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Save Birmingham

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pjmburns

pjmburns

master brummie
We all know BCC is in need of money and has already sold off some assets. What can we do as an ordinary member of the public?
One thing that has been around for a while, although I had never heard of it, is ACV - an Asset of Community Value. There seems to be a campaign to make groups aware of this and get measures in place before we know what is at risk.
It doesn't stop places or land being sold but gives communities the right to 6 months grace to see if they are able to take on the listed place.
 
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Apologies it won't letme add to the above post. This is what I meant to put.

We all know BCC is in need of money and has already sold off some assets. What can we do as an ordinary member of the public?
One thing that has been around for a while, although I had never heard of it, is ACV - an Asset of Community Value.
An Asset of Community Value is defined as: A building or other land is an asset of community value if its main use has recently been or is presently used to further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community and could do so in the future.
There seems to be a campaign to make groups aware of this and get measures in place before we know what is at risk.
It doesn't stop places or land being sold but gives communities the right to 6 months grace to see if they are able to take on the listed place.

The website is here
savebirmingham.org

Home | Save Birmingham

Protect our community places
savebirmingham.org savebirmingham.org

Have a look and see if your local library is listed, or the park you played in as a child or a local amenity that you use or have used. Let us know your memories of that place.
You can also click to register your support for places.

How did I find out? I have just been involved in helping complete forms for the Playing Field opposite where I live. We Our forms ar in and we are waiting to hear.
 
The Council has produced a strategically framed plan to cripple the library service. The 24 libraries to be identified as of no use any more are not being mothballed until better times but withdrawn. The remaining buildings will not be libraries with other useful services added on but absurdly named community living rooms, where deliberately reduced library services will play second fiddle to more worthwhile services. Fewer books, fewer computers, no meeting rooms, fewer staff: this appears to be the Council's vision. Read the Citizen Impact Report attached if you think I am crying wolf.
 

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  • BCC Corporate EIA_Citizen Impact Report 20 Feb 24 RB.pdf
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localmike said:
The Council has produced a strategically framed plan to cripple the library service. The 24 libraries to be identified as of no use any more are not being mothballed until better times but withdrawn. The remaining buildings will not be libraries with other useful services added on but absurdly named community living rooms, where deliberately reduced library services will play second fiddle to more worthwhile services. Fewer books, fewer computers, no meeting rooms, fewer staff: this appears to be the Council's vision. Read the Citizen Impact Report attached if you think I am crying wolf.
Click to expand...
Quote from report re changes to library provision:

With regard to EIA00355, overall, the potential impact is believed to be positive, in that the co–location of
the council’s resources, into a minimum of 11 Libraries - 'Community Living Room' concepts, increases the
NAIS footprint across the city, and will enable longer opening hours, where residents are able to help
themselves, with a little navigational support. There will however also be negative impacts which have been
detailed for the protected characteristics above.

34 libraries reduced to 11 and they say this will have positive impact! Do the council really think we will believe this nonsense?
 
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pjmburns said:
Judging by the form we had to fill in and the evidence we had to provide this is definitely a group/community thing not for individuals.
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It does need interested local people to get the ball rolling and encourage local support for continuation of their library service.
 
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I was hoping people might post some memories of some of the places listed. For some reason on my laptop no map shows but on my phone there is a map showing places which are listed. i was looking at local sites and this one caught my eye.

savebirmingham.org

Trittiford Mill Park | Save Birmingham

This community place has been nominated by residents as something that matters to them. Show your support for protecting this community place by completing the form below.
savebirmingham.org savebirmingham.org

This was somewhere, as a child, we could cycle to from our house in Shirley. I must have been small enough to sit in one of those seats on the back of Dad's bike. I remember one Sunday setting off for a picnic at Trittiford - for some reason (probably rained) we didn't have our picnic much to my disgust. We set off home and our route took us down the road where my Grandad lived. We stopped off and I had my picnic sitting on his living room floor.

A fun memory triggered by one of the places listed.
 
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pjmburns said:
I was hoping people might post some memories of some of the places listed. For some reason on my laptop no map shows but on my phone there is a map showing places which are listed. i was looking at local sites and this one caught my eye.

savebirmingham.org

Trittiford Mill Park | Save Birmingham

This community place has been nominated by residents as something that matters to them. Show your support for protecting this community place by completing the form below.
savebirmingham.org savebirmingham.org

This was somewhere, as a child, we could cycle to from our house in Shirley. I must have been small enough to sit in one of those seats on the back of Dad's bike. I remember one Sunday setting off for a picnic at Trittiford - for some reason (probably rained) we didn't have our picnic much to my disgust. We set off home and our route took us down the road where my Grandad lived. We stopped off and I had my picnic sitting on his living room floor.

A fun memory triggered by one of the places listed.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a great place for a picnic!
 
Still is. Haven't been for a while but my husband's recovery from major surgery was aided by walks round the lake.
Lots of wildlife including a grey heron on one of the small islands and the resident ducks. Plus the Canada geese who cross the nearby main road twice daily to feed on the grass by the houses.
There is even a warnng sign on the central reservation about them
www.google.com

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
www.google.com www.google.com
 
I have read that there will be 11 libraries out of 35 maintained by Birmingham Council. That is one for each parliamentary constituency in Birmingham. Will the libraries destined for closure be known when the council budget is determined today?
 
Pedrocut said:
Libraries, parks and cultural projects may be affected.

www.bbc.co.uk

Birmingham City Council to vote on cuts after effective bankruptcy

The council aims to make £300m in savings and has secured permission to raise council tax by 10%.
www.bbc.co.uk
Click to expand...
I have been reading in various UK papers about Birmingham's dilemma, it continues to show a lot of wasteful spending at the council level. If this is not halted the slide will continue. Closing libraries should not/cannot be the end game!
 
mikejee said:
According to the Dispatch there are some rather weird plans for the old hospital at 80 Broad St. something one might have envisioned in Thunderbirds Go, and completely ruining the appearance of a historic building.

View attachment 189710
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When I saw this, I couldn't believe my eyes. I hope even BCC will throw this out but have no confidence in BCC looking at their record re listed buildings. Apart from anything else, it will look ugly & silly.
 
superdad3 said:
When I saw this, I couldn't believe my eyes. I hope even BCC will throw this out but have no confidence in BCC looking at their record re listed buildings. Apart from anything else, it will look ugly & silly.
Click to expand...
Hope the Fire Authority budget is keeping up with these developments. 40 storey residential.
 

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Pedrocut said:
www.bbc.co.uk

Birmingham City Council signs off 'devastating' cuts

Full council meeting votes through wave of cuts to services and a rise in council tax.
www.bbc.co.uk
Click to expand...
The council needs to become much more introspective! They never had the money to spend in the first place but they spent it anyway!! Tinpots comment on #21 is very appropriate. It’s like buying a car then not having money for petrol, you take it from somewhere else. Rob Peter to pay Paul!
I have done two business turnarounds and one the first things you do is ask: “how did we get here”? I haven’t seen that in the articles in the Guardian, Dispatch or BHF. As a very smart person once said, “the first signs of madness are doing the same things over and over and expect the results to change”!
 
Richard Dye said:
The council needs to become much more introspective! They never had the money to spend in the first place but they spent it anyway!! Tinpots comment on #21 is very appropriate. It’s like buying a car then not having money for petrol, you take it from somewhere else. Rob Peter to pay Paul!
I have done two business turnarounds and one the first things you do is ask: “how did we get here”? I haven’t seen that in the articles in the Guardian, Dispatch or BHF. As a very smart person once said, “the first signs of madness are doing the same things over and over and expect the results to change”!
Click to expand...
Richard, 'The Conversation' enables British academics to bring research to a journalistic audience. James Brackley of Sheffield University argues that the trouble lies with BCC's implementation of Oracle rather than the equal pay issues.https://theconversation.com/how-bir...d-cover-for-ongoing-oracle-it-disaster-224416
Oracle is a widely used system and I'm certainly not in a position to have an informed view.

Another long-standing problem is factionalism within the ruling group and disagreement between the officers and councillors. I guess we will learn more as the story develops. Derek
 
Stokkie said:
Richard, 'The Conversation' enables British academics to bring research to a journalistic audience. James Brackley of Sheffield University argues that the trouble lies with BCC's implementation of Oracle rather than the equal pay issues.https://theconversation.com/how-bir...d-cover-for-ongoing-oracle-it-disaster-224416
Oracle is a widely used system and I'm certainly not in a position to have an informed view.

Another long-standing problem is factionalism within the ruling group and disagreement between the officers and councillors. I guess we will learn more as the story develops. Derek
Click to expand...
Derek, I appreciate your words, however this is a failure of Operations Management! It is atypical of not results oriented set of managers. People who manage cities, companies or shop keepers for that matter get paid/rewarded for RESULTS not effort. In the private sector there is no option just to raise prices because they did not get it right, they go out of business which is what is happening here!
The Oracle system is as you say widely used and I know Oracle prides itself at the robustness of their systems. I cannot really comment on that with what I have read, I do recall back to the 80's by who was then the supply chain guru: That operating systems should be selected by the users and not the finance department. In this case I was the user and a good friend was the CFO and he wanted to manage it. He did for a while and then it came back to me to clean up!

Regarding the factionalism, you are correct and that is most likely the KILLER in the room! That is the root cause of what is hurting a great city. Taxing the populous is unfortunately the easy way out for them but will kill the country. Look around.

The city needs a little Thomas Jefferson & Dr Deming: The harder I work, the luckier I get & work smart! It will not be easy, the sooner you start the better!
 
Stokkie said:
Richard, 'The Conversation' enables British academics to bring research to a journalistic audience. James Brackley of Sheffield University argues that the trouble lies with BCC's implementation of Oracle rather than the equal pay issues.https://theconversation.com/how-bir...d-cover-for-ongoing-oracle-it-disaster-224416
Oracle is a widely used system and I'm certainly not in a position to have an informed view.

Another long-standing problem is factionalism within the ruling group and disagreement between the officers and councillors. I guess we will learn more as the story develops. Derek
Click to expand...
The Chair of the BCC Audit Committee seemed to be saying that they had been badly advised on the financial information because of the IT failure and that even the figure for overspend was not guaranteed to be accurate.
 
Tinpot said:
The Chair of the BCC Audit Committee seemed to be saying that they had been badly advised on the financial information because of the IT failure and that even the figure for overspend was not guaranteed to be accurate.
Click to expand...
That is a very bad sign! Not knowing is one thing whomever is communicating the financial overspend should be held to account. Failure to have accountability and responsibility in an organization will only continue to propagate such behavior!
 
As I understand it, the City did not buy an off-the-shelf product that worked but demanded that the company re-write its software to suit the various different systems all over the council that were already there. Birmingham thinks it is bigger than everyone else and can therefore require this. Unfortunately, you are then facing years of extra software costs, problems and frustrations.
 
localmike said:
As I understand it, the City did not buy an off-the-shelf product that worked but demanded that the company re-write its software to suit the various different systems all over the council that were already there. Birmingham thinks it is bigger than everyone else and can therefore require this. Unfortunately, you are then facing years of extra software costs, problems and frustrations.
Click to expand...
Absolutely on point!
 
When I started this thread it was in the hope that members would check out the site, vote for places they knew and loved as children or perhaps still know and love (for those who still live here), and tell us some stories about the places we are hoping to save.

It seems to have become a bit political and that, unless I am mistaken, is not what BHF is about.

Lets get back to the history of the places on the Save Birmingham site
 
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