MOSELEY LABOUR ACTION REPORT – January 2024
News from your Moseley Labour Councillor Kerry Jenkins.
Happy New Year! Can you believe we are nearly a month into 2024? Hopefully you will have recently received my New Year postcard wishing you a happy, healthy, and peaceful 2024. There are lots of useful contact numbers on the back so do put it somewhere safe.
It has been a very busy month so far, with meetings, events, and activity right across the ward.
Just before Christmas I attended a drop-in session at the Hive to hear about plans to renovate the whole building to create a usable and accessible space for use by the local community. The plans were great but of course all dependent on funding. I have written a letter of support for an application made by the Moseley CDT to the Inclusive Communities Capital Grant for a grant to refurbish and transform an under utilised storage space at the back of the Hive into a smaller functional multi-purpose event and meeting space. If successful, this will allow for phase 1 of the development plan to be put in place.
COUNCIL MEETINGS
In my role as Chair of the Education, Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee I have attended over six Budget Task and Finish meetings to discuss the challenges that the council. Given the severity of the financial difficulties, I have been urging the senior leadership team to look at efficiency savings rather than service cuts and will challenge all proposed service cuts that will significantly impact families, children, and young people. As we know, any cut to preventative services will only increase the need for crisis intervention so is a false economy. I am clear of the immense pressure senior officers have been put under by government commissioners to outline these cuts in a very short space of time and although the budget will need to be agreed by a meeting of the full council on February 27th, this will be a budget determined by commissioners given the scale of the financial challenge.
I also attended the meeting of the full council on the 9th January and was pleased to be called by the Lord Mayor to speak in response to the Inquiry into Young People and Mental Health which laid bare some shocking statistics. It highlighted how our young people and young adults are having to wait long period of time for assessments, who cannot get emergency psychiatric help and support and who often are getting sent out of area due to a lack of local beds. Like other mental health service providers, Forward Thinking Birmingham is struggling to cope with demand because these services are still being treated like Cinderella services by the government and are not being adequately resourced or funded. You can watch my contribution here: https://birmingham.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/837436/start_time/6782000?force_language_code=en_GB
On the 17th January I chaired the first Education, Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny meeting of the year where we were presented with an update by Sue Harrison, Director, Children and Families and Fayth Skeete, Head of Strategic Governance & Planning on the Improving Services for Children and Families Plan. You can watch the webcast here: https://birmingham.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/838938
NEWS AND ACTION
Flytipping
I have reported numerous issues including flytipped rubbish and green waste by the garages on Pensby Close; incidents of flytipping on Thirlmere Drive; flytipping and contaminated bins on Trafalgar Road; flytipping on Clarence Road and flytipping on Highfield Road and Mayfield Road.
Bins
I have reported damaged container bins and requested repairs/replacements on Thirlmere Drive.
Following enquiries made on behalf of residents in Admiral Place, officers from the Waste Collection team have been out and inspected current provision with a view to expand the facilities for recycling.
I have also reported contaminated and abandoned bins on Alcester Road and Trafalgar Road.
Lighting
I asked the Street Lighting Team to inspect and repair the streetlights on Laburnum Grove and Woodbridge Road.
Highways works
The resurfacing works due last year for Reddings Road received sign off from the Spending Board and were re-scheduled to be undertaken on the 11th January. Unfortunately, they had to be postponed again due to the emergency gas works being undertaken by Cadent. I am grateful for the patience of residents given the poor state of this stretch of road with its uneven surfaces, poorly reconstructed patches after historical roadworks, potholes and pools of water after rain and am pleased to say that the new date for these works will be the 30/31 January.
Potholes and road surface damage on Wake Green Road; Queenswood Road; Sandford Road and Church Road have all been reported.
I have reported barriers and signage for collection on Cambridge Road, Wake Green Road and Church Road.
I have been supporting a resident with the request for a new disabled parking bay to be marked outside the property which has unfortunately ended up being a long-protracted process due to the more stringent spending controls being in place but am hoping for a resolution soon.
Housing Issues
I am supporting a resident currently living in Temporary Accommodation and have written to the council about the problems being endured by this family because of damp and mould that have not been resolved by the social housing provider. I will continue to make representation until appropriate action is taken.
I am assisting a resident with mobility issues who requires a move to a ground floor flat and am working with Bromford Housing to see how this can be best facilitated and what adaptations could be put in place in the short term.
I am offering support to a family of 8 who have recently been issued with a Section 21 notice by their landlord who has decided to sell the property and who will therefore be homeless if they cannot find alternative accommodation.
I am supporting several families currently living in Temporary Accommodation in their attempts to find permanent housing.
Trees
I recently supported a resident who had concerns over the precarious nature of a large tree overhanging her garden. I was able to get an inspection undertaken by the Tree Officer and have now provided advice as to follow up actions required.
I have liaised with the Council’s Parks department regarding issues related to root damage and encroachment of a resident’s property. I will be meeting the Local Tree Officer onsite in the new financial year to discuss a plan of action.
HMO Licensing
I’ve asked Property Licensing Officers to inspect a property on Church Road after concerns were raised with me that it might be an unlicensed HMO.
REPAIRS UPDATE FROM WINTER 2023
Following my report about graffiti in Highbury Park, the Parks team attended and ensured the park got a good clean up. I would also like to thank the team for attending the many other reports of graffiti that have been lodged over the past few weeks.
In November, following concerns raised by residents, I flagged a suspected unlicensed HMO on Taunton Road. I requested an urgent inspection take place which was undertaken the same week. Further work has been undertaken with regard to this premises.
I was concerned by the cleanliness of Eton and Dennis Roads and requested a deep clean which took place the same week.
I am pleased that the empty property I reported last year on Dennis Road is finally now back in use and no longer causing concern for local residents.
I have had great feedback from residents living on King Edward Road around the rollout of wheelie bins. One resident said “It is wonderful to walk down the road on Friday’s without seeing lots of spilled rubbish. The road is so much cleaner now. Thank you!”
EVENTS
The next visit of the Mobile Household Recycling Centre will be on 1st February on Trafalgar Road, B13 8BH between 7am and 12 midday.
Last month I collected £100 and around 40kg of food for local foodbanks but over the whole of 2023 nearly £2000 was collected for Kings Heath Foodbank and around a tonne of food for the Trussell Trust. I will be back in Moseley with the Moseley Labour stall on the 27th January between 10 and 1pm.
ADVICE SURGERIES
I hold regular advice surgeries on the first and fourth Thursday of the month. My SEND surgery is held on the 1st Thursday from 5-7pm by appointment only at the Hive or online. I also hold a general advice surgery on the fourth Thursday of the month from 6-7pm at the Moseley Exchange.
WHATSAPP CHANNEL
If you would like to receive a regular update via my new WhatsApp Channel then please follow the Moseley News channel here: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va87zIp9Gv7YCfKLLc3A (This will replace the News from Councillor Kerry Jenkins Group and has the advantage of keeping your phone number and name private.)
Please let me know if I can help with any issues in your bit of Moseley and I will do my very best to help.,
