Food stall in Kings Heath village square 15 April 2017

Helping the homeless

techforevents3 Comments

Members of the local Sikh community have set up an occasional food stall in memory of George of Peacock Road. George was well-known in the neighbourhood and died suddenly earlier this year.

His family and friends have run two food stalls so far in the village square in March with more planned over the coming weeks. They prepare and offer cooked food with the overall aim of helping economically disadvantaged people. Those who would otherwise go hungry are given free food. Those who can afford it are asked to make a donation. All donations will be used to fund future food stalls and to provide clothing and other necessities for local homeless people.

The project is part of the Sikh principle of Seva which involves performing a service to the local community for the benefit of everybody.

Preventing burglaries

Achim JungLeave a comment

A recent meeting involving residents and representatives from West Midlands Police heard that the rate of burglaries in Kings Heath has fallen over the past month or so. However, residents were advised of the need to take action to protect themselves and their property:

  • If you’re going out for the evening, leave at least one light on. If possible, leave several lights on timers so they can be seen being switched on and off.
  • Don’t leave keys – especially car keys – within reach of your front door. Thieves have used long hooks to reach keys out of houses through letterboxes.
  • When you go out, make sure all doors and windows are secured. Criminals look for unoccupied homes with open windows and it’s amazing to see how small a window can be used by an adult to get into a house.
  • Think about how easy it is to get to the back of your house. If you have a side gate, put a bolt on it.
  • If you have tools in your garden shed, make sure the shed is locked when the tools aren’t being used. A spade or a fork can be used to break into a house.
  • Think about registering valuable items (wide-screen televisions, computers, jewellery, etc.) with the UK National Property Register.
  • If you’ve got foliage that screens your front doors or windows from the street, think about cutting it back so that anybody at the front of your house can be seen easily.
  • Think about outside security lighting so that anybody approaching your house will be very noticeable from the street.

If you do see anything suspicious, call 101 and tell the Police.

If a crime is actually in progress, call 999 immediately.

Kings Heath Residents’ Forum gets results

techforeventsLeave a comment

Two recent actions by Kings Heath Residents Forum (KHRF) members have achieved results.

BT Openreach premises in Howard Road East

A considerable amount of litter and fallen leaves had collected both on the frontage of the building and along the pavement side of the fence. A KHRF member contacted BT, explained that a Spring Clean was being organised in various sites and by various groups across Kings Heath. Would BT help by cleaning up the front of the premises in Howard Road East? Admittedly it’s a while since the Great British Spring Clean but the clean up outside the building has been completed.

Commercial waste on the High Street

Complaints were made about an accumulation of commercial waste behind retail premises on the High Street. It should have been in a closed container so that it could not be blown out into the street. The complaint was passed to the Environmental Health Regulation and Enforcement department and a Waste Enforcement Team visited the retailer. A member of the team explained the retailer’s legal responsibilities which hopefully means that this particular source of wind-blown litter has been stopped.

Thanks to Kate Smith of BT Openreach and the Waste Enforcement Team of Birmingham City Council for dealing with these issues so quickly.

Mayoral hustings in Kings Heath

techforeventsLeave a comment

Residents are already receiving election material from candidates for the new post of West Midlands Mayor. The position will cover Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. These local authorities are going to be working together as a Combined Authority.

Kings Heath residents will have the chance to ask questions of the candidates for the job of Mayor at a hustings on Tuesday 25 April 2017 at 7.30 pm in the Baptist Church on Kings Heath High Street, opposite Asda.

Read More »

Birmingham air quality survey

techforeventsLeave a comment

Birmingham City Council (BCC) wants to know whether air quality is important to you. In order to find out what residents think, BCC have launched an online survey:

https://www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/economy/birmingham-air-quality/

The survey is already open but will close on 3 April 2017.

The questionnaire is reasonably short – it should take less than 10 minutes to complete but it’s important that as many residents as possible complete it.