Christmas 2009 Rubbish and Recyling Collections

The only day on which rubbish and recycling collections will not take place is Christmas Day itself (Friday 25 December 2009). All other collections will take place as normal.

Selly Oak Ward Committee - Wednesday 9 December 2009

The next meeting of the Selly Oak Ward Committee is at 7pm on Wednesday 9 December 2009 at the Elim Church Centre, Exeter Road, Selly Oak.

Items on the agenda include:

• a discussion on the issue of land contamination on the site of the former Birmingham Battery and Metal Company;
• an update on work on the Selly Oak New Road (a representative of the Council's contractor, Birse Civil, has been invited); and
• a presentation from the Birmingham University Guild of Students on the work that the Student Community Wardens are doing in the community.

Birmingham Seen Exhibition

Over the weekend I took the opportunity to see the Birmingham Seen exhibition in the Gas Hall of the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (located off Chamberlain Square on the far side of the Council House from Victoria Square).

Lasting until 3 January 2010, this exhibition contains a wide range of photographs, plans and works of art showing the changing landscape and people of Birmingham since 1820. There are fascinating glimpses of Birmingham's history that are well worth a visit, (including a large number of photographs from the collection held by the Birmingham Central Library).

Also included is a larger version of these time-lapsed photographs showing the demolition of the previous buildings and the construction of the current Central Library building:

Birmingham timelapse from 7inch cinema on Vimeo.

Council Meeting - 1 December 2009

The agenda for the Council meeting at 2pm on Tuesday 1 December 2009 includes:

• the annual report of the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport & Culture - Martin Mullaney (Lib Dem, Moseley Ward);
• the annual report of the Chair of the Coordinating Overview & Scrutiny Committee (large pdf, 2245KB) - my fellow Selly Oak Ward councillor Alistair Dow;
• a Lib Dem motion (pdf) reaffirming the Council's commitment to tackling climate change and encouraging the Council to use its purchasing power and influence to stimulate green initiatives to provide employment opportunities for Birmingham people and reduce their energy bills;
• a statement of Licensing Principles under the Gambling Act 2005 (pdf);
• a Scrutiny report on Child Victims of Domestic Abuse (pdf, 681KB); and
  
• a motion (pdf) confirming the Council's choice of an Executive as the Leader and Cabinet model.
  

Friends of Selly Oak Park AGM and proposed Neighbourhood Forum

This Sunday (22 November 2009) is the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Friends of Selly Oak Park, which will be held at 3pm in St Marys Church Hall, next to St Marys Church off Bristol Road.

At 4pm on the same day there will also be the inaugural meeting of a new Neighbourhood Forum for the Selly Oak St Marys neighbourhood (whose boundaries are the Bourn Brook to the north of Reservoir Road, Weoley Avenue and Weoley Park Road to the west, Bristol Road to the south and Harborne Lane to the east). This will be an opportunity for residents to share their views with neighbours and local organizations.

Local residents and organisations have already been working together to promote community initiatives and increase activity in keeping our streets clean and tackling anti-social behaviour, but a Neighbourhood Forum would help involve more people. Neigbourhood Forums in Birmingham represent all the residents who live in their area, organise a number of open meetings to discuss local issues and receive a small grant from the City Council towards running costs.

My Local Information

As part of the development of Birmingham City Council's new website, a new geographical information service has been rolled out.

"My Local Information" allows you to find your nearest Council facilities such as libraries as schools, your rubbish collection day and even your councillors! The intention is that more information will be added over time and that residents will be able to use the service to report problems such as potholes or faulty streetlights.

Council Meeting - 3 November 2009

The agenda for the City Council meeting on Tuesday 3 November 2009 includes the following items:

• the annual report of the Cabinet Member for Transportation and Street Services; and
  
• the annual report of the Council's Lead Member on the West Midlands Police Authority (Lib Dem Councillor Zaker Choudhry).