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THE LATEST UPDATE OF THIS WEBSITE WAS ON MONDAY 20th MAY 2013
DOGPOOL LANE BRIDGE RE-OPENED TO ROAD TRAFFIC AT 5.00PM THIS EVENING. FOR PHOTOGRAPHS AND FULL STORY PLEASE SEE
THE NEWS AND INFORMATION SECTION BELOW.
Navigating this website
Whether you are a resident - current or prospective, a local business person, someone employed in the neighbourhood or a visitor from elsewhere, we hope you will find the website informative, useful and interesting.
John Clayton - Editor.
This HOME PAGE carries the latest news and information and key reference items including links to other relevant websites.
Sections in order of appearance: Contacting us and sharing your views; latest news and information; Forthcoming events; Links to other local websites;
Local weather forecasts and warnings; Local flood risk; Technical and copyright information about this website.
The LOCAL NEWS page carries an archive of previous local news stories which the site has published.
The FEATURES page is currently charting the progress of the Dogpool Lane Bridge Replacement Project in words and photographs.
The LOCAL INFO page: Sections - All about Selly Park (which includes a map of our neighbourhood); Information for newcomers; A concise history of our neighbourhood.
The LOCAL LINKS page: Over 80 telephone numbers of local organisations and businesses.
The YOUR FORUM page: Sections - Aims and Objectives; The backgound of the Forum; Area covered, membership and finance; The work of the Forum; Our public open meetings; Helping to make our neighbourhood look good; The Management Committe.
The CONTACT US page: To contact us by phone, email or post.
Contacting us and sharing your views
TO CONTACT US DIRECT: Please see the details on our CONTACT PAGE.
MESSAGE BOARD: To access our Message Board on which residents can state their views or ask questions about local issues, please click here. You will need to register if you wish to make comments.
TWITTER: Those of you who are users of Twitter can follow us and tweet to us @SPS_Forum. To sign in please click here.
FACEBOOK: To access our Facebook page, please click here.
Very occasionally we may have a problem with accessing our remote server. If this occurs we can still access our Message Board and Twitter feed, so if the site has not been updated or to check on current service status, please check there by using these links .
To register to receive email notifications of Selly Park South news from the Neighbourhood Forum please email us using the address on the CONTACT US page.
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Latest News and Information
AN ARCHIVE OF NEWS ARTICLES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR LOCAL NEWS PAGE.
Dogpool Lane Bridge Re-opened
Updated Monday 20th May
DOGPOOL LANE BRIDGE RE-OPENED TO ROAD TRAFFIC AT 5.00PM ON MONDAY 20TH MAY. This was exactly 30 weeks to the day since the old bridge was closed for demolition. Road traffic immediately started crossing the new bridge, albeit in relatively small numbers compared with what will follow in the coming days.
The Number 76 bus route was restored immediately to its normal course via Dad's Lane, Moor Green Lane, Dogpool Lane and St Stephen's Road.
There is still work to be done to complete the project, notably the switching on of the Toucan crossing for pedestrians, wheelchair users and cyclists, the removal of the foundations of the temporary bridge, the removal of the construction compound, the restoration of the parkland and the return of the cycle route to its position.
This work is expected to be completed within a few weeks.
Image above: This car effectively opened the new bridge at 5.00PM on Monday 20th May as the first vehicle across!
Image above: National Express Travel West Midlands were not slow to restore the Number 76 bus service - this was the first bus across the new bridge at 5.17pm!
Image above: The temporary footbridge, which had carried pedestrians, wheelchair users and cyclists plus five main utility services across the River Rea during the demolotion and rebuilding of the main bridge, was lifted out
by crane earlier on Monday.
During 2012 and 2013 the Dogpool Lane Bridge over the River Rea was demolished and rebuilt to bring it up to modern safety standards and to help reduce the risk of flooding.
The road was closed to vehicle traffic for 30 weeks from Monday 22nd October and a temporary footbridge, parallel with the road bridge, was constructed before the closure to allow pedestrians, cyclists and wheelchair users to cross the river whilst the road bridge was replaced. The temporary bridge was also used to carry the various utilities which run beneath the surface of the main bridge (gas, electricity, water and telecommunications).
These services have now been rerouted via the new bridge and the temporary bridge was removed on the day of re-opening the main bridge.
Our congratulations and grateful thanks to the site staff of Amey Birmingham Highways and their main contractor, R C Williams, for completing the project on schedule despite the disruption to working which was caused by the severe winter weather.
Amey Birmingham Highways and R and C Williams have liaised closely with Selly Park South Neighbourhood Forum and Flood Action Group throughout the duration of the project and we are very grateful to the site staff for their co-operation with us and the consideration which they have shown to local residents.
FOR FULL DETAILS OF THE PROJECT AND A PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD OF THE VARIOUS STAGES OF THE PROJECT AND ALL OF THE ENTRIES OF THE DOGPOOL BRIDGE SITE MANAGER'S BLOG PLEASE SEE THE FEATURES PAGE OF THIS WEBSITE.
Victim Support and Antiscial Behaviour
Published Thursday 16th May
New in our LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES on this Home Page is information and a link to the Victim Support organisation and the Birmingham Residents Antisocial behaviour Victim Empowerment project (BRAVE).
Victim Support is the independent charity providing advice and support for victims and witnesses of crime in England and Wales. BRAVE, part of Victim Support, helps people living in Birmingham who experience persistent antisocial behaviour.
CP4SO - Community Partnership for Selly Oak - regeneration campaign
Updated Friday 26th April
CP4SO has been formed to protect Selly Oak from inappropriate and unsympathetic developments and promote the regeneration of Selly Oak for the benefit of the whole community.
Its central interest at the moment is the controversial changes in the plans for the regeneration of the Battery Park derelict indiustrial site which lies between Bristol Road and the A38 Selly Oak New Road.
Selly Park Neighbourhood Forum, along with other community groups across the whole of Selly Oak Ward, supports and has now affiliated with CP4SO.
To find out more about this issue and CP4SO please visit their website by clicking here.
City Council's wheelie-bin public consultation is ongoing
Updated Friday 26th April
A six-month consultation on Birmingham City Council's plans to introduce wheelie bins for refuse collection was launched on Monday 25th February and remains ongoing.
A full consultation process was promised last year by the Council after it won £29.8million from the Government to preserve weekly rubbish collections.
An online consultation for all residents has kicked-off the process, with paper-based copies of the document available at all 40 city council libraries and 21 customer service centres/neighbourhood offices for those who are unable to use computers.
Please click HERE to be taken to the consultation web page.
Domestic waste and recycling collections
Updated Tuesday 14th May
NEXT DOMESTIC WASTE COLLECTION - TUESDAY 21st MAY: Please put out waste in tied black bags on Monday evening ready for collection early Tuesday morning.
RECYCLING COLLECTION - TUESDAY 21st MAY: Recyclable green garden waste. Please use City Council clear bags or green bags for recyclable garden PLANT waste. Please note that soil or rubble will NOT be collected. If you are uprooting clumps of grass, dead plants etc, please shake the soil off the roots before putting the plants in the green bags.
RECYCLING COLLECTION - TUESDAY 28th MAY: Green boxes for cans and plastic and glass bottles and containers. Blue boxes for paper and cardboard.
TETRA PAK CARTONS: Each year 55,000 tonnes of orange juice, soup and milk cartons are thrown away, which is equal to 2.3kg per person.
Residents in Birmingham, instead of throwing the milk and juice cartons away can now recycle them. Working with ACE (Alliance for Carton Recycling) there are now facilities to collect Tetra Pak cartons at the Household Recycling Centres. The City Council are not currently able to take them via doorstep green box collections.
For more information about Tetra Pak and how they are recycled go to www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk
For more information on what you can recycle and where please go to the City Council's A-Z of Recycling by clicking here.
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Forthcoming Events
Updated Monday 20th May
Events in Selly Oak District in May
To find out about a whole range of events which are taking place in Selly Oak District in May please click here. A wealth of information all packed onto a single A4 pdf page! You might wish to use the magnifier function on the pdf reader to read the detail.
Birmingham Bulletin - May Edition
From Birmingham City Council - Leisure Sport and Culture - Tourism - City News and Information - Jobs - Recycling and Environment - plus two great competitions to enter.
For your online copy, please click here.
Neighbourhood Forum and Flood Action Group Meetings
FORUM OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS are held in October, February, May and July (AGM). These meetings provide an important opportunity to discuss local matters of interest or concern and to inform residents of developments affecting the local area.
The next of these will be the AGM to be held at 7:30pm on TUESDAY 2nd JULY at Christ Church, 953 Pershore Road, Selly Park B29 7PS. Thiis is our most important meeting of the year in ensuring that the work of the Forum can continue for the following 12 months. Please make a note of this in your diary and please make every effort to attend.
FORUM MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING: The next meeting will be at 7.30pm on THURSDAY 13th JUNE at Christ Church, Pershore Road. Residents who would wish to have any matter discussed by the Committee should let us know please via the means given on the CONTACT US page of this website.
Stirchley Community Market
The opportunity to shop local and enjoy refreshments, arts and crafts and music.
First Tuesday of the month, 4pm to 8pm, at Stirchley Working Men's Club, Pershore Road, opposite the Co-op.
THE NEXT MARKET IS ON TUESDAY 4TH JUNE. For more details please click HERE.
Selly Oak Neighbourhood Police Tasking Meeting
The next Selly Oak Neighbourhood Police Ward Tasking Meeting will be at 7.00PM on TUESDAY 9th JULY at Christ Church, 953 Pershore Road, Selly Park, B29 7PS.
Ward tasking meetings are a monthly meeting where members of the public are invited to raise issues in the area that they live. There will always be a police representative and where possible a member of the local council present. This is a real opportunity to influence policing in the area that you live. Local issues and priorities are discussed and agreed at these meetings. They are then recorded on the West Midlands Police website where all updates of action taken are also available to be viewed.
Ahead of this, on the evening of Wednesday 19th June at Christ Church, there will be a special Selly Oak Neighbourhood Police Ward Tasking Meeting, to which residents from across Selly Oak Ward - including of course Selly Park - are invited.
THIS MEETING WILL BE STREAMED LIVE ON VIDEO. People will also be able send their questions in via a web chat. So you will be able to take part either at the meeting at Christ Church or home, work or wherever you are with your computer and an Internet.
Even if you don't have any questions to ask, why not come along to the live event anyway and see how it works? Please make a note of the date and "watch this space" for more information about the event over the coming weeks!
MP's and City Councillors' Advice Centres
For details of the times and locations of the Advice Centres for speaking with Steve McCabe the MP for Birmingham Selly Oak Constituency
please click here.
For details of the times and locations of the Advice Bureaux for speaking with the City Councillors for Selly Oak Ward please click here.
Christ Church Lunch Club, Toddler Group and Friday Coffee Mornings
Activities for the WHOLE community! LUNCH CLUB is each Wednesday. TODDLER GROUP is each Monday and Thursday.
COFFEE MORNING is each Friday. For further details please see or LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES section below.
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Link to other websites
Link to Christ Church Selly Park
Christ Church, 953 Pershore Road, Selly Park B29 7PS, (0121 471 2379), is the Parish Chuch of the Neighbourhood and provides facilities for the local community including the meeting place for the Neighbourhood Forum.
It provides a variety of activities for the whole community. These include:
Toddler Club, for babies and toddlers up to the age of 4 years inclusive and their parents, grandparents or carers. It meets during school term time on Monday mornings and afternoons and Thursday mornings.
Lunch Club, which meets on Wednesdays, for retired members of the community.
Friday Coffee Morning, open 10.30am to 12.00noon. Hot or cold drink and a teacake only £1. Other cakes and biscuits as available. Open to all - everyone welcome.
To view the Christ Church website which gives full details about the church and its activities and services please click here.
Link to our Neighbourhood Police Team
At the start of April 2010 a major reorganisation of the structure of West Midlands Police became effective. The force is now divided into 10 local policing units (LPUs), each headed by a Chief Superintendent who is responsible for the overall policing and management of the area. The 10 LPUs are divided into 171 neighbourhoods, each policed by a dedicated neighbourhood team consisting of police officers, police community support officers and special constables. Neighbourhood policing is supported by a range of forcewide specialist teams.
Selly Park now lies within the South Birmingham LPU, the headquarters of which is Bournville Lane Police Station situated at the junction of Bourneville Lane and Bristol Road. To find out more about Birmingham South LPU please Click here.
Within the South Birmingham LPU Selly Park is now covered by the Selly Oak Neighbourhood Police Team (NPT), again based at Bournville Lane Police Station. For more details of Selly Oak NPT and how to contact them please Click here
Link to Victim Support
Victim Support is the independent charity for victims and witnesses of crime in England and Wales. We were set up over 38 years ago and have grown to become the oldest and largest victims' organisation in the world. Every year, we contact over 1.5 million people after a crime to offer our help.
We depend on thousands of specially-trained volunteers to deliver our services and although we work closely with the police and other parts of the criminal justice system, we are an independent charity.
We have offices across England and Wales and we run the Witness Service in every court. We also run the national Victim Supportline 0845 30 30 900.
To visit the Victim Support website please click here.
BRAVE - the Birmingham Residents Antisocial behaviour Victim Empowerment project
Part of Victim Support we are specifically funded by the National Lottery to support people living in Birmingham who experience persistent antisocial behaviour. Our service is independent, free and confidential.
What is antisocial behaviour (ASB)? It is intimidating or threatening activity that scares you or damages your quality of life. It needs to be caused by someone who does not live in your household and can include harassment, intimidation or aggression; some disputes between neighbours; loud music and noise at unsociable hours. There are many kinds of ASB - please contact us if you are not sure.
You can call us on 0121 236 3919 or email birminghamasb@victimsupport.org.uk
You can also contact the Neighbourhood Forum who have copies of our information leaflet which explains the help which we are able to provide.
Link to Warwards Neighbourhood Watch
Warwards Lane and Darris Road Neighbourhood Watch are a very active group with a website which carries community news as well as crime prevention information.
As they are our immediate neighbours to the south west and of course in common with us are part of Selly Oak you will find information on their site which is also relevant to our own neighbourhood.
To visit their website please click here.
Link to Birmingham Community Alert Scheme
Residents can receive alerts of major emergency incidents and disruptions that are occuring in Birmingham by signing up for free to the Birmingham Community Alert Scheme. Alerts can be sent to land lines and mobile phones and by email, fax and pager. For further information
please click here.
Pebble Mill and Holders Lane Friends of The Fields
Updated Monday 4th February
Pebble Mill and Holders Lane Friends of The Fields organisation has now been formally established and fully constituted.
Background: On the evening of Tuesday 11th September over one hundred residents from Selly Park South, the Selly Park Avenues and Sir John's Road, Moor Green Lane West and Elizabeth Road and Holders Lane and Gardens met at Christ Church Selly Park to form Pebble Mill and Holders Lane Friends of The Fields. Its mission is preserving the green space of Pebble Mill and Holders Lane Fields for open use by the local communities.
(For more information on the events earlier in 2012 which led to this, please see the LOCAL NEWS page of this website).
Since that date an interim Management Committee of the organisation has met on a number of occasions to discuss the future of the area with local City councillors and to formulate a constitution for the organisation
On the evening of Monday 28th January at a public meeting held in Selly Park the Friends of Pebble Mill and Holders Lane Playing Fields was formally constituted and officers and management committee elected to serve for the next year.
Also on open letter has been published by Cllr Karen McCarthy (Selly Oak) and Cllr Lisa Trickett (Moseley - Kings Heath) to help clarify the Council's proposals concerning the playing fields and pavilion at Holders Lane site and Pebble Mill Playing Fields site within Cannon Hill Park.
To read this letter please click here.
To access website of the Friends of the Fields organisation please click HERE. The organisation also now has new noticeboards strategically placed within the Fields.
SPS Forum continues to wish the new organisation every success and looks forward along with the other local community organisations in working cnstructively with the it to safeguard the future of this important open area.
Selly Park Residents Community Association
The neighbouring community association to our north - Selly Park Residents Community Association (SPRCA) covers First, Second, Third and Fourth Avenues, Sir John's Road and the east side of Pershore Road between Sir John's Road and First Avenue. To view their website please click here.
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Local weather forecasts and warnings
You will need to go to www.metoffice.gov.uk via opening a new window on your browser.
Unfortunately the new upgraded version of the Met Office website whilst providing superior information and graphics does not allow direct linking from other websites.
For WEATHER WARNINGS then navigate to West Midlands via the panel at the top of the Met Office Home Page.
For the LOCAL WEATHER FORECAST type your postcode into the CHANGE LOCATION box.
OR
Click here for the latest Birmingham weather forecast from the BBC Weather Centre.
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Local flood risk
FOR IMMEDIATE FLOOD WARNING INFORMATION call the Environment Agency Floodline number on 0845 988 1188. When you are asked if you know the quick dial number for your area to hear flood warning information enter 05212421.
FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY THREE DAY FLOOD RISK FORECAST please click HERE.
TO SEE THE CURRENT AND RECENT LEVEL OF THE RIVER REA AT CALTHORPE PARK, please click HERE.
This information is provided from the automatic reiver level gauge at Calthorpe. Please be aware that this gauge is downstream from the confluence of the Rea and Bourn Brook and so will not entirely relect the river level in Selly Park South. However it serves as a broad indicator of how the river is behaving.
The Selly Park river gauge whilst fully active will not be shown on Live River Levels for some time until suffient data has accumulated to allow full calibration.
Residents living in some parts of Selly Park know that unfortunately they may be at risk of flooding. We strongly advise all residents that you check if your house is in a flood risk location and if it is to register with the Environment Agency’s Floodline Warnings Direct (FWD) service. Click here to access the flooding pages of the Environment Agency’s website where you can check if your home is in a flood risk location, register for the FWD service if it is, check flood warnings in force at any time, learn about how to prepare against flooding and obtain advice on what to do in the event of a flood.
RESIDENTS WHO LIVE IN THE FLOOD RISK ZONE ARE URGED TO SIGN UP WITH THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY FOR THE FLOOD WARNINGS DIRECT SERVICE. If the level of the River Rea starts to rise dangerously you will receive a call to your landline or mobile to warn you to be prepared IF YOU ARE SIGNED UP TO THE SCHEME. Please use the link to the Environment Agency for details. To read about important recent changes to the FWD system please click here and click here.
To access Report and recommendations relating to the Severe Flood Event in Selly Park South on 6th September 2008 commissioned by Selly Park South Neighbourhood Forum, please click here, and for Supplementary Report please click here
To read important information about the Selly Park South Flood Action Plan and the work of Selly Park South Flood Group Group, please click here.
To watch a short video of the SPS Flood Action Group Coordinator explaining the flooding of September 2008 and subsequent action taken, please click here
To access the National Flood Forum Directory of Flood Defence Products ('The Blue Pages') please click here
Birmingham Community Alert Scheme
Residents can receive alerts of ALL types of emergency incidents in Birmingham that are likely to affect them by signing up for free to the Birmingham Community Alert Scheme. Alerts can be sent to land lines and mobile phones and by email, fax and pager. For further information
please click here.
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Acknowledgements and thanks
We wish to thank Homegrown Design for designing and building this website and Grassroots Grants (managed by the Community Development Foundation and funded by the Government’s Office of the Third Sector) for providing the funding to create the website. Our website is hosted by BT Business. We also wish to thank those people who have contributed content and advertising.
Our further thanks go to Christ Church, Selly Park, the Parish Church of our Neighbourhood, which so kindly provide venues for our various meetings and our postal address.
Technical and copyright information about this website
Access problems: We are aware that there are occasional problems in accessing our website using Internet Explorer. For the solution to this problem please see the information on our Contact us page. Also, if the adverts and pictures column on the right of this page has not loaded, please use the refresh button on your browser.
Links to pdf files: Many of the click-on links on our site are to pdf files. Your need Adobe Reader installed on your computer to read these files. If you don't have this you can obtain it free off charge from the Internet. Just enter Adobe Reader on a search engine such as Google.
Please be aware that the pdf files may take a few seconds to load up once you have clicked on the links. In order to return to our website page once you have read the pdf, please press the BACK TO button on your browser. If you simply close the pdf file you will also close the website window.
Images copyright: All photographs on this website are Copyright (c) John Clayton 2013. For permission to use any of them please contact the Editor via the Contact Us page.
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