Acocks Green Meets with Birmingham City Council Transportation, Planning & Regeneration Department re Warwick Road

October 16th, 2010 Posted in Warwick Road/A41 Smart Route Scheme | No Comments »

Council Officials pack up after busy meeting at the Best Western, Westley Arms in Acocks Green

Today delegates from Acocks Green organisations together with local councillors and officials met with officers from Birmingham City Council Transportation, Planning and Regeneration Department to discuss the future of the Acocks Green section of the Warwick Road/A41, which is currently the subject of a ‘Smart Route’ proposal.

Background

The ‘Smart Route’ scheme, a variation on a now more conventional ‘Red Route’,  would mean that there would be no stopping on the main road, but, also, that there would be extra facilities for the smooth movement of buses: Acocks Green has many buses going through.  We have long been interested in how a ‘Red Route’ scheme operates on the Stratford Road in Shirley, with additional car parking facilties, and trees.  (See our page on the Shirley Red Route here)  Bearing in mind both the Shirley scheme, and the fact that  in these economically difficult times such schemes still attract funding, Acocks Green has not been inclined to reject the this approach out of hand.   However, Red Routes and Smart Routes  come with many designs and options.  We have been very concerned that if we go down the Smart Route,  we have the right mix of features for Acocks Green.  For a fuller background on this see our previous posting on the Smart Route proposal for the Warwick Road A41 here and our page on the originally dove-tailing, Birmingham Landscape Practice scheme here.

The Meeting Today (16.10.2010)

This was a busy and lively meeting in which local people reviewed the present proposals and gave much feedback.  Initially people were surprised to see that the original A, B, C. alternative models for The Green itself have now been potted down into two: either one smaller, circular island,  or a larger island, pushed further over to Shirley Road, and  involving five lanes of traffic and three additional sets of pelican crossings.  Delegates made it clear that they have  reservations about both of these ideas.

‘De-Dualling’

Instead, and in line with an Acocks Green meeting on 31 August this year,  it was stressed that we would prefer the Council to concentrate upon ‘de-dualling’ the Warwick Road in Acocks Green, in line with this aspect of the original Transportation/Landscape Practice proposal, i.e. taking away one of the carriageways to provide more pedestrian area, parking spaces and trees  and to calm traffic.  See diagram reproduced again below: (Note for ease of viewing, double clicking on any of these diagrams will enlarge.)

Blow up of engineering drawing of single carriageway plan for Warwick Road through Acocks Green

Or, landscaped, something like this:

Landscaped single carriageway for the whole of the Warwick Road in Acocks Green

Landscaped single carriageway for the whole of the Warwick Road in Acocks Green

Whereas, at present, we have this (or ‘Brand’s Hatch’ as one member of The Focus Group famously dubbed it in a Radio WM  interview:

'Brands Hatch' Area of Acocks Green - dual carriageway with four lanes.

Dual carriageways and guard rails are both known to encourage speeding.  In one serious accident here, in 2005, Steve Ajao, a well known jazz musician from Moseley, crossed on a zebra crossing near here in broad daylight only to be collected on the bonnet of a speeding car and carried 50 yards.  Steve, who was lucky to survive, was unconscious for two weeks and needed many operations to his legs.  Police re-constructing the accident thought the car was probably travelling at 60 mph.

This area of  the road, we have now emphasised to BCC, is where we wish the first attentions  of the Smart Route project to be concentrated.

From the point of view of Acocks Green Focus Group such a scheme is also not incompatible with our, longer term, Shared Space proposal (see our last but one posting) and could, ultimately, ‘pave the way’ for this.  However, as a shorter term measure ‘de-dualling’ would definitely be preferable to present arrangments.

Check List

Deligates were also asked to complete a check list of what they considered to be key concerns in Acocks Green.  Out of this list high scoring concerns included:

  • Poor visibility
  • High priority bus interchanges
  • Reducing accident rates
  • Better walking routes
  • Better pavements
  • More trees
  • Reducing clutter (street furniture, especially guard rails, bollards and unnecessary signs)
  • More public art/a ‘gateway’ to Birmingham feature
  • Reducing vehicle speeds
  • More on-street parking

Clutter

Reduction of ‘clutter’ was noted as being of particular high priority at present, with new national policies on this now emerging and there was a specific question on a questionnaire delegates completed about ‘clutter’.  For this point see the recent publication of Manual for Streets 2 which was referred to by BCC Transporation engineer Andy Chidgey – see  CABE review of MfS2  here.   (A presentation on MfS 2 is planned in Acocks Green  for later this year more details on our site later.)  Together with concerns about accident rates it was also acknowledged: a point we have been making for years …  that street furniture like guard rails is expensive to maintain …

Cyclists

It was felt (in line with Shared Space principles)  that cycle lanes per se were not required as long as there were traffic calming measures like removing the dual carriageway,  but that cycle parking/storage facilities might be helpful.

Acocks Green Accident Rates

Interestingly recent research suggests that Acocks Green, previously thought to be safe presently has a high rate of minor accidents and that this was connected with the volume of vehicles.  Again, it is  likely that traffic calming  would help here.

Future of Smart Route Proposal for Acocks Green

As far as the future of The Smart Route for Acocks Green is concerned we learned that funding is still an issue which requires work.  However,  Transportation officers have recently been putting much effort  into developing the Smart Route for Acocks Green.   We were told ‘There is ‘competion with Coventry, Walsall and the Pershore Road.   We need ours to be the best bid.’   At the same time, we were also advised that ‘This scheme is more advanced than a lot of others.’  In particular we are currently  ‘… way ahead of the Pershore Road.’  and officers added that they   ‘…  do not want to waste the work and are pushing ahead.’

There are government funding possibiliites, e.g. the ‘Sustainable Transport Fund.’   For bids for such funds  to be credible  the ideas already in place now need to be further developed  and  BCC Transportation needs to be able to publish an overall vision, although the actual delivery is likely to be ‘incremental’ (i.e. in stages).  They stresed that they were seeking to work with Acocks Green in partnership when funding is secured.

At the end of this month the Allocation of Spending Review in Birmingham will begin and a Transport Plan will be drawn up for the next five years.   Acocks Green needs to make its own views known, e.g. to the Cabinet Member for Transportation and, shortly, on the Centro  web site (There will be a link from our site to the Centro website in due course.)

Feelings …

So: how do we feel?  Encouraged, and very pleased to note the comments on street clutter, and the acceptance of ‘de-dualling’ as being of high priority.  We were less happy about the new plans for the islands.  We do not feel that either of these would be right for Acocks Green, and we will continue to maintain vigilance.

42 and 42 Flint Green Road in Door Disaster: Why We Still Need a Conservation Area (One door offered … )

October 9th, 2010 Posted in Conservation area, Uncategorized | No Comments »
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Acocks Green residents were pleased when the two fine Victorian properties, 42 and 44 Flint Green Road, a strong feature of the local area, were recently saved from demolition.  This was after a vigorous campaign: see for example here or here (You will find a list of entries on this campaign if you put 44 Flint Green Road into the Search Box top right.)  The campaign was also supported by the national organisation SAVE , by The Birmingham Mail and by local councillor, Roger Harmer.  The houses have survived.  The original doors have been less fortunate.

44 Flint Green Road New Door and Original Door Compared

Focus Group members were saddned to notice, that the doors to both 42 and 44 Flint Green Road have been replaced.  The result is a disappointing cheapening and vulgarising of the appearance of the houses.  The original green door, seen on the right  would have been a solid, heavy, Victorian front door, made with high quality Victorian ‘pitch’ pine: dense, slow grown, pine which was used for front doors, ships and other places where a durable wood was required.  It has six panels with proper architrive mouldings around each panel and original brass door furniture.  A door like this would have been made by a craftsman, to fit this house.  It must have had many layers of paint, but it would always have been smoothly painted with no trace of the original wood underneath.

The new door may look superficially ‘smart’ because it is new.  It is also, by comparison with the old door, poorly made – it has no proper architrive.   It is designed so that the grain of the wood shows through, in a, tacky,  fake ‘olde worlde’ pseudo medieval style which would have apalled any Victorian.  The door furniture is clunky, cheap and simply wrong.  The whole item is clearly mass produced and bears no relation to the house.

Front Door, 42 Flint Green Road

There is a simple example of ugliness in the new 42 Flint Green Road door here.  However, there is one sight difference.  We have learned that the original  doors to both buildings went into skips outside the buildings.

On enquiring we were told us that we could check the skips if we liked, and keep any doors that we found.  The door to 42 Flint Green Road was here – half buried in setting cement, but saveable.   Sadly the skip for 44 had recently gone. Workmen, to whom we are very grateful, assisted us in removing the door to 42.  (Thanks also to the prompt response of  Graham of Brum Pushbikes: good work Graham!)  If one of the many people who, we are advised, has expressed an interest in purchasing one of these two properites would like to have an original door back – for either house, then such a door will be available for a while.  It is in good condition.  It will need repainting.  The incongruous  new, plastic, frame, that has been put in will need replacing.  It depends how much you love Victorian houses, but it is all possible.

Front Door to 42 Flint Green Road, in Storage

If you are interested please use the ‘Contact Us’ button near the top of the list of links on the right here.  The door will be kept for a few months, but early contact would be appreciated.  The door was given to us free, and we will not be charging to pass it on: free to anyone who purchases either 42, or 44, Flint Green Road, Acocks  Green.

The pillars and porch canopy over 44 Flint Green Road are, at time of writing this post,  still there.  Now, let us hope very much …

This is yet one more reason why Acocks Green still, urgently, needs a Conservation Area, in order to prevent such destruction.   These are difficult times, but our campaign for a Conservation Area goes on, and we hope to have more discussions, and for residents to be able to undertake some work on this project themselves, soon.

Shared Space: We Review Moseley Forum’s Report

September 27th, 2010 Posted in Campaigns, Shared Space | 1 Comment »
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Moseley Shared Space Artist's Impression (Hamilton-Baillie Associates)

The Birmingham suburb of  Moseley has in common with Acocks Green that a lot of its residents feel that a Shared Space scheme would be right for the area.   There is much about Shared Space on this website, see special Shared Space section links on the right, but, essentially, Shared Space  means removing most (not necessarily all)  street furniture and signeage  and reducing the distinction between road and pavement, causing traffic to slow down and negotiate more carefully with pedestrians.  The initial reaction when people are first told about this is often a horrified gasp followed by a question like ‘But isn’t that dangerous?’  It seems not.  Everywhere so far, where such schemes have been introduced accident rates have dramatically fallen whilst use of use of public street spaces, communty spirit and local trade has generally improved.

Moseley recently commissioned a report by Alison Millward Associates on the viability of Shared Space for Moseley.  The detailed, 33 page,  report is now available on the Moseley Forum website, together with a PowerPoint show,   here (See end of the Moseley Forum post.)   Moseley Forum kindly invited Acocks Green residents to attend its meeting to present this report, on 21 September 2010, and a number of  Acocks Green Focus Group members attended.  Alison began by drawing our attention to a recent Guardian Report on Shared Space.  This refers to the fact that Ashford in Kent which introduced Shared Space over a year ago has experienced no accidents whatsover since the scheme was introduced.

Alison then presented her detailed  findings in a talk and a PowerPoint show.   We thought she was very fair, and thorough, in her information, and that she had worked hard to identify particular concerns which had been expressed in connection with some Shared Space schemes, whilst showing how these could be overcome (eg concerns about visually impaired people can often be addressed by providing extra ways of  marking the surroundings, eg with tactile surfaces, designated crossing points and GPS systems are being increasingly a possibility)  For her study she reviewed Shared Space schemes in the UK and across Europe and she  interviewed  visually impaired and disabled pedestrians and also pedestrians with learning difficulties and mental health issues.  At the same Alison showed how   improved safety statics are a regular feature of Shared Space schemes.    Successful schemes generally slow the traffic to 20 m.p.h. or less, whilst overall journey times are usually not reduced.  One scheme showed that bus waiting times at junctions in Shared Space was in fact reduced from 9 seconds to 5 seconds.  There is more on reduced journey times and Shared Space in the Newland Avenue Report (See Shared Space links on our right, again.)

Alison also stressed that Shared Space schemes need to be designed specifically for each suburb.   A scheme for Moseley, on a cross roads, might be different from one for Acocks Green.  One question from the audience centred on whether Shared Space would be more appropriate for Moseley than for Acocks Green.  Our own findings, having discussed this over the years with Ben Hamilton-Baillie, whose firm designed the Shared Space  Artist’s Impression  for Moseley is that this is not so.  Acocks Green does, indeed, require a different type of approach from Moseley, but Acocks Green is very similar to Drachten, in Holland: a small town with a busy central green island and several entrances: a structure  slightly similar to our own beloved Green.  This has an early (2003) highly successful  Shared Space Scheme: see link on right of our website  to the Ben Hamilton Baillie 2008  ‘Improving Traffic Behaviour through Urban Design’ report  for further details.    Here is Drachten.  (Serious accidents reduced from around 8 per year to almost zero since the introduction of Shared Space.)

The Famous Shared Space Island at Drachten - note simple layout.

And here is an overhead shot of our own island – ‘The Green at Acocks Green.

The Green at Acocks Green

It was interesting to see that Doug Hyde, Head of Transportation Strategy for Birmingham City Council, was in the audience.   Doug was a little wary of very high volume traffic schemes in connection with Shared Space but stressed that he is ‘… not fundamentally against Shared Space’ in fact he likes a lot of these schemes he said.  He mentioned John Bright Street in town as an example of a succssful Birmingham City Centre Shared Space scheme.  He seemed not to yet  know a great deal about Acocks Green’s opposite number at Drachten, but this is something we are happy to further assist Doug on!   Doug also mentioned the up-coming, long awaited,  report from the Transportation Scrutiny Committee on Shared Space, saying that this would be available soon.  As Acocks Green and Moseley are both now fond of saying: Watch this Shared Space for further developments!

Kick out the Clutter!

August 27th, 2010 Posted in Campaigns | No Comments »
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Any Old Iron?

‘Communities secretary Eric Pickles and transport secretary Philip Hammond have written to councils to ask them to reduce the amount of highway signage in urban and rural areas.’    This is from the Government ‘Planning portal’.   Read the rest   here

This is not new.   There have been campaigns to do something about the invasion of, mainly, metal clutter on British High Streets for years now.  It is ugly.  It does no favours to to the often interesting, characterful,  architecture of older suburban high streets and it makes them harder to get around.   Plants in metal cages, or attached to metal cages,  really is not a good look.  Also,  statistics show,  clutter can be dangerous.  English Heritage has campaigned.    Living Streets has campaigned.   The Department for Transport’s own ‘Manual for Streets’ says quite a bit about it, and there has been plenty of comment, over recent years,  from organisations like CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Build Environment).  Kensington, famously, dumped most of its street clutter in 2001, and has been enjoying dramatically reduced accident rates ever since.  The Shared Space movement has been around since 2002.  Acocks Green Focus Group has been talking about street design  since 2004.

This is the BBC’s take on the new campaign Councils Urged to Move Unnecessary Street Signs (And more – the reporter here appears to have been genuinely irriated, herself,  at the amount of  ironmongery she was surrounded by!)

Eric Pickles explains his campaign (Including a reference to Oxford, where work has recently been done  by the Shared Space company,  Ben Hamilton-Baillie Associates.)  \’We treat pedestrians like cattle\’ in this recent TV interview,  And see The Guardian: Crack down on \’Bossy Bollards\’

Finally Acocks Green Focus Group -  see our own page, written some time ago,  here:  How Acocks Green Looks Now (Yup.  We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again, and go on saying it … )  Nice to know it looks like the whole idea is receiving increased interest from those in power.    Maybe one fine day, in the not too distant future …

New Acocks Green Page on Birmingham Mail Website

August 13th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

In a move to put more emphasis on local areas and local websites The Birmingham Mail is, in the current jargon, going ‘hyper-local’ with a  brand new, permanent, website page  just for Acocks  Green.   We have our own high street pictured – see above -  and,  at the moment,  Acocks Green Focus Group website  is being featured.   Here you will also find other local news, information about local facilities and attractions,  and links to other Acocks Green websites.  Click here for The Birmingham Mail Acocks Green Page

42-44 Flint Green Road: Update

August 3rd, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
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The 42-44 Flint Green Road story has been ongoing now since September 2009, when we were first learned that there was a plan to demolish these two fine Victorian houses to build a modern estate.    Acocks Green  heaved a sigh of relief when that plan was abandoned to be replaced with another which involved rennovating both properties as family homes, and buildining a smaller new estate in some of the garden land  Then we learned the houses were to be auctioned.  Then they were withdrawn from auction at the eleventh hour, to be sold privately  …  by which time we were getting a bit dizzy.

Further enquries established that the new owners intended to stick to the  plan involving rennovation of the two properties and building some new houses in the large amount of back garden land.   In our campaigning to save these two properties we received some excellent support from the national organisation Save Britian\’s Heritage (See their item on 42-44 Flint Green,  lowerer down in the right hand column on their website here.)   We had an enquiry recently from Save about things are going with the work at 42-44 Flint Green Road.  We expect other people have been wondering too.  Here are  ‘before’ (left) and ‘work in progress’ (right) pictures of 44 Flint Green Road, for comparison.

44 Flint Green Road - Old and New Look, 30.7.2010




This is 44 Flint Green, with the work ongoing.   We are relieved to see the original  door is still in place.  The wooden window frames have been replaced with plastic ones.   Whilst we would have preferred retention of the wooden frames (Victorian pitch pine windows are far more durable than people imagine, and can be insulated.)  we are pleased to see that the design has only been changed slightly, and that the original window shapes and arches in the brickwork are intact.

New Window - 42 Flint Green Road, 30.7.2010

42 Flint Green Road: Work in Progress 30.7.2010







This is a close-up of one of the new windows for  42 Flint Green Road, also being worked on: the new windows for the two houses are identical.











This is 42 Flint Green Road.   Although not visable in the picture, the front door is still there, and intact.  Again, there has been no obvious alteration to external brickwork.  Stone window sills in both properties are now white, rather than the well known E. H. Smith’s green.    We understand that the paintwork of the green sills caused considerable problems because water was trapped underneath the gloss paint, causing stone work to disintegrate.   The interiors have been stripped for work. It seems that the magnificent ‘Minton’ style tiled hall floor in 44 is to stay. We are not sure about other features, but we are presently awaiting the results of enquiries.

New Page – Contact Us

July 28th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Thanks to a bit of timely nagging at a Birmingham ‘social media’ (blogging etc for community groups etc)  meeting tonight, we have now added an overdue gizmo to the site.  By clicking on the page on the right: Second Page Down -  ‘Contact Us’ and filling in the form you will find there, you can now write to Acocks Green Focus Group direct.  Please note if you want to comment on a posting on the group website here you should comment on the site, as before.   ‘Contact us’ is mainly a way of emailing us if you do not want to comment on a positing, but  have a specific question, suggestion, request etc for the group itself.

Woodcock Lane Trees: Planning Approval Subject to Conditions

July 19th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Lost Wood (Woodcock Lane, Acocks Green)

We previously blogged on this story on 2 May.  We have just had notification that this plan, for building around the Woodcock Lane trees in Acocks Green has been approved.  You can view the now long discussed plan here.  There has always been considerable controversy around the 2006 sale, by Birmingham City Council, of the strip of land containing these historic trees, originally the avenue to Acocks Green house, home of the Acock family (demolished 1959).  Further debate errupted when it became known that a plan had been submitted for building around the land the trees are on, and a number of local objections went in to the Planning Office.

The decision was finally taken Friday 16 July.  You can view the conditions to that approval by clicking here.  (Clicking again will enlarge so that you can read this easily by using the arrows, or download and print.)

So it is ruled that the trees, which already have protection orders,  are to stay.   Some measures are in place with intention to ensure that the trees are protected.  No doubt there will be local scrutiny to ensure that these conditions, which we display here,  are being adhered to.

We would point out, however, that the main culprit in this whole enterprise is Birmingham City Council, who sold this previously  land very covertly (one advertisement in the back of The Birmingham Post, not seen by any local people) for £26,000.

Acocks Green Carnival 2010

July 3rd, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
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Acocks Green Carnival 2010 - Home Made Preserves

We are a fixed features group, rather than an events group, so we do not normally cover things like carnivals.  However, is there any point in trying to conserve and enhance an area with which the people who live there do not identify?

Whilst missing our own usual Acocks Green Focus Group stall today (two different lots of post-surgery recovery to deal with) members of Acocks Green Focus Group did visit Acocks Green Carnival and enjoyed it enormously.  Westley Road Recreation Ground (One of the many fixed feature we hope we  will never lose!) was packed with stalls, entertainments and people, and everyone seemed to think the day had gone well.  Chatting with some stall holders and carnival regulars was interesting.  Big Dave at Hall Green Little Theatre said he saw a lot of suburban carnivals around Birmingham but rated Acocks Green’s one of the best.  Well known Acocks Green figure and Fox Hollies Green Neighbourhood Forum secretary Ray Newton said that when, recently, he had had to undertake some organisation of the carnival himself he had been told that most Birmingham carnivals are organised by the Council.  He had been pointed to one other group who organise their own carnival, for advice.  He rang them to be told ‘Oh, we just ask the Council and they book all the stuff for us.’  Ray felt very strongly that this is not the way we do things in Acocks Green and did not ring the Council.

Today there were numerous stalls, often with informative displays,  representing local organisations,  and plenty of people willing to chat, several plant stalls with plants people had grown in Acocks Green, home made cakes, beautifully presented and locally made preserves (see above!), home made jewellery,  a real Punch and Judy show,  vast numbers of local historic photographs, performances by local people and much more: plenty the Council could not just have booked for us!  There was a real sense of local identity.

It often feels on the first Saturday in July as though Acocks Green people are on invisible strings which pull them towards The Westley Road ‘rec’ – we were not immune.    However, despite the packed area the atmosphere was extremely relaxed and very friendly.

Regardless of  the freeze, the squeeze and general cut backs we felt encouraged.  We will carry on with our campaigns.  Acocks Green is worth keeping!

Flagrant Disrespect? The Green as Advertising Pitch

June 23rd, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

Food Fair Flag on The Green

Having celebrated the final removal of the ghastly concrete placard holder from the centre of The Green, a while back,  we note that for the last couple of weeks The Green has been sporting some very prominent advertising, courtesy of Birmingham City Council.  This was at a time of the year when normally the focus would be on the glories of the flower beds. (Although something, presumably the cold start to the year, has also led to not much happening here either for the last few weeks.) The three flags have now gone, but they were very large and obvious and somewhat  dominated the whole view of  The Green.    Other areas like Moseley and Edgbaston seem to have escaped the charms of this particular temporary feature.  Is such advertising of – non-Acocks Green – events now likely to become a feature of  The Green in the future we wonder?

Flagrant Behaviour of the Council?

What do other people think?   Was this a lively  addition to The Green and are we just being joyless moaning minnies,  or were the flags spoiling your view and irritating you too?   We would like to know what your thoughts, either way!

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