Sunday, March 22, 2009

Two Moseley properties being compulsory purchased

Two Moseley properties - 75 Alcester Road and 60 Elizabeth Road - are being compulsory purchased by Birmingham City Council.
 
A public enquiry is being held on 24-26 March 2009 at 10am at the Birmingham Midland Institute, Margaret Street.
 
The public enquiry is an opportunity for the owners of these properties to argue why their properties should not be compulsory purchase. At time of writing, the owners have put no objections in.
 
The two properties are being compulsory purchased under powers that local authorities have with regards to long term void domestic properties. In the case of these two properties they have been empty since at least prior to 2004.
 
These two properties will most likely be subsequently auctioned, with a condition that the owner gets them back into habital condition and occupied within 1 year.
 
The Council is still finalising the paperwork to compulsory purchase the former Sorrento Hospital buildings at 128 and 130 Anderton Park Road.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Two speed cameras proposed for Alcester Road, Moseley

I would welcome views on B
irmingham City Council (Transportation Strategy) proposal to erect two speed cameras on Alcester Road, Moseley; both in the southbound direction. Looking at the attached plans, the locations look sensible. I've been asked to comment by 3rd April.

Site 1: Alcester Road, between Trafalgar Road and Louise Lorne Road.

The site has been chosen based on road traffic collisions on the A435 Haden Way / Moseley Road / Alcester Road, between Belgrave Middleway and Park Road during the period July 2005 to May 2008.

During this period there were twelve serious injury collisions and thirty slight injury collisions.  This is enough to justify the placement of a speed camera, based on the criteria agreed by the West Midlands local authorities.


Site 2: Alcester Road, between Dowells Close and Hill Crest Road.

The site has been chosen based on road traffic collisions on the A435 Alcester Road, between Park Road and Queensbridge Road, during the period July 2005 to May 2008.

During this period there were nine serious injury collisions and 47 slight injury collisions.  This is enough to justify the placement of a speed camera, based on the criteria agreed by the West Midlands local authorities.

Friday, March 06, 2009

Works commences on re-opening Moseley and Kings Heath railway stations

 

Work has now begun on the first phase of the re-opening of Moseley and Kings Heath railways stations in 2018.

 

Centro have commenced work on the design of the south-west Bordesley Chord, which will link passenger services from Moseley or Kings Heath into Moor Street station. The initial 3 month study will look at the options for track and structure layouts on the Bordesley Chord and the estimated costs.  Once a Preferred Option for the Chord has been selected, it will then be developed further by Network Rail. Network Rail have been successful in getting money from the Department for Transport for this work. It is intended to build the Bordesley Chord between 2014 to 2019.

Centro have allocated £125,000 for the initial feasibility study (i.e. up to selection of Preferred Option),

 

It is estimated that the cost of the Bordesley Chord will be approximately £35million. The cost of building stations at Moseley, Kings Heath and Stirchley would be £1million each.

 

The Moseley station would be located in the cutting between St.Marys Row and Woodbridge Road

 

The Kings Heath station would be located immediately south of the High Street bridge, next to the Tile R’Us warehouse.

 

The Moseley and Kings Heath railway stations are on the Camp Hill railway. The stations closed in 1941, due to lack of passengers usage. This was due to the services having to taken a convulated route up to Nechells and into the over crowded New Street station.

 

Building the Bordesley Chord will allow passenger services to enter the under-used Moor Street station. Journey times from Moseley to Moor Street will be 5 minutes. From Kings Heath it will be 8 minutes.

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

webpage on the Highbury Trust

I've just uploaded a webpage at http://www.martinmullaney.co.uk/highbury.html to provide basic information about the Highbury Trust - namely what is it and where it is.
 
The Highbury Trust was at the centre of local media attention a few weeks ago, when it was proposed to dispose of sections of land which was part of the original Highbury Hall estate. The last update on this can be  seen at http://martinmullaney.blogspot.com/2009/02/update-on-highbury-trust-ive-just-come.html
 
Through the use of maps and photos, my webpage shows where the original Highbury estate was and which parts of the Highbury Trust land are now publicly accessible.
 
I also show which features and planting from the original Highbury estate still exist. I also show the disastrous planting of the Highbury arboretum in the mid-1990s which destroyed much of the landscape of the original estate.
 
All my historical information has come from the excellent Historical Landscape Survey of Highbury Park, by Phillada Ballard at http://www.martinmullaney.co.uk/highbury.pdf

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Councillor update on Planning Applications of importance in Moseley & Kings Heath Ward – Sunday 1st March 2009

 

Below is my own personal list of planning applications that I am keeping an eye on, due to residents raising concerns with me or the applications clearly being contentious.

 

Drawings and further details on each of these planning application is available on-line at http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=67548&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=12189

 

 

The planning applications

 

S/05886/08/LDE - 7a Park Hill, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8DU - Certificate of Lawfulness for existing use of the property as a haulage yard in excess of 10 years - Under consideration

 

S/05750/08/FUL - 66 School Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 9SW - Deletion of condition C2 of application S/06949/05/FUL (Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Cou  - Under consideration

 

S/06208/08/FUL - 48 St. Marys Row, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8JG - Erection of a single storey side extension – Refused - Decision date 24/02/2009

 

S/06555/08/FUL - 30 Amesbury Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8LE - Erection of single and two storey rear extensions, single storey side extension, 2 no. velux rooflights to front - Approve – Conditions - Decision date -19/02/2009

 

S/06441/08/FUL - 17a Alcester Road, Selly Park Motor Bodies, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8AR - Erection of new building to create an MOT working bay and associated facilities - Refuse

Decision date - 20/02/2009

 

S/00036/09/FUL - 80 Russell Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8NH - Erection of two storey and single storey rear extensions and single storey side extension.  - Under consideration

 

S/00092/09/FUL - 207 Billesley Lane, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 9RR - Erection of two storey and first floor rear, two storey side and forward porch extensions.  - Under consideration

 

S/00128/09/FUL - 82 Russell Road and Pitmaston, Land At, 123 Moor Green Lane, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8NG - Conversion of buildings and erection of new buildings to provide 31 dwellings, car parking and landscaping  - Under consideration

 

S/00551/09/FUL - 9 King Edward Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8HR - Retention of dormer to rear  - Under consideration

 

S/06487/08/FUL- 12 Russell Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8RD - Erection of two storey side and single storey rear extensions  - Under consideration

 

S/00710/09/FUL - 148 Alcester Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8HS - Erection of single storey rear extension to shop with installation of 1no. dormer window to rear  - Under consideration

 

S/00471/09/FU - 126 Church Road, Land Rear Of, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 9GH - Erection of a 7no. bedroom detached dwelling house with a detached garage to front  - Under consideration

 

S/00574/09/FUL - 42 Poplar Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B14 7AD - Change of use from offices (B1) to restaurant (A3) with ancillary takeaway and erect of sing storey side/rear ext 

-       Under consideration