AN ARCHIVE OF LOCAL NEWS ARTICLES CAN BE FOUND ON THE LOCAL NEWS PAGE OF THIS WEBSITE.
The future of Holders Lane and Pebble Mill (Kitchener Road) Playing fields
Updated Friday 18th May
The previous Conservative - Lib Dem administration of Birmingham City Council was in the process of considering whether Holders Lane and Pebble Mill (Kitchener Road) Playing Fields should be leased on a long term basis to a suitable organisation for community and sports use, who would then improve the quality of the facilities including replacing the now derelict pavilion at Holders Lane.
Discussions had taken place with two interested parties namely University College Birmingham (UCB) and the Kingsbridge Community Sports organisation. Latterly discussions had concentrated on the UCB proposals although if the City Council had decided to proceed, the grant of the lease would still have been subject to normal bidding and procurement processes and planning consents would be required.
The UCB proposals were to develop the facilities on the Holders Lane side of the river principally for university use. The existing derelict pavilion would be demolished and a new, larger multi-purpose building would be built in a different location (see plans below). Crucially for Selly Park the proposals would also include development of the Pebble Mill Fields on the Selly Park side of the river for community use, particularly pitches which could be used by local schools. Changing rooms and a car park would be built on the flood plain with vehicle access opened up via Wallace Road. To see the UCB proposals please
click here and
click here.
The Kingsbridge proposals were to develop the facilities only on the Holders Lane side including improved pitches and a new pavilion and sports hall on the site of the current derelict building. The first draft on the Kingsbridge plans can be seen by
clicking here, although please note that following local consultations Kingsbridge are in the process of producing revised plans. Funding for the Kingsbridge project would come from grants and the income stream from sports hall and pitch lettings.
To find out more about Kingsbridge and their proposals please
click here.
Under both sets of proposals Holders Woods would be preserved intact and under both sets of proposals pitch hire for community use would be at 'affordable' prices.
Since the change in control of the City Council on 3rd May a halt has been put to all proceedings for the time being by the new Labour administration so they can reassess and consult. However SPS Forum Management Committee is fully aware the proposals particularly for 'our' side of the river are causing considerable concern amongst local residents .
The issue was the main topic on the agenda at the quarterly public meeting of the Forum held on Tuesday 15th May with over 70 people attending.
Both sets of proposals were discussed and there was
general opposition to the UCB proposals, particularly those parts affecting the Pebble Mill Playing Fields. Objections included the detrimental visual effect of the proposed changing rooms building and car park at the lower end of Wallace Road, the danger of the building and car park becoming a magnet for antisocial behaviour including vandalism, the large increase of traffic along Wallace Road as it changed from being a cul-de-sac to an access road, the environmental impact, the serious inadvisability of building on the flood plain and a questioning of the 'community use' aspect.
On this latter point one resident had carried out some research which suggested that the take-up of use of the facilities by local schools would be negligible and it was further pointed out that the Pebble Mill Fields are currently used for a wide diversity of informal but truly
local community use and that there would be an inevitable conflict of interest between this and the more organised sports use of the new pitches.
The Kingsbridge proposals were looked upon more favourably as they do not involve any changes to the Pebble Mill Fields and were also seem as true community-based use for the Holders Lane side rather than principally university use. Issues of control and accountability would require resolving with either of the proposals but this was seen as a potentially serious problem with the UCB statement that they 'must have control with all UCB funds'. Conversely Kingsbridge, by definition, is a community-based organisation.
Councillor Karen McCarthy (Selly Oak, Labour) attended the Forum meeting answered questions and noted all of the points covered in discussion and she promised that the new administration will investigate thoroughly and consider carefully the whole issue before any decision is made as whether to proceedand if so how. Also consultation with local residents
will take place.
SPS Forum Management Committee is fully prepared to take a central role in focusing the efforts of Selly Park South residents to ensure an acceptable outcome. Residents and other interested parties can get in touch with us via the links on the CONTACT US page of this website. Ongoing developments will be reported on the HOME PAGE of this website and the item will appear again on the agenda of the next scheduled public meeting of the Forum (the AGM) on Tuesday 3rd July. We have also opened a message board on which residents can state their views. Please
click here to access this. You will need to register if you wish to make comments.
The rebuilding of Dogpool Lane Bridge
Updated Friday 18th May
During 2012 the Dogpool Lane Bridge over the River Rea will be demolished and rebuilt to bring it up to modern safety standards and to help reduce the risk of flooding.
The road will be closed to vehicle traffic during these 6 months and a temporary footbridge will be constructed before the closure, parallel with the road bridge, to allow pedestrians, cyclists and wheelchair users to cross the river whilst the road bridge is being replaced. The temporary bridge will also be used to carry the various utilities which currently run beneath the surface of the existing bridge (gas, electricity, water and telecommunications).
LATEST PROGRESS REPORT: The detailed construction programme is under development but the latest indicative dates are as follows:
Week beginning 18th June 2012 - Commence works on site, construct temporary footbridge and divert services (gas, water, electricity, telecoms) with lane closures and temporary traffic lights.
Completion by December 2012 although Amey Birmingham Highways are working on trying to reduce this overall duration which is largely dependent on the utility diversion works.
Christmas and New Year holiday period - work suspended.
Week beginning 7th January 2013 - Close road, demolish existing bridge and construct new bridge.
Week beginning 30th July 2013 - Completion of project and road reopened.
Further information and photograph can be found on our LOCAL NEWS page.
Ministry of Justice - warning on Scam Calls
Updated Friday 18th May
The Ministry of Justice is issuing a warning to the public after an increase in scams where consumers are telephoned or emailed by people falsely claiming to be from the Ministry of Justice.
Scammers trick members of the public by suggesting to the person they're calling that they could be owed money - often for repayment of bank charges, payment protection insurance (PPI), or a court settlement - but first ask for an up front payment from the consumer in order to enable them to receive the money, usually using money transfers through UKash, PayPoint or MoneyGram.
These callers have no connection with the Ministry of Justice, HM Courts & Tribunals Service, or other genuine organisations. Fraudsters have already tricked and harassed some victims into handing over thousands of pounds, only for them to find that the call was a fake. The Ministry of Justice would never contact consumers asking them for personal bank details, or request an up front payment by money transfer.
The Ministry of Justice is warning consumers not to pass on personal or financial details to such callers, and that if they think they may have been a victim of a scam to report the matter to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 who will contact the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau who analyse fraud information with a view to passing it to the police for further investigation.
Surface water flooding of Dogpool Lane
Updated Monday 14th May
Following the recent repeated flooding of Dogpool Lane with surface water caused by heavy rain, on the evening of Tuesday 8th May Severn Trent Water successfully cleared a major blockage to the storm drainage system. It is hoped that this will pvenet this type of flooding of the road and pavement in future.
It should be emphasised that this type of flooding has nothing to do with the River Rea which remained safely within its banks thoughout the rainy period.
Updated Friday 4th May
Changes to local bus routes in the City Centre
Updated Friday 4th May
Over the coming months there will be significant changes to many bus routes in the City Centre, including the Pershore Road and Bristol Road services.
For up to date details of these changes please
click here. For Pershore Road services then click on the 45, 47 and scroll through the four pages. page 3 and 4 are particularly important as they carry the information for changes in May and June.
Domestic waste and recycling collections
Updated Wednesday 16th May
NEXT DOMESTIC WASTE COLLECTION - TUESDAY 22nd MAY: Please put out waste in tied black bags on Monday evening ready for collection early Tuesday morning.
RECYCLING COLLECTION - TUESDAY 22nd MAY: Green garden waste. Please use City Council clear bags or green bags for recyclable garden PLANT waste. Please note that soil or rubble will NOT be collected. If you are uprooting clumps of grass, dead plants etc, please shake the soil off the roots before putting the plants in the green bags.
RECYCLING WASTE COLLECTION - TUESDAY 29th MAY: Green boxes for cans and plastic and glass bottles and containers. Blue boxes for paper and cardboard. Please put out on the pavement on Monday evening ready for collection early Tuesday morning.
TETRA PAK CARTONS: Each year 55,000 tonnes of orange juice, soup and milk cartons are thrown away, which is equal to 2.3kg per person.
Residents in Birmingham, instead of throwing the milk and juice cartons away can now recycle them. Working with ACE (Alliance for Carton Recycling)
there are now facilities to collect Tetra Pak cartons at the Household Recycling Centres. The City Council are not currently able to take them via doorstep green box collections.
For more information about Tetra Pak and how they are recycled go to www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk
For more information on what you can recycle and where please go to the City Council's A-Z of Recycling by clicking here.
Click 
