Reassess priorities and reclaim our city

DEAR Editor, Scrolling through the news headlines on Tuesday and I find that yet again Birmingham has troubles to report.

Within a mile of the ICC hosting the Tory Party Conference, a violent incident occurs at Dale End involving stabbings and “multiple casualties”.

A police raid on a property near Five Ways results in the shooting of one of the occupants by the police.

The city is gaining a reputation as a growing crime hot-spot and a feeling that those pursuing criminal activities are taking advantage of a lack of overall control by the police and the local authorities. The city needs to be reclaimed as a safe and friendly environment rather than an edgy urban landscape from a Grand Theft Auto game.

It is all well and good for our representatives to host conferences and tout for foreign investments in “luxury” apartment developments but the everyday needs of people who live and work here need to be addressed.

Councils are struggling, austerity is still biting hard but somehow we need to reassess our aims and build a city to be proud of from the ground upwards.

Image spin is not going to work unless the people of Birmingham are made to feel they are part of the plan.

The present Government seems too preoccupied with Brexit and internal fights to show any meaningful leadership so we will probably have to find our own answers to these issues. Mike Pogorzelski, Bearwood