Catch-Up From The Capital
Blogging has been non-existent this week as I'm down in the big smoke for a few days. People need to smile more in this city.
Here's a round-up of what's been going on back in Birmingham:
- Soldiers from Birmingham and the West Midlands will be welcomed home today with a march through the city centre. A one-minute silence will be observed and I will be joining in from 100 miles away.
- The "Gym For Free" scheme, so successful in its trial across Ladywood, looks set to be rolled out across the city.
- Jewellery Quarter based company Life has developed the brand concept “WorldF3rst” for the Formula 3 vehicle developed by Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre.
- Birmingham's Chief of Regeneration Clive Dutton has left the city for the London Borough of Newham, managing the transformation of the area due to the 2012 Olympics.
- The City Council is taking advice on hitting tough CO2 targets from environmental guru Jonathon Porritt
There's also plenty of talk about the proposed UK City of Culture bid on which I have very strong views, so will blog about that separately.
Cabinet Gives Green Light to Ladywood Aquatics Centre Study
I am delighted to report that the City council Cabinet has given the go ahead for a full feasibility study into the proposed Aquatics Centre in the heart of Birmingham.
The centre, as I blogged about here, is set for land next to the Nelson School opposite the NIA. It will contain a 50m pool, leisure pool, climbing wall, gym, sports hall, 5-a-side and 11-a-side football facilities and community rooms. I am impressed with the way that residents' concerns about parking have already been addressed within the plans.
Despite Labour's claims to the contrary, local residents have insisted to me this is their preferred location. It will encourage public transport use and be a terrific use of land which suffers from anti-social problems.
Examining the Impact of Cardinal Newman’s Work on Ladywood
Today I joined representatives from the Ladywood Project, Spring Hill Library, the Oratory School and Pisces WM at the Norman Power Centre for the latest steering meeting of the Cardinal Newman Community Project. The project will, pending funding, examine the impact of Cardinal Newman and his work on the community of Ladywood over the years.
This will involve examining historical records, interviewing elderly members of the community and involving children from the Oratory school. The work will be displayed in various exhibition spaces and a DVD will be produced to record the work for future generations to enjoy.
I was invited along by project leaders Pisces WM to give input from a community engagement perspective. I was concerned that a lot of valuable information may have left Ladywood over the years as people have moved away. My suggestion was to create a project website with the aim of publicising the project to former Ladywood residents to hopefully capture some of that information.
I'm impressed with the quality and the variety of the partners on board, the dedication of the Pisces WM team and the generational focus which should help to further develop the strong community spirit of the area. It's important to note this is not a religious project examining his work, more the impact of that work on the local community.
Stay tuned for more information as the project develops.
Objections Received to Livery Street Nightclub Plans
Following my letter to all nearby residents, the Council has received a large number of objections to the license application for a late night venue at 89-91 livery Street.
The case will be heard by Licensing Sub-Committee B on Tuesday 21st July at the Council House.
Birmingham Blaze FC AGM
Yesterday I had the honour of being one of the returning officers for the committee elections at the Birmingham Blaze FC AGM.
I founded the club in 2005 with a kickabout on the site of the proposed Aquatics Centre by the Nelson School in Ladywood. From those tentative beginnings great things have happened. This season the club, chaired ably by Michael McCulley and managed by Fiona Washington, finished second in the GNL.
The club was founded on the basis of inclusiveness with a “football for all” ethos. In the early days this ethos worked well, but following success comes the inevitable divisions. There was a lively debate on this issue at the AGM and as a result of this there will be a wide ranging review of the club’s future.
As returning officer I had to remain silent, but now the elections are over I feel I can comment.
The club finished second in the national league, yet this was seen as failure by some. Take a step back folks – this was nothing short of an incredible achievement and each and every one of you should be brimming with pride. The club is exactly that, a club, not a team. For new players there needs to be opportunity or they will disappear and the club’s growth will stall. There is merit in the idea of two teams but this would need to be managed very carefully to avoid a huge division within the club. The Midlands Unity League idea should be investigated further and I would be happy to help facilitate any discussions. I also think entering a 5-a-side league is an easy way to increase the playing options.
I’m confident the membership has chosen a strong committee and it will be interesting to see what the change of manager (welcome Ian Thomas) brings to the club.
Academy Launch Weekend Line Up Complete
Local act The Streets has been added to the bill for the launch weekend of the new Birmingham Academy venue in September. Mike Skinner joins Editors, The Twang and Ocean Colour Scene to celebrate the launch of the new venue over the course of four days.
The Academy is upping sticks from its Priory Square location to make way for major redevelopment. The old Dome II nightclub on Horsefair (Bristol Street) will become the Birmingham O2 Academy following a major £5m refurbishment.
The main room has increased in size to 3,000 which should mean higher calibre acts can play the city more regularly. And as at the current site, the venue will also contain smaller rooms of 600 and 250 capacities.
The full line-up is:
Thurs 10 Sept - EDITORS
Fri 11 Sept - THE TWANG
Sat 12 Sept - THE STREETS
Sun 13 Sept - OCEAN COLOUR SCENE
The Entrepreneurial Smell of Coffee
In these tough times it's really encouraging to see entrepreneurs still prepared to give it a go.
The first Urban Coffee outlet opens soon on Church Street in Birmingham's financial district. The owners have started a blog to track their progress, which should make for a fascinating read.
They describe themselves thus:
"We have no experience in retail or coffee and it's the worst economic conditions since the War!!!"
Good luck folks!
I've got a few tips for the Urban Coffee posse - if they've not done so already I suggest they check out the fantastic Saint Caffe on St. Paul's Square as a great example of how to "do" the coffee shop concept. Also, a coffee shop in that area that opens later in the evening would be greatly appreciated!
Oxjam Conference Birmingham
I’ve been installed as Community Participation Coordinator for the Oxjam festival in Birmingham, which takes place during October this year. Last weekend I attended the 2009 Oxjam conference here in Birmingham city centre. The conference was a great opportunity to remind ourselves of all the great work Oxfam does, talk about the Oxjam concept, learn from previous years and network with teams from other towns and cities. The event took place in Digbeth's Centre for Voluntary Action - a great venue.
Of particular note was a talk from John O’Sullivan who has a proud career in event management and latterly artist management. One delegate said John’s one-hour talk was more useful than his three-year event management degree! Oxjam chief Benny Littlejohn spoke about his experience of seeing Oxfam’s work in Sierra Leone. Most useful was the role specific training where I got to meet and share ideas with other Community Participation Coordinators from places such as Leeds, London, Manchester, Blackburn and Glasgow.
I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who would like to put on a fundraising event, concert, gig, comedy night, karaoke party, anything, here in Birmingham. Lots of support from the central team will be available, as well as a warm fuzzy feeling!
Equally, anyone who interested in volunteering to help with fundraising, campaigning, publicity or marshalling is very welcome to get in touch. Finally, if any community groups are interested in hosting a talk to find out more about Oxfam’s work, particularly in the field of climate change, please let me know.
I say campaigning because this year’s Oxjam is raising awareness for their Here and Now campaign, which highlights the human face of climate change. I’ll write more about this and the plans for Birmingham in future weeks, but for now, check out this video which aired at this year’s Glastonbury:
Brum’s Best Budget Eateries
Media coverage of Birmingham this week focuses on food in anticipation of this weekend's Taste of Birmingham festival over at Cannon Hill Park, which starts tomorrow. Today’s Guardian features a list of Brum’s Top 10 Budget Eateries, with some of my personal favourites making the cut. My local The Lord Clifden, the Bullring’s Urban Pie and the Friends of the Earth Warehouse Café in Digbeth all feature.
Also on the list is Ladywood's very own Great British Eatery, which I blogged about last weekend.
Anti Islamic Extremist Demo in Birmingham
These disturbing videos tell part of the story of what happened in Birmingham city centre on Saturday. In the first video there appears to be something like a small explosion after 7.5 minutes.
There's been very little media coverage of this, surprising considering the content of the videos and sheer numbers of police on show.
I should just add that these videos were not made by me (!) and are taken directly from YouTube.
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