The Garden of Eden

Posted on by
Reply


When Mr Wincett Brown leans against the pillars of his house as he puffs away it is hard to associate his care free spirit with his living conditions. With no running water, no electricity, and cold nights, his situation is a sample of third world living standards.
Mr Brown popularly known as ‘Bonny’ lives in an adapted garden shed in the middle of Uplands Allotment scheme, a Birmingham City Council facility in Handsworth a northern suburb.

The audio slideshow was produced as a reply to denials of poverty by some public figures in the media. When Edwina Currie pontificated that she “really had great difficulty” that some people go without food in Britain, I immediately thought of some members of my community who are leaving in abject poverty and I sought to enter the argument by showcasing Bonny’s story. Although he exudes contentment, his living conditions are an indictment to the social system and the society in general.

However, Bonny maintains that he is happy and prefers dwelling amongst nature to living in the polluted and crowded community.

Handsworth Tai Chi Class

Posted on by
2

This audio slideshow has documented accounts of the participants on how Tai Chi contributes to their wellbeing.
However, it is with regret that this service could be withdrawn because of lack of funding.

The class takes place every Monday mornings at St Andrews Sports and Community Centre.

This is an appeal to the council to make sure that our senior citizens continue to benefit from this activity.

Lozells & East Handsworth Ward Based Refuse Collection – Changes from 6th February 2012

Posted on by
Reply

Lozells & East Handsworth Ward Based Refuse Collection

Following the pilot of ward-based refuse collections in the South East of the City, Birmingham City Council have decided to introduce this form of refuse collection across a number of wards across the city including our ward, Lozells & East Handsworth, with an introduction date of Monday, 6th February 2012.

In brief this will result in all refuse collection and recycling rounds being changed so that each ward will have a dedicated refuse collection and recycling crews. According to Birmingham City Council, as well as improving accountability this approach allows for greater synergy between the refuse/recycling crews and the dedicated street cleansing teams already working in the ward.

However, as the existing collection rounds are not co-terminus with wards, implementation of ward based collections means that there will be changes in the day of collection for many residents. The time of day collections are made may also be changed, but will be between 6.00am and 3.30pm.

Birmingham City Council state that as with the pilot, there will inevitably be some teething problems as residents and crews adjust to the new arrangements. However, to keep this to a minimum, each household in the ward will receive a post card outlining the new arrangements and days of collection.

A hotline has been established by the Council for enquiries from residents. Please telephone 0121 675 7454 to report any issues with the new service or visit the website www.birmingham.gov.uk/collections.

Police Appeal: Handsworth Wood double murder – can you help us catch those responsible?

Posted on by
Reply

Independent charity Crimestoppers have offered a reward of up to £10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection with the murders of Carole and Avtar Kolar.

The couple, who had been married for 40 years, were found dead on Wednesday morning at their home in Friary Road.

The police investigation continues at a very fast pace with a team of 60 detectives pursuing several lines of enquiry following numerous calls from the public.

Detective Superintendent Richard Baker, who is leading the murder investigation, said: “This has had a truly devastated affect on the family; they now need to be given space and time to grieve. I am confident we will catch those responsible for this terrible crime which has devastated the family and community.

“I would like to thank Crimestoppers for offering this reward and say again that local people hold the key to finding who is responsible for this terrible tragedy. If you believe that you have any piece of information that may help our enquiries, I would ask you to call us or Crimestoppers as soon as possible.”

West Midlands Regional Manager for Crimestoppers, Pauline Hadley, said: “This is a vile crime where two people have been murdered and their family and community have been left in shock.

“Those responsible for this must be brought to justice and I would urge anyone with information that might help to contact Crimestoppers anonymously. Ring 0800 555 111 or use our secure online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. We guarantee your anonymity either way.”

The reward of up to £10,000 is available to anyone providing information to Crimestoppers, which leads to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for this crime.

Rewards can only be claimed by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Rewards cannot be claimed if giving information via the online form.

Help us to get justice for Carole and Avtar and their family.

Local neighbourhood officers continue to patrol the area to offer reassurance to residents.

Rajinder and fellow environment champions committed to achieve a cleaner Handsworth

Posted on by
Reply

Rajinder Rattu spoke to myHandsworth about the efforts of the Environment Champions to make the Handsworth neighborhood a greener, tidier and safer place.

Mr Rattu is the coordinator of the Handsworth and Lozells Street Champions – a neighbourhood scheme to engage residents in environmental activities.

He said the Environment Champions program was originally  run by the City Council as Street Champions, but due to cut backs it had to come to an end.

EnviromentalIssueswith Rajinder Rattu by Sihlangu

The on going budget cuts have made it necessary for residents to take ownership of their surroundings.

Despite the obvious threats of the environmental challenges to the public health of Handsworth, the Environment Champions scheme presents an opportunity for community cohesion. The clean-ups have seen people from all sections of the community take part.

Mr Rattu made interesting remarks about the correlation between environmentally depressed areas and crime:

Enviromental Issues – Environment and Crime – Rajinder Rattu by myhandsworth.co.uk

There is a case for businesses to take responsibility for some of the pollution in the neighborhood. Fast food packaging is one of the main pollutants.

Enviromental Issues -Environmement and Business Rajinder Rattu-04 by myhandsworth.co.uk

The Environment Champions program has a goal to have a representative in every street.

There are more clean-ups and environmental awareness programs lined up in the near future and one of them is the Britain in Bloom competition.

Enviromental Issues – Britain in Bloom – Rajinder Rattu-02 by myhandsworth.co.uk

Handsworth Library opening hours set to increase: A positive response to the petition

Posted on by
Reply

The opening hours at Handsworth Community Library could be restored from four days to 5 days a week. The development is a welcomed response to the petition against the cuts at the library on Soho Road, which was presented to the full City Council by Councillor Waseem Zaffar on 6 December 2011.

A letter addressed to Andrew Chaffer – the lead petitioner – states that the library service is currently undergoing a comprehensive service review as savings of over £2million must be found over the next 3 years.

Steve Salt – Interim Constituency Lead Manager – said although £2million is a substantial figure the City Council is committed to keeping open all of its libraries. He said: “You can be assured that the Perry Barr Constituency is committed to restoring opening hours over 5 days a week, which we hope to introduce sometime in the New Year”.

Mr Salt also acknowledged the problem of unplanned closures. He said: ‘Due to a variety of factors, there has been an abnormally high level of staff absences over the last few weeks, and we have not been able to open on some days due to low staffing levels”.

Suzan Thomas – Handsworth Against the Cuts convener – said: “We will now need to keep a sharp eye on what happens and, as we have made clear throughout our campaign, we don’t want to see other libraries cut at Handsworth’s expense”.

Why does Sutton Coldfield have more librarians than Perry Bar Constituency?

Posted on by
4

LIbrary Staffing Levels

Birmingham City Council’s budget data reveals that Sutton Coldfield – Birmingham’s smallest constituency – has almost double the number of librarians than Perry Barr – one of the largest constituencies.

The Cuts in Handsworth Library

This post is a follow up on the ongoing coverage of cuts at the Handsworth Library. The cuts have resulted in the reduction of opening hours from five to four days. In some instances, the library is closed at short notice when a member of staff phones in sick.

Library Staffing Levels Across Birmingham

However, the data on library staffing levels shows that Sutton Coldfield – though being the smallest constituency – its libraries are far better resourced than some of the largest constituencies in Birmingham.

Library Staffing Levels vs Population

According to data acquired through a Freedom of Information request, in December 2011, Sutton Coldfield Constituency – the smallest in Birmingham with a population of 92,000 – has 32.37 full time equivalent librarians compared to Perry Bar, which has a population of 104,300 people, is served by 17.29 full time equivalent librarians.

Libraries Budget

The data also shows that Hodge Hill, with a population of 116,500 is Birmingham’s largest constituency, yet it is served by only 10.01 full time equivalent librarians.

The figures also reveal that the Sutton Coldfield constituency has the second biggest library budget in Birmingham of £979,170, while Perry Bar’s library budget is £783,036.

It is also worthy of note, that Sutton Coldfield has a more favourable socio-economic profile than Handsworth, where statistics show that a considerable section of the community is unemployed.

One would expect that more resources be channelled to areas of deprivation more than well-off areas.

Handsworth is one of the most densely populated constituencies in Birmingham and one of the economically challenged areas of the city.

The revelations point to the possible disparity in library service delivery across the city, which could result in the perpetuation of already existing inequalities.

The question is: What matrix does Birmingham City Council use in the allocation of funding to libraries?

 

 

 

New Bio Diesel Production Project in Handsworth

Posted on by
Reply
Bio Diesel Production Project in Handsworth

Bio Diesel Production Project in Handsworth

Malcolm Currie - a resident of Handsworth - is spear heading a project which uses waste cooking oil from kitchens in the community to produce Bio Diesel.

The bio diesel production process involves converting used cooking oil – usually treated as waste – into useable diesel by mixing it with a catalyst.

Malcolm Currie said: “The key to successful bio diesel production is access to a source of used cooking oil”.

Cooking Oil Processing

Cooking Oil Processing

Inputs cost and Skills required

According Mr Currie, the actual production input cost is 30 pence per litre and the Biobot is £1800.  He stated that the initial start up costs could add up to £2 000.

Mr Currie said the process is so simple and anyone who is literate enough to read a manual can produce bio diesel.

Value

Mr Currie said: “The project has a wide range of benefits for the community. If it is a school producing it, it has an immediate financial value to schools as they could save a pound a litre for diesel to run their minibuses.

Handsworth has some of the city’s largest schools.  Big schools such as Handsworth Grammar School could benefit from such a scheme and realise a significant reduction in fuel costs.

He said: “It also takes out of the waste stream a product which usually causes blockages. The bio diesel project is making good use of material which we traditionally considered as waste.

“You have the environmental benefits, because the bio diesel has far less carcinogens and other contaminants than mineral diesel. Bio diesel has 75% less pollution and 75% reduction of CO2 output as compared to fossil fuel.

“There are additional educational benefits for schools in science and the older students run the project as a business within the school environment.

Mr. Currie said: “The project has community benefits in that you are asking the schools community to contribute by collecting waste oil, which adds to community cohesion and motivation”

Challenges

The major challenge has been finding a reliable and regular source of used cooking oil. The project has benefited from cleaner waste oil from the temples around the suburb.

Malcolm Currie (Bio Diesel Production Project in Handsworth)

Malcolm Currie

The Future of the Project

Mr Currie hopes to grow the project to be able to convert a significant amount of 5 million litres of waste cooking oil that the West Midlands produces a month and use it as sustainable fuel.

“We should stop talking about waste and start talking about resource. You go to other countries they don’t have waste, they have resources”, said Mr Currie.

“We have been too profligate over the last century by discarding valuable materials and doing that at a huge environmental cost.

He hopes that the project will be a step towards halting a culture of wastefulness.

Funding  

The current project is being funded by Community Service Volunteers (CVS). The bio diesel project is part of lottery funded initiative to set up 6 bio diesel production bases around Birmingham.

 

 

Free services in Handsworth

Posted on by
Reply

Soho House

There are many services that can be accessed free of charge around Handsworth, yet some residents, unknowingly or otherwise, still travel across the city to access the same at a premium.

A careful look around the neighbourhood can reveal a number of resources available for free to the residents of Handsworth.

1. Handsworth Community Library is totally free to join. All you need is proof of identity and residence, which can be a utility bills or driver’s licence. The library also offers the following free of charge:

• Free CV help every Monday from 2.00pm to 3.00pm

• Computing for beginners every Tuesday from 3.00pm to 5.00pm. You need to call 0121 4641185

2. Soho House Museum is free to children under the age of 16, yet the Adults can pay up to £4. The admission charges apply to the house only. The Gardens, grounds and visitor facilities are free to all visitors. Admission is free to the entire site on the first Sunday in every month during the open season. Soho House is one of Handsworth’s best-kept secrets and an invaluable repository of history. It is located on Soho Avenue a few yards from Soho Road. The Soho House was the elegant home of industrialist and entrepreneur Matthew Boulton. He lived there from 1766 to 1809.

3. Free Advice. The closure of Handsworth Birmingham Citizens Advice Bureau drop-in service on 29 September 2011, left many residents wondering where to go for advice. However, the residents can still benefit from Councillors’ Advice Bureaux. Click for surgery times.

4. Leisure centre. Birmingham City Council in conjunction with the Government, local health authorities and Be Birmingham offer free opportunities to increase physical activity. The scheme runs until 31 March 2012.

The following activities are free at Handsworth Leisure Centre:

• Fitness gyms (between 10.00am & 4.00pm Monday to Thursday & till 10.00pm on Fridays. After 1.00pm at weekends)

• Fitness gym inductions (times as above, times outside of the above, normal charges apply)

• Swimming between 10.00am & 4.45pm on Mondays, Thurs & Fridays

• Between 10.00am & 3.00pm, then 5.00pm & 9.l5pm

• Between 10.00am & 9.l5pm on Wed

• Walk 2000 session at Handsworth is on a Monday at 11.30am

5. Social Media Surgeries. Podnosh in collaboration with Midland Heart provide a free social media surgery for the residents of Handsworth and Lozells. The surgeries are informal gatherings where members of the community can learn how they can use the web and social media to help their organisations to work and communicate. This link will give you information on future surgery dates.

Please post your own discoveries in the comments section and grow this list.