All the entry details can be found on www.birmingham.gov.uk/grittercompetition

The winning schools will all receive a visit from “their” gritter. One school will also be crowned the overall winner and have a special presentation.

There was an interesting talk by a lady from Troop Aid, talking about the grab bags they make up to give to wounded soldiers.

Nice to chat to lots of people, and there was some very tasty coffee and cake too!

8 teams of girls had made it through to the final and presented on such topics as better lighting on railway platforms, cleaner trains, animal cruelty.

I have judged this competition for several years now – but this year was a real first because the winning team – who wanted better direction signs in Sutton Park – had actually succeeded in getting their idea implemented.  As part of the project they had contacted the Friends of Sutton Park and Andrew Mitchell, MP for Sutton Coldfield.  They had in turn approached Cllr David Pears, and the girls reported that it has duly been decided to install some signs in the park – so well done to the winning team, who proved that even when young people are not old enough to vote, they can still make a real difference to their area.

KEHS

a) should the city move to an elected mayor

b) should the city decide to stay with the current Leader and Cabinet model (or, it was suggested by a Labour member) should the city decide in the future to revert to the old Committee system (a move I would certainly welcome).

The Review Group will consist of the 3 Group Secretaries and 3 former Lord Mayors (one from each party).  It will report to CBM in April. This exercise is  being carried by the Council for the Council, and not on behalf of any individual mayoral candidates. It follows on from the former Lord Mayor’s Advisory Group which Cllr John Alden was a member of.

Sad how Harborne’s Labour Councillor felt he had to stand up and offer a criticism on the subject of Harborne’s new pool. This from the party who so poorly maintained the building  that by the time the Conservatives took over in 2004, it was already deemed to be beyond repair – in other words, that situation had been allowed to happen under Labour – but they did nothing whatsoever to put it right.

The Monument Road Baths which served residents of Ladywood and North Edgbaston suffered the same fate. Run down, then closed under Labour in the 90s – never to be re-opened. The Conservative led coalition has built the first new swimming pool in Birmingham for 2o years to serve all our constituency and beyond.  And it’s fantastic facility. You would have thought that might be a cause for celebration.

The Health and Adults Scrutiny Committee’s Review into TB in Birmingham was later on the agenda (some time around 6.45pm). Do have a look at the meeting on the repeat of the live feed when it is posted.

Edgbaston’s Community First Group is chaired by Edgbaston Councillor James Hutchings. There are 8 members of the group who represent different areas of Edgbaston and include me and Cllr Fergus Robinson.

Each Community First Group has to work with a Panel Partner to aid the distribution of the funds, and today the group agreed that our Panel Partner will be the Birmingham South West Residents’ Group.

We discussed priorities, and will be looking to pull together a Ward Plan as our first objective. There will be regular updates on Community First at our regular Edgbaston Ward Meetings (a Council Committee which meets in public) and on this website.

Where Labour didn’t maintain and even closed our local swiming baths (such as the one in Monument Road which served North Edgbaston) the Conservative led Council has rebuilt a pool which had been badly maintained under Labour.

The resulting new pool offers fantastic facilities, on the same site as before (which is what local people wanted) and the project came in on time and under budget.  A great success!

The Main Pool

The local collection point for the Edgbaston constituency, for trees which are to be recycled, is at Woodgate Valley Country Park on Clapgate Lane in Bartley Green. Trees can be taken there any time between Friday January 6th and Sunday January 29th for recycling by the Council (they get shredded in a big machine).  If you are unable to get to the collection point, simply keep your tree in your garden until the green collections resume after February, and then put it out for recycling with your green waste.

Christmas Tree Recycling At Woodgate Valley Country Park

You may be wondering why it takes longer to pick up two bags than one from your house, but it’s not the picking up that’s the problem. It’s the fact that if the wagon is filled more quickly, they have to make more trips to the depot to empty it, and that does take a lot of extra time.

I have received a message from the depot asking people to leave their rubbish at the front of their property if it has not been collected this week. Crews will be out over the weekend to clear the backlog. If you don’t want the bag split open by birds etc. it is quite acceptable to leave the bag in the dustbin at the edge of your property.

There are articles on winter gritting, Christmas tree recycling, and an update on the constituency’s new swimming pool. If you live in the ward and haven’t received your copy yet, it should be coming through your door shortly.