Cultural and family festivals that are put on by local residents are very important to community life. There are quite a number here in Hall Green including in particular the Hall Green Mela and of course the famous Middle-earth Weekend. I also recently had the pleasure of attending the nearby Springfield Cultural Festival held just across the road from the former ward boundary.

The event drew the rain as well as the local population but spirits were by no means dampened! The festival, which is now in its ninth year, is a great example of a fun event made possible by the community working together, and involving volunteers, Councillors, support services and local residents.

All joined in an event that showed once again that people from all communities can work together, raise funds for charity (MacMillan Cancer Support) and enjoy themselves together - and maybe sometimes even get wet together! But the sun always shines on cultural festivals one way or another! Occasions such as this are an important part of local life - and indeed are a sign of a lively community. When people pull together, so much can be achieved.

Amid all the justified concern about the scale, nature and consequences of forthcoming cuts in public services, the Government is taking rapid measures to deal with problems and absent or inappropriate legislation that have wanted for action for many years. In an earlier posting I reported the abolishing of HIPs, the intention to stop gardens being classified as brownfield and removing pressure to build on green belt land.
Now we hear, with great pleasure, that wheel clamping on private land is to be banned in England (it has been illegal in Scotland for years). The City Council, through the Public Protection Committee of which I am a member, pressed the previous government for action for many years.
Now a bill will be brought forward in November, and the law (with likely penalties of £5,000 or 5 years in prison) will come into effect next year. There are no fewer than 1,900 clampers in England - parasites all - and local residents have suffered from their activities throughout the city and here in Hall Green.
You may recall our reporting of incidents where elderly pensioners were clamped while recycling with massive sums demanded for the release of their vehicle. So before too long there should be an end to these threats and extortion. Meanwhile, it’s still advisable to keep a sharp lookout!

We’ve been enjoying a relatively good summer, but if you were still thinking that last winter’s long cold spell indicated that global warming was a thing of the past, the annual “State of the Climate” report, produced with the help of the UK’s Met Office, could make you think again.
The report states that the world is “unequivocally warming” after considering the temperature of the oceans, which absorb 90% of the world’s heat, alongside the latest data on melting sea ice (this summer has seen a particularly rapid retreat of the Arctic sea ice), retreating glaciers and the temperature of the upper atmosphere.
The authors of the report say that the world has been warming for three decades. Despite the cold winter in the UK, globally this year is set to be the hottest on record. The report warns “People have spent thousands of years building a society for one climate and now a new one is being created - one thats warmer and more extreme.”
You can access the full report We’ve been enjoying a relatively good summer, but if you were thinking that last winter’s long cold spell indicated that global warming was a thing of the past, the annual “State of the Climate” report, produced with the help of the UK’s Met Office, could make you think again.
The report states that the world is “unequivocally warming” after considering the temperature of the oceans, which absorb 90% of the world’s heat, alongside the latest data on melting sea ice (this summer has seen a particularly rapid retreat of the Arctic sea ice), retreating glaciers and the temperature of the upper atmosphere.
The authors of the report say that the world has been warming for three decades. Despite the cold winter in the UK, globally this year is set to be the hottest on record. The report warns “People have spent thousands of years building a society for one climate and now a new one is being created - one that’s warmer and more extreme.”
You can access the full report at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate/2009.php
You can also see how the amount of global sea ice is changing day on day at this site produced by the University of Colorado and supported by satellite information provided by NASA.

The annual Hall Green Mela was recently held at the recreation ground by Sarehole Mill. This is one of several, all-community events of its kind in Birmingham and there was a very pleasant atmosphere that is characteristic of the Hall Green events.

Many thanks to the organisers – particularly my ward colleague Councillor Paula Smith who put so much into the event – including the delicious tea!

One distinctive feature of Hall Green Mela is that the opportunity is taken to present awards to people who have contributed a lot to the local community through voluntary service and I was delighted to present these well deserved awards in recognition.

There was also an impressive talent competition for young people ranging from song and dance through to poetry and it was good to talk to the competitors. A very good day enjoyed by everyone – just what Melas are all about.

As you may have read, there is likely to be a referendum next year on a change to the way that we vote in elections. This country is one of very few that still uses the method of putting a single cross on the ballot paper in the so-called ‘first past the post’ system. This long obsolete method can produce hugely distorted results with candidates getting elected with the support of less than 30% of those who voted and entire governments given absolute majorities with less than 35% of the popular vote. It cannot be right that two thirds of people can have their views so comprehensively ignored.
In the Alternative Vote system you would have the opportunity to rank candidates, as 1, 2 ,3 according to your preference (you could still indicate support for just one candidate if you so wished). If no candidate gets over 50% according to the first preferences the candidate who finishes last is eliminated and their votes are distributed to those remaining according to the second preferences shown. The process continues until someone has over 50% thus ensuring a wider base of support.
Liberal Democrats will be supporting this method in the future referendum and we hope that you will also be attracted to this relatively modest modernisation.

Music On Stage (MOS) is a local amateur drama company that has under its umbrella the following societies: Shire Productions, Rat Productions and the Moskeetos Youth Group. Some readers will remember many of its members when they were performing at St. Peter’s Church for the Highfield Players.

MOS are desperately looking for a benefactor with a large, spare garage who would be willing to hire it out to the group for storage of scenery. The present space is subject to flooding and as a result scenery is progressively being destroyed.

If you can help in any way, or would like to have further details, please telephone 243 9896 or 777 5974 to discuss this. You can also contact MOS via email on: boxoffice@musiconstage.co.uk

Music on Stage would be most grateful for help or ideas to help with this dilemma.

 

As residents will be only too aware, couple of months ago we lost the superb, historic and healthy cedar tree outside Highfield House. For so many years a landmark for Hall Green, much loved by local residents, it became a piece of history which many thought had been saved when Highfield House was demolished by developers.
My colleague Cllr Smith got a tree preservation order on the cedar but contractors cut through the main roots for the tree - not the first time we’ve lost a fine tree in Hall Green in this way. Council officers found that as a result of the cut roots the tree was in danger of falling (a second opinion confirmed this) and so had to be removed.
We received many phone calls, letters and a petition over the tree because something of great value been taken away from the community. As a result of pressure, in May a cedar eighteen feet tall was planted near the location of the original tree at the expense of the developers.
While it is so good to see another cedar in position, the original should never have been destroyed and, while it would help if the law had greater penalties in situations like this, we must work with what we have and remain vigilant to prevent further incidents of this nature.

We’re pleased to report that very good progress is being made in reducing Birmingham’s carbon emissions. During the past year - 120,745 tons of CO₂ savings were made in 2009/10, up from 103,039 tons in 2008/09. At current prices saving a ton of CO₂ cuts costs by about £100 so the reductions have saved residents, businesses, voluntary and the public sector around £12m - so about £300,00 pro rata for us in Hall Green.

The biggest saving comes from housing at 83,000 tons followed by the City Council and other public sector bodies at 22,419 tons and the private sector at 9,987 (which may be under-reported). Good savings can result from simple actions such as installing energy efficient lighting, upgrading boilers and switching off equipment (for example TVs and printers) when not in use.

Next year’s intention is to save an extra 130,000 tons. However some factors, such as the city’s rising population, will offset some of the reductions. All the same, the carbon savings are good news and show the Council’s resolve to develop a greener economy in our City.

I was delighted to see that the Government has abolished the requirement for Home Information Packs - HIPs. These added both needless expense running to hundreds of pounds and significant delay to sellers - and which were in practice little regarded by the purchasers of property.
Several people in Hall Green complained about HIPs – and quite rightly so. The requirement to produce these packs also kept some properties off the market, disadvantaging people looking for a home and having an adverse affect on prices.
It was also very good to learn that the Government will change the planning classification of people’s back gardens so that they are no longer regarded as so-called ‘brownfield’ sites - and thus made highly vulnerable to intensive development.
In recent years, while we have fended off some intensive garden grabbing proposals, others have got through the process because of the ‘brownfield’ factor - to the detriment of the environment and with a considerable impact on local neighbourhoods.
And good news too that the previous administration’s plans to force councils to build on green belt land are to be withdrawn, with the control of house building decisions being returned to local councils where it belongs.
These welcome changes should now make it that much easier in future to keep the ‘green’ both in Hall Green and more widely in our part of the country.

I’m regularly asked for more information on the Staffordshire Hoard and I have started a fresh page shown in the sidebar – to which I will add from time to time.

I recently viewed the elements on display in

Birmingham Museum and

Art Gallery and talked with some of the excellent conservators. Prospects are really good since the money was found to acquire the Hoard (more is still needed for conservation) and this marvellous find (if only it had been called the Mercian Hoard!) will be a great cultural asset for us.

Do visit the museum and see the items on display if you’ve not already done so – well worth the effort and of course there are good train services from both Hall Green and Yardley Wood stations.