Side street closures could be rolled out
PLANS to seal off side roads leading to Birmingham’s busy high streets are to be trialled in a bid to cut congestion and pollution.
Kings Heath High Street has been chosen for a six-month pilot scheme which, if successful, will become permanent and be rolled out to other parts of the city.
The trial will see local side roads leading to or from the congested A435 barred to traffic with bollards and usable only by cyclists, pedestrians and mobility scooters. Among other areas being lined up for the project are Lozells, Castle Vale and Bournville.
The ‘Places and People’ programme aims to reduce pollution by encouraging more walking and cycling in local neighbourhoods,
Crucially, the barricades will also stop rush hour motorists from outside the area using side streets as rat runs.
As part of the plans, Kings Heath’s York Road will be pedestrianised from the Hare & Hounds at High Street to its junction with Waterloo Road.
Among roads to be blocked will be
Station Road, Grange Road, Bank Street and parts of Heathfield Road, Poplar Road, Silver Street and Mossfield Road.
Meanwhile, traffic filters will control access to Bishop Challoner Catholic College and St Dunstan’s Primary School.
Birmingham City Council says it wants to encourage “neighbours to chat” and for children to be safer while playing.
The Government-funded scheme could be active by the end of August, even though plans were only made public on Friday.
But the move has caught traders by surprise, leaving them to fear for the future as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hit custom.
Kings Heath Business Improvement District manager Martin Mullaney says: “Businesses have been on their knees as it is.
“But while most have managed to survive Covid, this policy has appeared out of nowhere.
“There has been no consultation beforehand or talking to businesses, many of which are very specialised and draw customers from a wide area.
“Our four-member board will be meeting and they will instruct me what to do, and what to say.”
The city council says that because it had to implement the policy by the end of August to secure the funding, it had begun consulting online from July 24 and would continue to do so through the six-month trial.
But the “usual face to face consultations” with those affected cannot take place because of the pandemic.
The council says it had been allocated £1 million from the first tranche of the Department of Transport’s Emergency Active Travel Fund, with match-funding bringing the total to £1.6 million.
A HOSTEL in Solihull will lead to increased crime and a squeeze on parking spaces, neighbours claim.
Olton residents fear that plans for the 19-bedroom lodgings could raise the risk of noise at night, drug taking and anti-social behaviour. Opponents say there are already facilities in other parts of the suburb and two separate petitions, calling on the council to reject the plans, are being raised.
The applicant has argued that the former Fairfield Care Home site had a history as a house in multiple occupation (HMO) and there was “sufficient” parking available.
But those living nearby are extremely worried about the impact the proposal will have on them.
Resident Daniel Gibbin said: “I am so angry and dismayed to see this large building being turned into a hostel in an area already saturated with them.
“Solihull Council needs to reject this application in its entirety, no ifs, no buts.”
Olton councillor Katy Blunt (Con) said there was unanimous opposition when she went knocking on doors and claimed it was “completely laughable” to suggest there was sufficient space.
“The parking around Olton Station is a nightmare,” she said. “If even half the residents have cars, that’s around an extra eight or nine vehicles needing to be parkied in that area. And that puts additional stress on an already struggling infrastructure.”
She noted the local concern that having a large number of temporary residents in one building could fuel anti-social behaviour.
Fellow ward councillor Bob Grinsell said he will leave his seat on the planning committee for this application in order that he can voice his own opposition.
And an online petition has been launched by the local Liberal Democrats, again citing concerns over safety and parking.
Planning documents suggest that the Old Warwick Road building had been converted to a care home in the early 1980s.
Fairfield closed its doors in March, with a request to change the use of the premises submitted a few months later. While there would be no change to the exterior of the building, a mix of single and double bedrooms would be created.
Applicant Dilip Mayariya said: “The hostel is planned to be put to a range of uses such as: housing for students or nurses, transient accommodation for those being re-housed elsewhere, shelter for those in need of a safe place to stay on a temporary basis or a tourist facility for those travelling on a budget and ready to accept a standard of accommodation lower than that generally found in a hotel.”