Clare Short Interview – Part One
Last weekend the Sunday Mercury sat down with Clare Short for an interview with the now independent MP for Birmingham Ladywood, who is standing down at the next election.
Here's part one in which Clare talks about her life before becoming an MP, her fondness of Handsworth and her favourite memories of her time in Parliament.
Watch Part Two of the interview.
Watch Part Three of the interview.
Planning Application: 18-19 Caroline Street
A planning application for change of use at 18-19 Caroline Street is currently open for comment. The former jewellers workshops, just 150m from St Paul’s Square, have been vacant for over two years and are in a poor state of repair.
The applicant wants to set up a photography studio on the ground floor and make other units available to the creative industries. The first floor would be refurbished to allow the applicant to live above the units. Some internal structural changes have been proposed.
The building occupies a prominent place on Caroline Street so I am pleased to hear the applicant would not make any external changes other than signage. There is also no parking requirement.
You can view the full application including floor plans and photographs using the Planning Online tool and reference C/02412/09/FUL. Comments must be made by 1st July 2009.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
4am Project in the Jewellery Quarter
It's not every Sunday morning I get up at 3.30am, but that's exactly what I did this morning, in the name of the 4am Project! The brainchild of Karen Strunks, the 4am Project aims to gather a collection of photos from around the world at the magical time of 4am.
I missed the first shoot back on 4th April (4/4) so with this re-run being held on the Summer Solstice in the Jewellery Quarter, I had no excuse. So armed with a flask of coffee and some spare batteries, I wandered down to St. Paul's Square.
It was a pleasure to meet everyone, a mix of professionals, keen amateurs and point-and-clickers like me! We wandered around St. Paul's Square, Brook Street, Newhall Street and up to the top of the St. Paul's Square car park. Unfortunatley we were short of time so couldn't head into the heart of the Jewellery Quarter, or down to the canals. Another time!
After a short interview with Karen which will no doubt make its way onto YouTube first, I asked her when she first picked up a camera. I was shocked to hear it was less than two years ago. You can learn a lot in a short space of time, it would seem!
Here's a selection of my shots, for the rest check out my Flickr.
The Birmingham Beach Is Back!
Birmingham's beach (no, not the one at Spaghetti Junction!) is back for another summer. Sponsored by Monarch and BRMB, the beach will be open for sun-seekers (we can hope...) from this weekend right up until ArtsFest in September.
The Council says the beach provides "an idyllic urban oasis for city centre workers and visitors to relax". When I was there today there were distinctly below-par Spanish dancers on stage to an audience of kids running around screaming. Idyllic? Hardly!
International Food Fair
I stumbled upon the International Food Fair in Victoria Square and New Street today, offering a wide variety of food from across the world. One of the more popular stalls wasn't from some far flung corner of the globe, it was from Shropshire! Alternative Meats offer kangaroo, ostrich and crocodile, amongst others.
Also available was paella, a huge variety of sweets, cheeses, fruit and veg, pretty much anything you could want.
The Food Fair ends tomorrow but will be open from 10am until 9pm if you fancy a wander round.
License Application: 89-91 Livery Street
Last week I wrote to all residents local to 89-91 Livery Street to inform them of a license application. The license would be for late night music, dancing and alcohol sales, so effectively it's an application for a nightclub. Opening hours could potentially be until 2am during the week, with Friday and Saturday extended to 4am.
The premises are next to the recently opened Hatters Youth Hostel and very close to large residential blocks. In fact the top floor of the premises overlooks the courtyard of one block!
Despite the presence of Subway City further down the road, this is a quiet residential area and I have no doubt that a nightclub would cause extreme disturbance to local residents, not to mention those staying in the hostel. With the saga that was TRMNL only a recent memory, it's important that the right decision is made early with this application.
I already know of five residents who have written to oppose the application. You can add your views by emailing Birmingham City Council at licensing@birmingham.gov.uk quoting reference 61547. You have until 2nd July.
89-91 Livery Street
Looking up Livery Street
24 Carrots – Jewellery Quarter Farmers Market
One of the (few!) complaints of living in the Jewellery Quarter is the lack of local shops selling fresh produce. The Tesco Express is good at what it does, but from time to time we all crave fresh fruit & veg, fresh meat and that personal touch.
But fear not, for salvation is here! On Saturday 4th July come on down to the square in front of The Big Peg (click for map) for the launch of the Jewellery Quarter Farmers Market, called (of course) 24 Carrots.
The market was the brainchild of a local resident and has been driven by a sub-group of the Jewellery Quarter Neighbourhood Forum. They've done a sterling job and I believe nearly 30 stallholders are signed up. Check out the 24 Carrots website for more information.
Whilst I appreciate this is no substitute for a local butchers, bakers and greengrocers, it is a positive move. Before I moved to the Jewellery Quarter I lived above a butchers shop and a greengrocers so I ate fresh food nearly every day. With city centre living it’s so easy to fall into the trap of takeaway after takeaway. 24 Carrots should remind some people that fresh food exists, can be easy to get hold of and of course, tastes great. Full marks on the healthy eating scorecard, folks!
If you need any further encouragement, the 24 Carrots Launch coincides with the Jewellery Quarter Festival in St Paul's Square, featuring live jazz and classical music, a jewellers market and Matthew Boulton
themed heritage activities.
There is no excuse not to visit the Jewellery Quarter on Saturday 4th July!
Electric Cars For Birmingham?
Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health Trust and Aston University are taking part in an electric car trial on the streets of Birmingham. Both are trialling a number of 2-seater Smart Cars, modified to charge using a standard 3-pin electric socket.
This could prove a great solution for company car fleet owners and for city dwellers who need to potter around an urban area. But they’re not a great deal of use beyond that, with a limited mileage of 70 miles between charges.
Of course the argument is for longer journeys you can use a combination of public transport and park and ride facilities, but that's not yet feasible nationwide.
But it is a huge step in the right direction and a positive outcome of this trial could see the streets of Birmingham filled with small electric cars sooner than you think.
Now if only they looked better…
Birmingham Eastside Park Unveiled
The first pictures of the long-awaited plans for Birmingham's Eastside Park have been revealed by the Birmingham Post. The paper describes the park as "a mile-long, shaped like a hockey stick" and "it will be divided into seven themed segments with a water feature and walkway running throughout linking them all."
Looks good to me. The Council-funded project will go before the Cabinet in September and if approved will provide a centrepiece for the proposed Digital District.
Coun Timothy Huxtable has suggested a competition to find a suitable name. I'd go for anything that isn't "Eastside Park"! Perhaps something associated with the Digital District plan? Feel free to leave your ideas...
Sounds Great, But What Is A Digital District?
At today's regional launch of the Digital Britain report, Lib Dem group leader (and Deputy Leader of the City Council!) Cllr Paul Tilsley revealed Birmingham will create a "Digital District" spanning the Digbeth / Eastside part of the city centre.
He said, "Birmingham will create a ‘Digital District’ that brings together the innovative, learning and creative sectors enabled through a next generation hi-speed broadband infrastructure. Spanning several hundred acres from the creative industries in Digbeth, our science and technology sectors at Birmingham Science Park and our world class developments at Eastside, it will provide an exciting environment for our creative industries and young entrepreneurs."
Now I would say Digbeth, specifically the growing Custard Factory complex, together with Aston University and the Millennium Point campus of BCU already meet that description. So what else will be on offer above and beyond high-speed broadband?
While I'm not quite as sceptical as B:INS, I do hope this isn't just a rebrand of what is already there, and there will be some form of investment programme unveiled to provide the meat on the bones.
Let's wait and see...
Update: You can hear the Cllr Paul Tilsley speech here courtesy of Rhubarb Radio.
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