OPINION: Erdington Cllr Robert Alden, Leader of Birmingham Conservatives

Pic supplied by Cllr Robert Alden (Erdington Ward, Conservative)

This month Cllr Gareth Moore and I have been finalising the design for the improvements to the play area in Rookery Park. The Council will be starting this work in September having decided they could not finish the work in time to have the play area reopen for the school holidays.

We have also been pushing the Council to act on the state the former gatehouse for the park has been allowed to get in to and we’ve been informed work should be happening over the summer to improve it.

This month, West Midlands Railway launched a consultation on the closure of ticket offices across the region including at Erdington and Chester Road Train Stations. Gareth and I have collected a petition opposing the closure and submitted it along with an objection to the consultation. An announcement on the consultation result is expected later this year.

Following the recent success of stopping the conversion of the Royal Oak into a HMO, I have launched a petition opposing a similar application to convert 120 Gravelly Lane.

You can see details of how to object to the application on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ErdingtonNews

This month we welcomed the Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival to Erdington. It was great to see so many residents enjoying the shows. This is a great new addition to Erdington and is hopefully something that can be grown in the coming years.

Thank you to the Town Centre Manager, Oikos Café and the Jazz festival or making this possible.

For more from Cllr Robert Alden and Cllr Gareth Moore visit www.facebook.com/ErdingtonNews