Both of Acocks Green’s Neighbourhood Forums have met in the last week. The Acocks Green Neighbourhood Forum (which covers the area to the north of the Warwick Road) met on Tuesday last week and the Fox Hollies Green Neighbourhood Forum (which covers the area to the south of the Warwick Road) met last night.

The Acocks Green Neighbourhood Forum had presentations from:

1) Fleet and Waste Management/Environmental Health (respectively Noel Delaney and Kate Careford). They covered the work being done to tackle litter on the Yardley Road. They explained that several businesses in the area did not have commercial waste contacts and were using public bins which caused them to overflow. Action is being taken to ensure they do have proper commercial waste contracts to deal with this problem.

2) Acocks Green Police. Sgt Mark Fellows informed the Forum that Alex Wallace is joining the Acocks Green Policing team. He has previous experience in the area and will be working mainly in the Gospel Estate.

3) Healthwatch Birmingham – who are the new body set up to ’empower citizens’ to have their voice heard on healthcare and social care matters. They can be contacted on www.healthwatchbirmingham.co.uk.

The Fox Hollies Green Neighbourhood Forum had presentations from:

1) The History of Acocks Green by Mike Byrne, our local historian – with many fascinating photos of old Acocks Green.

2) National Express West Midlands. This was to respond to the many residents annoyed by the changes to the No31 bus, which have made the route far less convenient for many residents in the south of Acocks Green. There had also been a woeful lack of resident consultation and information about the changes. We were told that senior management at National Express hadn’t full understood the impact of the changes and that residents’ concerns would be fed back to them the following day. We were also specifically promised that the folly of trying to run a 10 minute bus service up Pool Farm Road (from Pollard Road) would be changed. I will be keeping a close watch on how National Express follow up on these promises.

3) Acocks Green Police. Another presentation on local crime issues. We were informed that crime in Acocks Green is up 11.8% from April 2013 to April 2014. We were warned to be particularly careful to keep garden sheds secure and of a recent spate of purse dippings in Acocks Green Village. There has also been a successful raid on a house being used as a cannabis factory in Tyseley.

4) There was then a discussion about the impact of charging for green waste on the state of Acocks Green. Residents said they are very unhappy about the number of green waste bags lying around on pavements and verges in our community. One gentleman, who is one of the few who have paid for a green wheelie bin, said he is still waiting for it to be delivered, several months after ordering it. I pointed out that he was one of many and even when they do arrive, the collections have frequently failed to come when advertised. I added that residents who take their green waste to the tip at weekends often have to queue for up to an hour to get in. Overall, it is a badly thought out and badly implemented policy.