Category Archives: Community consultation

Hazelwell St / Bournville Lane pedestrian junction

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A pedestrian refuge at a road junction, with pavement markings indicating that it is to be moved
Photo by Phil Banting

A few people have noticed the spray-painted markings on Hazelwell Street, near the much lauded traffic island with Bournville Lane. There has been some rumours that it might be removed, but local resident Scott Cooper has asked the council and this was the response…

“The marked traffic island is in line with the existing junction layout of Bournville Lane with Hazelwell Street and is not negating in any way the in place temporary active travel trial changes in Hazelwell Street.

“It is evident from the picture that marked pedestrian island is about 1.5m short of the in place temporary measures in Hazelwell Street. However, in future, if required, the traffic island may be extended further into Hazelwell Street in line with the temporary lane reduction measures, if required to make the in place temporary measures permanent.

“To make the in place measure permanent consultation with local residents, businesses, ward councillors, emergency service and other stakeholders would be required. This process of consultation and subsequent approvals, may take about 6 months. However due to ongoing issue of articulated vehicles pulling into Bournville Lane from Hazelwell Street and damaging parked cars, it was not feasible to stop the implementation of this highway improvement scheme for the prospective scheme to make the in place temporary measures permanent.

“Following successful consultation and approval by Highways, the traffic island in Bournville Lane may be extended along with other required changes in Hazelwell Street.”

Lifford Lane Tip survey results

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The results are in and it looks like the booking system at Lifford Lane Recycling Centre (aka Lifford Lane Tip) has mainly been a success. There were lots of calls for more slots, although quite a few people seemed to understand this was due to the coronavirus pandemic.

There were over 500 responses to the survey and responses came from across South Birmingham, including B12, B13, B14, B28, B29, B30, B31, B32 and B38. I sent the survey out to a number of local councillors for south Birmingham wards, including Stirchley, Kings Norton, Northfield, Selly Park, Kings Heath and Moseley and a bunch of them shared it. It was also featured on BrumHour too.

The majority of responses felt that the changes to the booking system that required people to book, rather than turn up and wait was positive and that they found the system easy to use. There were a number of responses that requested more availability at Lifford Lane, with some frustration over the lack of slots and the desire to go more regularly than the current system allowed. However there was a general understanding that the spacing between cars once inside the centre was due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A few responses pointed towards technical improvements to the system, such as allowing visitors to the website to see availability before entering personal details. However most people preferred the booking system overall and praised the reduction in congestion that it had created.

On the whole, from the responses to the questionnaire, residents are happy with the new system and with some tweaks, would prefer for it to continue rather than go back to the old system.

If you want to read the breakdown of the questions and all the comments, they’re all on the Lifford Lane Tip survey report here. Please excuse any typos in it; I put it together rather quickly after the local councillor asked if she could take it to a meeting the next day.

Temporary trial measures for Stirchley

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Have you spotted the changes on Stirchley High Street yet?

I was really excited to see that finally we’re getting a pedestrian refuge on Bournville Lane. Along with the work the councillor and local residents have been doing with Mondelez to reduce the numbers of lorries travelling down the road (and getting stuck at the bridge), the new layout will make it far more friendly for people crossing from the main high street area to Stirchley Baths or the new Morrisons.

I’m particularly pleased because I got to do the walk around and help add to some suggestions before they went to the drawing board. I’m also championing parklets on the high street because they will add more seating, more greenery and outside seating that can be used by the community – or for some of the businesses on the high street that need places to have people wait before their appointment or even enjoy a bite to eat at.

Some of the other changes might seem a bit controversial but they’re really not – they’re a positive move in making Stirchley greener, cleaner and a better place to live.  I wrote a very long blog post on my other website to explain more about the changes and why they are positive. In short these are;

  • Birmingham City Council reports 25% of all car journeys are less than a mile
  • Retailers overestimate the number of people who use cars to get to their businesses
  • Suggestions up to 30 percent of driving is people looking for parking
  • Access to green spaces makes people happy

Birmingham City Council are actively consulting on these throughout the measures being in place and you can add your thoughts on a special emergency transport plan consultation website here.

Lifford Lane Tip feedback

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Do you have opinions on the new booking system for accessing the Lifford Lane recycling centre (or the tip as most of us know it)?

I’ve been asked to collect some information from residents about how they’re finding the new booking system. So I’ve put together a really simple questionnaire below. Sadly whilst there’s still a global pandemic going on I can’t do anything fun, like the dreamcatchers, but hopefully this quick and easy questionnaire will do. Please feel free to pass it on to neighbours or residents who use the Lifford Lane recycling centre / tip as I’m keen to get a variety of responses, not only from those of us who live nearby but also others who may be a little further.

Feedback will be collated and fed back to Birmingham City Council. It’s completely anonymous – I’m not even asking for names or email addresses, just a rough area where you live and your thoughts.

Comments will be collected until the end of Sunday 6th September, collated and fed back to the council, as well as shared on this website.