Re-presenting the images of Balsall Heath
The ‘bad’ old
image of Balsall Heath was hard to shift. It stuck in the mind of those who
lived in other parts of Birmingham long
after local
people had turned the area
around. So, having closed down the old ways and re-opened under new management,
it became important to
sell the product in the same way a shop might advertise
its new goods.
Part of the
solution rests with the local community newspaper, The Heathen It records all
the good news, talks the area up,
is produced
once a month, goes through every
letter-box in the neighbourhood and to every councillor in Birmingham.
The Balsall
Heath Neighbourhood Developing Plans
2006 - 2009
The transformation:
Before and After
Balsall
Heath was in serious trouble in the 1970’s. Manufacturing industries had ended.
The old white working class population
had been
dispersed by the planners.
Newcomers from the four corners of the planet did not know each other or the
local culture.
Prostitution was
rife and spreading. Residents were fearful and
isolated. Photographs of the time remind us just how bad it was.
Our
collection of old ‘before’ photos has now been joined by some ‘after’ ones. Here
is one of them which illustrates the dramatic
transformation:
The statistics of success
The
photographs tell us that the foundations have been laid for a startling
resident-led, inter-agency recovery. So also do these
staggering statistics:
· Crime is down by 45%
· Street corner prostitution has ended.
· While in 37 of
Birmingham’s 39 wards only 6% of residents say the quality of life is improving,
in Balsall Heath the
figure is way
ahead with 66% saying that life is getting
better.
· Houses, which were worth only £5k ten years ago, now sell at £125k.
· Ladypool, Moseley and Edward Roads are full of booming businesses.
· Balsall Heath came 1st in the Midland’s section of Britain in Bloom.
· There are 22 residents
groups, 50 voluntary organisations and half the population participates in
voluntary activity.
Very many people have helped to make the difference and are
keen to do more.
· Service providers from the statutory and voluntary sector have formed a Neighbourhood Strategic Partnership.
However,
stubborn negative features remain. Balsall Heathans still die seven years sooner
than the Birmingham average and
educational
and other statistics show that there
is still a mountain to climb.
The transformation has not been easy. It has taken
organisation, will, determination, some courage and the direct participation
of
hundreds of residents and some dedicated professionals.
At first, the transformation had to be achieved despite ‘the
system’, which felt threatened. Now, ‘the system’ and its culture are
changing.
Key politicians and officers in central and local government realise that we are
in urgent need of:
· Active citizens and good neighbours
· Strong communities
· A new partnership between strong communities and ‘the system’ as it moves from ‘doing’ to ‘enabling’.
The foundations are now in place on which further progress can be built.
The second of our first two Neighbourhood Plans lasted until
this year. We now need to move to this third plan. The full version
of
it is
long and available upon enquiry. But, its essence and key features are captured
in this executive summary. It requires
joined
up action by all partners, is to
be led by residents and professional champions and will be coordinated by our
Neighbourhood Manager.
We all hope it helps to focus the mind and action and
enables further progress to be made in
Balsall Heath. Further, by using what
works here as a model, we hope to help an array of diverse urban villages to
arise in
other neighbourhoods in Birmingham and
throughout the country.
As
the policy of devolution proceeds, neighbourhoods like Balsall Heath will gain
more local services, budgets and buildings. They will
become
semi-self-governing, like schools. Each one will need it’s own mini-Town Hall or
Civic Centre as well as its own neighbourhood
team or NSP. At the very heart of
Balsall Heath are the Baths and Library. Opposite these are the Methodist Church
and the old Art
School. Behind them are the Health Centre and Police Station.
Currently, these are separately and remotely managed. But, as devolution takes
place, they could be joined up, become locally
managed
and refurbished to become
the Civic Centre of the locality. From this centre could radiate a variety of
joined up actions
to enable the
whole neighbourhood to become further
invigorated and inclusive.
The process of recovery
So, while Balsall Heath has come a long way and travelled
from doom and gloom to bloom, there is still a distance yet to go. We
are still
in an evolving process of recovery as we set ever more ambitious and exciting
targets. This plan aims to guide us along
the next path of this process.
Then the Tornado struck
At first, everyone thought it was a disaster – and it was. Just look at the photographs.
It did this in 3 short minutes. In those moments it took
parts of Balsall Heath back to the way they were before the transformation
began. Mercifully, nobody was killed.
Residents held their breath, counted to ten, then started all
over again. With the help of the Council and emergency services,
the roads were
cleared and the homeless re-housed. That was the short term.
In the medium term, the roofs must go back on with help for
the uninsured (60%) as this is such a collective disaster, not just a
series of
personal ones.
Residents and traders are already beginning to think beyond
‘the restoration’ to what existed and, in the long term, to create a
bolder,
brighter future. They are beginning to see the Tornado as a Blessing in disguise
and to turn it to advantage to help
them to deliver this plan. They are saying:
“Let’s not just put the place back where it was, but envisage a new Balsall
Heath
complete with:
· Sports Centre, Baths and a Leisure plan.
· An Academy linking a new
Chamberlain College with the local primary and secondary schools in a 0-90
educational
commonwealth.
· Restored, better managed, better used, more attractive parks.
· Rearranging the way
physical assets are managed and used, including the housing stock and use the
fruits of this to find
and drive renewal.
· Rearranging the way
services are delivered, managing many of these locally via this Neighbourhood
Development Plan,
a Neighbourhood Strategic Partnership and with a funded
Neighbourhood Manager and small neighbourhood team of identified
officers.
· A small set of capacity
builders to enable all these things to happen and become a replicable model of
sustainable renewal
from which other neighbourhoods can benefit.
· A Civic Centre to house these services and the Balsall Heath Forum.
Within two weeks of the devastation this party in Balsall
Heath park showed the reliance of residents. If the whole country
wishes
to
understand the spirit needed to drive Civil Renewal and to restore respect, look
no further than this community and
this plan.
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Local Issues & aims |
Action to be taken |
Partners |
How will we recognize progress? |
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Participation Incuding: Consultation Volunteering Faith Empowerment Who is Responsible? Forum Forum Executive member and Forum staff Statutory Constituency Director Faith Leaders |
Immediate tasks Support 22 residents groups Organise 4 bi-monthly walkabouts Put residents on District and Forum theme groups Ensure that residents groups Involvement of young people To facilitate an inter-faith working groups Residents representatives on DSP and NSP Increase numbers of volunteers helping with Community Safety in initiatives to 25 12 months 30 streets stewards to be identified Increase Forum membership to 1,500 Meeting to be time-tabled a year ahead and crèches provided Faith groups to meet regularly Development of NSP 24 months Each residents group to agree its own plan of action and become independently sustainable Resident action plans to be included into the Neighborhood plan Identity volunteer coordinator 60 street stewards to be identified Increase number of resident groups |
Community Wardens Street Stewards/Good Neighbours Residents groups
Sure Start Voluntary Organisations Forum and District theme groups Young people Councillors District Team |
Increase in no’ of residents groups to 25 Increase in the no’ of street stewards Attendance at residents groups to increase Increase in number of resident’s walkabouts Increase in number of community safety volunteers Increase in Forum, membership to over 1,500 Increase in no’ of people voting No’s of young people involved in process
Evidence of advance listing meetings No’ and regularity of faith group meetings No’ pf resident reps on NSP & DSP No’s of independently sustainable residents groups Appointment of volunteer co-ordinator Strategic objectives set by NSP
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Review Date |
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Local Issues & aims |
Action to be taken |
Partners |
How will we recognize progress? |
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Safe To Include: Community Safety Housing Parks Environment Highways Who is responsible? Forum Forum Executive member and Forum staff Statutory OCU Commander, West Midlands Police Divisional Fire Officer, West Midlands Fire Service District Parks Manager District Environmental Manager District Community Safy Liaison Officer |
Immediate tasks Staffing front desk of Edward Road and CCTV Domestic, Commercial and fire safety advice given to residents Refocusing of Street Watch Develop partnership with Police CSO’s Update Community Safety Strategy Funding for Community Wardens Develop Youth Safe Haven concept 12 months Edwards road to be developed as a one stop shop for community safety Examine traffic calming measures 24 months Creation of inter agency team comprising wardens, police, fire, environment, housing to tackle joined up problems Develop problem solving strategy to tackle joined up problems Buddy scheme in place Heighten awareness of domestic violence Tackle issues around young people and the elderly and emergence of gang cultures |
Police Wardens, all other strategic partners and forum Residents District team Councillors Theme Group Street Watch Police Liaison Group |
No’ of volunteers increases for CCTV and Edward Road Development of Edward Road as one-stop Community Safety shop Links to District & other strategies related to domestic violence 15% reduction in crime and dear of crime No’ of joint targeted patrols & problems solving results No’ of crime reduction and joined up safety initiatives completed No’ of Home Fire Risk assessments completed % reduction in gang culture & number of interventions introduced Implementation of buddy scheme No’ of directed tasks completed by Street Watch Updated Community Safety Strategy Realisation of Safe Haven initiative No’ of traffic calming measure introduced No’ of walking busses active Increase in public reassurance and confidence |
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Review Date |
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Local issues & aims |
Action to be taken |
Partners |
How will we recognize progress? |
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Clean Green To include: Community Safety Housing Parks Environment Highways Who is responsible? Forum Forum Executive member and Forum staff Statutory Parks Manager/Environmental Services/Housing Forum Forum Executive member and Forum staff Statutory Area Housing Manager, RSL’s Environmental Services |
Immediate tasks Develop the tree nursery as a social enterprise Win Britain In Bloom Encourage activities in Parks All abandoned cars removed Identification and treatment of confused spaces Develop strategy for dealing with rats, rubbish and associated issues 12 months Gaining a Parks maintenance contract Beat sweeper to become part of the Green Team Gaining an environmental contract 24 months Integrating beat sweepers with Green Team Maintaining 6 parks and creating a ‘Friends’ group of each park Extend recycling facilities Tackle more confused sites Implement Rats and Rubbish Strategy, to include Education and Regulation Immediate tasks Gain seconded officer to specialize in housing matters Prepare & distribute Welcome Packs Work with residents on environmental issues 12 months CBHO in place Deal with more unkempt gardens 24 months Prepare to form a CBHO Consult with tenants |
Environmental teams Community Wardens Environment Wardens Parks dept Probation Residents Voluntary organization Businesses District team Councillors Theme Groups Birmingham CC
RSL’s Green Team Groundwork Residents Councillors Theme Groups District Team |
No’s of tons of rubbish removed rises, then diminishes 20% increase in income for Tree Nursery Britain In Bloom results No’ of activities established for parks No’ of sites identified for development No’s of activities organized No’s of plants, trees and shrubs planted No’s of abandoned vehicles removed Local Contracts secured Baseline information on rats and rubbish and subsequent action Evidence of integration of beat sweepers into clean team No’ of Friends of the Park groups established Agreement for Parks contracts Line management of beat sweeper secured No’ of environmental contracts secured Additional sites for re-cycling Secondment of housing officer No’ of welcome packs distributed Environmental issues identified and resolved CBHO formed Contribution from rents to neighbourhood management budget Appearance of gardens improves |
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Review Date |
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Local issues & aims |
Action to be taken |
Partners |
How will we recognize progress? |
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Family and Education To include: Health and Social Care Education Training and safety of young People Who is responsible? Forum Forum Executive member and Forum staff Statutory Social Care and Heath Officers Education Official
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Timing response to appropriate to Social Care and Heath Exercise classes started in various centers and parks All 4 of the HLC posts filled Walking bus x 2 School Assemblies visited by Green Team Schools to meet together regularly Audit of youth facilities in neighbourhood Assessment of needs of young people 12 Months Walking bus x6 Heighten awareness of mental health issues Target smoking initiative SAT’s & GCSE’s improved by 10% Explore schools as family centers and ‘warp-around’ techniques 24 Months Walking bus x3 Safe in parks initiated Development of women only provision Discuss the creation of more youth facilities and meeting places in safe venues Explore an Academy |
PCT Doctors Health visitors Sure Start Social workers Social worker Assistants Referral and Advice Officers Councillors Residents Theme groups District Team Gvnor’s & Heads of all schools Including Women Social Care and Health Officers Councillors Residents Theme Groups District Team |
No’s of residents using the HLC increases No’ of fitness clubs increases No’ of requests to Social care and health and response The development and implementation of a drug strategy Increase in life expectancy of 2 years in 4 years time HLC posts filled Development of women only provision Anti smoking initiatives undertaken No’ of mental health events/campaigns Schools working more closely together The involvement of all schools in improving environmental awareness Attendance improved by 10% No’ of schools visited by green team Publication of youth audit & development of proposals Development of education theme group Development of Acsdemy concept |
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Review Date |
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Local issues & aims |
Action to be taken |
Partners |
How will we recognize progress? |
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Prosperity To include: Business Unemployment Who is Responsible? Forum Forum Executive member and Forum staff Statutory District Director or her representative |
Devise integrated employment and training schemes Business group 12 months Marketing video prepared Agree a Moseley Road and Balsall Heath asset management plan 24 months Baths, sports Centre and Pitch saved and managed locally Other local public buildings and assets managed and leased differently |
Development and Control & regeneration Depts Local businesses, Estate Agents, ABRA, etc EDD Councillors Theme groups District Team |
House prices continuing to rise Insurance premiums reduce The formation of a Balsall Heath business club The implementation of a Moseley Road and district plan % reduction of unemployment No’s of people into training schemes Publication of marketing video Publication of asset plan
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Review Date |
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Local issues & aims |
Action to be taken |
Partners |
How will we recognize progress? |
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Governance To include: Neighbourhood Management Development Strategic Representation LSP Forum development Civil & Civic Renewal Who is responsible? Forum Forum Executive member and Forum staff Chief Executive BHF Statutory District Director or nominee and the Neighbourhood Manager District Director or nominee and the Neighbourhood Manager |
Neighbourhood Manager in place Individual and collective discussions with partners and the District Director 12 months Each partner will formally complete a commitment chart and SLA with the Balsall Heath Forum and other voluntary organization Balsall Heath Forum to be mainstreamed by principle strategic partners Post Tornado renewal submitted to H.M.G 24 months Development of neighbourhood budget Review of 3rd neighbourhood strategic plan Building the Balsall Heath plan into the ward and district plan Identification of neighbourhood budgets with strategic partners |
District Director and colleagues from each statutory agency Voice Business group The Neighbourhood strategic Partnership Director of Devolution |
Neighbourhood manager appointed Agreement of neighbourhood budget Revision of neighbourhood plan Involvement with ward/district plan SLA’s agreed with service delivery partners The partnership with gain a devolved budget The partnership will agree joint policies for tacking a variety of ‘rats and rubbish’ and other key local issues Partners will have identifield their budgets and allocated parts of these to the development plan’s themes and parts to the Forum through SLA’s Balsall Heath used as replicable model by BBC and other neighbouurhoods Post Tornado package accepted |
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Review Date |
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Joining it up locally Neighbourhood Management
The City
has a City Strategic Partnership of all the players. So, Balsall Heath and other
neighbourhoods each need a
Neighbourhood
Strategic Partnership. In future, this
Partnership will deliver an increasing number of services and achieve the
targets defined in this
plan. This partnership can be pictured as follows:
Rats & Rubbish
The ‘rats and rubbish’, issue can give a very practical and
understandable meaning to Neighbourhood Management and joined-up
action. Only by
joint action can this difficult problem be tackled.
If we can crack Rats and Rubbish, during the lifetime
of this plan and progress other matters detailed in it, the
next stage in the process of recovery of Balsall Heath will have been
achieved.
Just phone Dick, Carrie or Pat on 0121 446 6183 or call in at The Tree Nursery,
82/89 St Paul’s Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham B12 8LS.
The Chief
Constable of West MidlandsPolice, Paul Scott-Lee was a young officer in Balsall
Heath nearly 20 years ago. He then
left.
Upon his recent return as Chief he
revisited his old beat. He said he could hardly believe the transformation which
had
taken place.
He summoned up the driving force behind this renewal with 3
words:
· Confidence – Residents were confident
· Aspirational – Residents had an aspirational vision for the future
· Togetherness – Residents worked as one, in unity there is strength.
These 3
words spell respect mutual support and civil renewal. They are the basic
building blocks for recovery. Every
neighbourhood
which hopes to become sustainably renewed must first lay these foundations and building blocks.
The physical destruction caused by the Tornado would have
finished off many neighbourhoods. In Balsall Heath’s case, it inspired
residents
to a greater vision and a determination to implement it.
That vision is contained in this plan. Realising that plan for the development of a new Balsall Heath is in good hands.
It will not be easy, residents will have to act
even more responsibly and invest even more time in transforming the place where
they live. And, statutory professionals and the Council will have to move from
delivering one-size-fits-all services to supplying
tailor made ones not just for
Balsall Heath, but for the many neighbourhoods of Birmingham and the country.
That’s the
challenge. Balsall Heath is determined to help others to rise to the
occasion.