full council today with amendments from both Tory and Labour groups all being voted through.

The motion is in support of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, calls for a review of the roll out in Birmingham, including timeliness & value for money of support provided to hosts and refugees and hopes this can provide a blueprint of how we support all refugees.
Thank you to Moseley host, Simone Schehtman and all the amazing hosts who submitted questions and provided testimonies and also to Cllrs Roger Harmer and Colin Green who submitted the motion. As Izzy is a host herself she was not allowed to speak in the debate as it was seen as a potential conflict of interest.

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Cycle Hire is coming to Moseley

The Birmingham Connected Team at Birmingham City Council have released details of the next Birmingham phase of the West Midlands Cycle Hire scheme. This will see one physical docking station (Salisbury Road near to the junction with Alcester Road) and six ‘virtual’ docking stations installed in Moseley ward.

The scheme, that launched in Sutton Coldfield and Wolverhampton on 8 March 2021 is now operational in Birmingham City Centre, South Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Stourbridge, Solihull, Walsall and Sandwell.

Overall, the scheme will see 1,500 bikes and 170 docking stations distributed in city and town centres across the region, offering more people the opportunity to enjoy cycling and provide a convenient and sustainable alternative to the car for shorter journeys.

The virtual docking stations will be marked on the footway with dashed white lines and a sign ‘West Midlands Cycle Hire’. The area is geo-fenced so that the Global Positioning System (GPS) on the bike can pick up that it has been left within the virtual dock area.

The plans below provide further details of the six proposed locations:

Physical docking station: Salisbury Road at Alcester Road (outside the old Boots building)
Virtual docking stations: Wake Green Road outside Wake Green Surgery
Oxford Road at St Mary’s Row (On corner of M& S building)
Alcester Road at Chantry Road (Outside St Columba’s Church)
Moor Green Lane nr to Russell Rd (Outside Scientology building)
Edgbaston Road opposite Oakfield Road
Yardley Wood Road at Wake Green Road (outside Moseley Court)

On the map you will see service bays marked out near each docking station. They are points where a service vehicle may park for a short time in order for the docking stations to be rebalanced. This is an operation carried out at night, by staff in service vehicles, whereby bikes from places with large accumulations of bikes have some removed and relocated in other places where there are less numbers. A service vehicle may only be there for a few minutes, and the bay is indicated purely to show that there is somewhere legal, safe and practical for operatives to park. Bays are not restricted to other vehicles or have any markings or signage.

Both pedal bikes and e bikes can be left at the docking stations.

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All existing docking station locations are available to view at http://ow.ly/p9Yk50EPfHY

If you have any comments or questions about these locations, please email : connected@birmingham.gov.uk by Wednesday 16 November 2022.

How will the scheme work? To hire a bike, the user needs to register for the scheme on the Beryl bikes app.

Bikes are available to hire 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year so residents and visitors can always access the bikes when they need one. The scheme is designed to be a cost-effective means of travel, costing as little as £1.75 for a fifteen-minute ride with pay as you ride, or £0.75 for a fifteen-minute ride with a ‘minutes bundle’. For more information and regular updates please visit www.wmcyclehire.co.uk or follow @WMCycleHire on social media.

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Bee – Friendly Brum

Izzy was proud to support Bee Friendly Brum make a compelling case in presenting their petition for banning of use of pesticides by Birmingham City Council at the September Housing & Neighbourhoods Scrutiny committee.


https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/dressed-like-ghostbusters-row-over-25120805?fbclid=IwAR1LgwS-iyVcFdVsaamYCQBRVct7z_RqCSvfHflHxWJu644ieNyEaunc7bA

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Izzy has offered that Moseley become a pilot for pesticide free weed control. The council has prepared their draft Nature Recovery Strategy which was discussed at the meeting.

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Birmingham Lib Dems call for energy grants to save our high streets

Birmingham Hall Green Liberal Democrats are demanding the Government rescue hundreds of small local businesses in Birmingham from soaring energy bills, warning that lack of action could see the area’s high streets turning into “ghost towns.”

Since businesses are not covered by the Ofgem energy price cap, many are expecting to see their bills skyrocket by 400% in the coming months.

The Liberal Democrat rescue package would offer grants up to £50,000 to help small businesses cope, giving them a lifeline to keep their doors open. The plans would benefit 20,020 small and medium-sized businesses in Birmingham, from family-owned high street shops to hairdressers.

This would include the 1000 plus cafes, restaurants, pubs and other hospitality businesses in the Local Authority area including over 150 in Birmingham Hall Green Constituency.

Under the proposed Liberal Democrat scheme, small businesses would be able to apply for Government grants covering 80% of the increase in their energy bills for one year, up to a maximum of £50,000. Nationally the proposals would help 1.4 million small businesses across the UK.

The party is also calling on the new Prime Minister to introduce laws to support families and businesses with spiralling energy costs as soon as Parliament returns next week.

The scheme would cost an estimated £10 billion and could be met by reversing the Conservatives’ planned tax cuts for big banks, which are seeing their profits grow with rising interest rates. That would include cancelling the Government’s cut to the Bank Surcharge that is due to take effect in April 2023 and restoring the Bank Levy to 2015 levels, raising £10.6 billion over the next four years.

Liberal Democrat Councillor and Parliamentary Spokesperson for Birmingham Hall Green Izzy Knowles said:

Our local high streets risk being devastated by spiralling energy costs and turned into ghost towns, but the Conservatives don’t seem to get it or even care.

“Local shops, cafes and restaurants that survived through the Coronavirus pandemic, could now be taken down by soaring energy costs and forced to close their doors unless the Government steps up urgently. 

“We need this energy bailout now to save our high streets, rescue small businesses and keep prices down for local families. 

“We’ve known this hike was coming for months and the Government has done nothing. 

“We cannot waste more time. The new Conservative Prime Minister must act immediately to protect families and small businesses in Birmingham as soon as Parliament returns.”

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Moseley Village Cycle Route Consultation open

Birmingham City Council has published its latest consultation to install a two way cycle lane in Moseley Village on the out of city side of Alcester Road between Chantry Road and St Mary’s Row. The pavement will also be widened from outside Cafephilia and Maison Mayci to the start of the cycle way at the pedestrian crossing. The crossing will be upgraded from the existing Pelican to a Toucan crossing to allow pedal cycles to be ridden across.

The council is proposing the following changes:

  • Removing on street parking to create a bi-directional, segregated cycle route on the south bound (out of city) carriageway of Alcester Road and St Mary’s Row (from outside the Co-op to The Bull’s Head)
  • Upgrading the existing pelican crossing (outside Evergreen Chinese take-away) to a toucan crossing for use by pedestrians and cyclists
  • Creating a shared use footway for pedestrians and cyclists linking the upgraded toucan crossing to future cycle route on Chantry Road
  • Permanently widening the footway along the Alcester Road (outside of Cafephillia going south towards the Co-op)
  • Constructing footway and ramps at the King Edward Road/Alcester Road junction
  • Re-positioning bus stop (outside of Co-op) to accommodate cycle lane
  • Creating two disabled parking spaces on King Edward Road and two on St Mary’s Row
  • Creating a loading bay on King Edward Road

Sections of the cycle lane will be suspended for the monthly Farmers Market.

The consultation can be seen here and is open until 30th September.

Two engagement events will take place:

On line on teams: Tuesday 20 Sep 2022 at 17:30 to 18:30 (Link not working so email if you’d like to attend)

In person drop in session at the Moseley Exchange: Thursday 22 Sep 2022 from 16:00 to 19:00

Councillor Knowles will be attending the online and drop in sessions and we are very keen to hear your views on these proposals. You can email us at moseleylibdems@gmail.com

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Kings Heath & Moseley Places for People / LTN Engagement Events

Birmingham City Council have announced a programme of localised face to face events for residents to discuss the revised design for phase two of the Kings Heath & Moseley Places for People Scheme. This is following the publication of a design released earlier this year.

Despite representations made by Cllr Knowles they say this is not a further consultation but they are seeking views on some local issues about how the scheme would work close to individual locations. For example, there are some parts of the design where a modal filter is shown on a stretch of road and they would like residents to be involved in deciding its exact position.

Residents and businesses within the scheme, including those on boundary roads should receive a letter inviting them to book onto a session via Eventbrite which will be especially aimed at their coloured section on the published map.

Anyone not having internet access can call 07537 130817 and leave a message including name, address, contact number and detail of the session they would like to attend. (Please note, this is for event bookings only, not to discuss the scheme).

For anyone who cannot attend the event specific to their location, a final event will be held on Saturday 1st October, with time slots beginning at 10.30am, 11.30am and 12.30pm. This session can be booked via KHandM_final.eventbrite.co.uk.

Businesses are welcome to attend the session specific to their location but there is also a separate event for businesses across the scheme at 5pm on Wednesday 28 September. To book for that event, please visit KHandM_business.eventbrite.co.uk.

What happens next?

The final decision of whether to go ahead with phase two of the Places for People in Kings Heath and Moseley scheme will be made later this year by the Council’s Cabinet Committee. Should Cabinet approve implementation of phase two, they aim to introduce these measures in early 2023. Should Cabinet decide not to approve the implementation of phase two measures, phase one measures would be removed, also in early 2023.More information

More information is available at www.birmingham.gov.uk/placesforpeople.

The Council team can be contacted via connected@birmingham.gov.uk with any questions or you can get in touch with Councillor Knowles at izzy.knowles@birmingham.gov.uk
Izzy will be attending all of the engagement events in order to listen to residents and help answer questions.

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Making Russell Road safer

A consultation has launched today for speed reduction measures on Russell Road. This has come about following years of campaigning by local residents who have gathered data and submitted petitions to evidence their concerns. We thank them for their persistence and welcome the proposals. We also hope this can help lead to a review of how we manage road safety across a wider area, taking into account other roads with similar issues.

“As part of an area-wide safety scheme, the speed limit on Russell Road, Moseley and surrounding roads was reduced to 20 mph in October 2016. However, traffic surveys carried out in September 2020 show there are still some issues with vehicles speeding along the road.

There have also been concerns in recent years regarding a number of collisions along the road, with the most up to date data from the last five years (May 2017- 2022) showing there were 30 reported personal injury collisions. There has however been a reduction in the number of collisions reported on Russell Road since the city council implemented a safety scheme at the junction of Russell Road and Moor Green Lane in 2018.

Three options have been developed with the aim of moderating vehicle speeds, continuing to reduce the likelihood of collisions and preventing dangerous overtaking along Russell Road. All three options, as part of the traffic calming measures, propose to introduce a new zebra crossing at the southern end of Russell Road, as well as link into existing proposals for a zebra crossing with parallel cycle crossing facility at the northern end of Russell Road which is part of the proposed Cannon Hill park to Moseley cycle route.

This consultation is part of the design process, to gain feedback on a preferred scheme from residents, businesses and people in the local area who could be impacted by the scheme”

You can take part in the consultation here: It closes 16th August.

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Birmingham Lib Dems manifesto

LISTENING, LOCALISM, AND LIBERALISM – A NEW START FOR BIRMINGHAM.

Liberal Democrats in Birmingham have launched their manifesto for the May elections in Birmingham City, and Sutton Coldfield Parish, with a challenge to the stale, tired politics of Labour vs Conservative parties.

Key policies for Liberal Democrats in this election manifesto include:

  • Liberal Democrats would give Birmingham’s struggling waste collection services 12 months to sort themselves out. If the problems of missed collections and poor recycling rates cannot be resolved, the Lib Dems would bring in partners to provide services in different parts of the city, the manifesto says.
  • Liberal Democrats call for radical devolution of power and resources to communities in the city, meaning genuine consultation with residents on any proposed changes to their communities
  • Prioritising safety around schools, by proposing funding for up to 400 “walking bus conductors” who would be the key to creating safe streets round the city’s schools for children and families
  • Liberal Democrats would focus on ensuring streets are kept clean, fly-tippers prosecuted and residents have accessible, free services for waste collection in their streets.
  • The Liberal Democrats say that under Labour, the Council has failed to listen to the concerns of its residents, spending money on “vanity projects” rather than basic services – and that this must be reversed.


Speaking on the manifesto, Cllr Jon Hunt, group leader for the Lib Dems on Birmingham Council, said:

“People across the city are crying out for change, demanding a new direction for their community. Lib Dems have been demanding better and achieving much from opposition. We need more Lib Dems elected for positive change in Birmingham.

“Birmingham city ward and Sutton Coldfield Parish ward residents and businesses are fed up with a Conservative government that’s given up caring, and a Birmingham Labour-run council that has long stopped listening.

“Liberal Democrats agree with residents that our local areas need more power, more investment, and more care. As we recover from the pandemic, we need investment across our communities, not just spent in one area on vanity projects.

“I’m very proud of this manifesto, and even prouder of the work across our city by hard-working Lib Dems. We want to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, fight against climate change for a secure future, and ensure people finally get a genuine say in their own communities.

“The Conservative party has shown that it can’t lead, and Birmingham Labour doesn’t listen. People want change, people want a brighter future, and that’s what can be had by voting Lib Dem on May 5.”

The manifesto can be downloaded HERE (PDF)

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Kings Heath & Moseley Places for People project

With the local elections only a month away, we’ve been asked by a number of residents for our stance on the Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN), especially in regards to the latest update released by Birmingham Labour. The update is only available online but we can take a paper copy to anyone who cannot access it.

We recognise the LTN is an emotive subject with strong feelings both for and against. Over the next few days we will be delivering a letter, which explains our position as set out below, to all households within the area in Moseley ward defined by the council as part of the project, including boundary roads.

We believe that the results from the public consultation, published by the Labour Council in March 2022, demonstrate that we were right to be worried about Birmingham Labour’s scheme.

One of the fundamental flaws of the project is that Moseley has been dragged into a Kings Heath project to resolve the congestion problems in Kings Heath High Street. The revised scheme for Moseley is not fundamentally about resolving traffic problems in Moseley.

This is what we said about the Council’s original consultation which took place in late 2021:
“This is a scheme to reduce traffic in residential areas, particularly for shorter distances, and to promote walking and cycling. We support such broad aims but would only support an evidence-based solution that works and that does not divide communities”.

This is what we will do if we are elected as councillors on 5th May:

  1. We will take up our places on the Project Review Board set up by the Council to manage Places for People. It is currently made up of four Labour councillors and two Labour MPs.
  2. We would examine the evidence and rationale behind the new proposals and any modelling that has taken place. We are especially concerned about the impact on the less mobile and the boundary roads and would want reassurances as to how those things are to be addressed.
  3. As Councillors we would have the power to refer the project to a scrutiny committee and to insist on a full consultation before implementation. Currently the plan is for the proposals to be signed off by cabinet and then implemented under an Experimental Traffic Order (which means they would install the measures and consult during the first six months).
  4. We will insist on before and after traffic modelling and robust air pollution monitoring to assess the impact of any changes.

The Birmingham Lib Dems are in favour of increasing cycling provision, making our streets safer by use of average speed cameras, better enforcement against anti-social driving and parking and lobbying for a decent public transport system that encourages people away from cars.

Izzy & Radley – Liberal Democrat candidates for Moseley Ward

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Community Speedwatch – Anderton Park Road

Izzy went out with the Moseley Community Speedwatch team again yesterday, helped by our local PCSO’s. This time we were in Anderton Park Road at the junction of Woodstock Road.

10 drivers will be sent warning letters for exceeding 20mph. The main aim of Speedwatch is to raise public awareness of the dangers of speeding. It is not designed to fine or prosecute people, but if really dangerous driving is witnessed the PCSO’s will follow that through.

Most traffic collisions are caused by drivers losing concentration or if at traffic lights because they think they can beat the lights. No one sets out on a journey to injure someone or wreck their car, so if we can make people think more about their standards of driving that is a good thing.

The Community Speedwatch team is now out regularly in different parts of Moseley so if you see them say hello. They are all volunteer residents giving up their time to promote road safety across the area.

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Damaged grass verge – Admiral Place

We have been helping residents in Admiral Place who have been trying for months to stop the bin lorries driving over and damaging the grass verge. They were in contact with the council numerous times but getting no solution. We have now identified which lorry was causing the issue and the cause, that it was unable to negotiate the turn to collect from flats in the grove. We have arranged for a smaller lorry to be allocated to that collection which fingers crossed will solve the problem. Yesterday the council also came out at our request and cut back overgrown bushes along the side of Fleetwood House. The next job will be to get the grass verge repaired. We have also reported the pot holes for repair.

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Radley gets a new Streetwatch group up and running

Radley has joined up with local residents to form the ‘Chantry & the Parks’ Streetwatch team. This is now the fifth Streetwatch team in Moseley working closely with the local Neighbourhood Police Team. Izzy is a member of the St Agnes Streetwatch group.

Streetwatch is about local residents promoting good citizenship and supporting a better neighbourhood by patrolling their own streets. They provide visible reassurance and appropriately engage in local issues that matter most to your community. Patrols help to stop crime and anti-social behaviour. They also help people in the area get to know each other.
You can learn more about Streetwatch here