Author: Izzy Knowles

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 30^th 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 26^th June at 5:30pm

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

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:

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

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.

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.

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)

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

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.

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.

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

We have recently been made aware of the proposals of the Wake Green Park Management Company to sell a piece of land on the site to the property developer MIA Property group. We are extremely concerned about this decision and the impact it will have on residents of Wake Green Park, particularly those in Bowen Court as they over look the site.

We have written to the Wake Green Park management company via their managing agents. Metro PM to make representations on behalf of residents:

Dear Metro PM 

We have been contacted by a number of residents of Wake Green Park in Moseley concerning the sale of the wooded area at the   rear of Bowen Court known as The Dell.

We understand from a conversation I had with a representative from Metro PM on 18th February that the Management board for Wake Green Park have instructed you to start the statutory process required to sell this land and that an offer of £500,000 has been received from MIA property group. If the land is sold MIA will presumably apply for planning permission to develop it as a separate site to Wake Green Park with the entry/exit from Yardley Wood Road.  

From our conversations with residents, who are also shareholders, it seems that although a vote was held two years ago to erect security gates at the site many were unaware of the sale of the Dell until they received notification via yourselves earlier this month.

They were also not made aware that The Dell was designated a nature conservation area by Birmingham City Council in 1985 and has a Tree Preservation Order. It is also the home to a badger sett.

Although we understand that Wake Green Management board members are elected to represent their shareholders we are concerned that this significant decision, which will affect the many residents on the site, who have little or no access to green open spaces, has been made with insufficient consultation. 

We are aware that leaseholders have a statutory period in which they could make an offer to purchase the land themselves, however we feel this is not a realistic option judging on the number of units in the estate and arguably the land does already belong to shareholders as part of their lease.

We are therefore writing to make representations to the Wake Green Management board to urge them to further consult with leaseholders to properly inform them of:

a) the history and significance of The Dell as a nature reserve, which has an abundance of wildlife including a protected badger sett and a TPO.

b) the rationale behind the decision to sell the site.

c) full details of how the revenue from the sale of the site are proposed to be used.   

We are aware there is an AGM on 10th March and this would be an opportunity to discuss the issue with residents but we also urge the board to write to shareholders with this information if possible before the AGM.

We would be grateful for an acknowledgement of this email and that it has been forwarded to board members.

Best wishes

Izzy Knowles

Izzy Knowles & Radley Russell
Moseley Lib Dems
Local*Visible*Hands On

The owners of the The Village Inn, Moseley have submitted a planning application to build hotel accommodation in their rear car park area. They presented their plans to the Regeneration group on Tuesday evening. The application is for 47 double bedrooms and a function suite. The existing pub area will be unchanged and the terrace will also remain, but the area where the glass room is will be incorporated into the new wing. The site will retain 20 car parking spaces and enclosed cycle parking. No mature trees will be removed.

You can view and comment on the plans here: http://eplanning.idox.birmingham.gov.uk/publisher/mvc/listDocuments?identifier=Planning&reference=2021/09791/PA