(l-r) Alex Richards and Cllr Clifton Welch at Remembrance Sunday service and parade / Photograph supplied by Cllr Welch
Words byCllr Clifton Welch
Hello, Alex Richards (Conservative Local Campaigner) and I were both so proud to attend the Kingstanding Remembrance Service and Parade on 9 November.
The Scouts, Guides, Cubs and Beavers did Kingstanding proud with their parade and residents turned out in large numbers to support a very important event that is at the very heart of Kingstanding community. I was so honoured to have attended.
Following on from last month’s news that Kingstanding will be getting £20 million pounds of investment over 10 years, I received my first formal briefing on 6 November. It’s very early days but what is now known is the following:
The first £2 million becomes available in April 2027
In early 2026 a shadow committee will be set up of residents and politicians, which later in 2026 will become the formal organising committee that will oversee the planning and authority to spend the funds.
In early January 2026 council officials will walk around the ward with me to get better understanding of the issues facing residents.
Project leader will attend my next Kingstanding Ward Meeting on 14 January 2026 to give residents full update.
Obviously, I will keep residents fully updated in future editions of this newspaper and via my leaflets and Facebook page.
At end of October, I was invited to opening of Concord Club new outdoor sports facilities in Aston as a team of Kingstanding school girls were taking part. The excellent facilities mirror exactly the sports facilities we have in Kingstanding at the excellent 601 Club.
(l-r) Local campaigner Alex Richards and Cllr Clfton Welch collecting rubbish for World Clean Up Day / Photograph supplied by Cllr Clifton Welch
Words byCllr Clifton Welch
(**Ed’s note… this column was first published on Friday 17 October in the Erdington Local print edition.)
Hello, Local Conservative Campaigner Alex Richards and myself have spent many months campaigning for investment into Kingstanding, especially to rejuvenate our local shopping areas.
That campaign has already seen Lidi come to Kingstanding Circle with construction well underway.
Now it’s been confirmed that following our campaign, Kingstanding will get £2 million a year for the next decade to revive high streets, parks and public spaces.
This will hopefully deliver improvements for Kingstanding Circle, Hawthorn Road, Conker Island and more locally to make Kingstanding even better for residents. This funding is from the national Pride in Place fund.
For World Clean Up Day on 20 September Alex Richards and I organised a clean-up around Kingstanding Circle. We collected eight bags of rubbish and some parts from a car that had previously crashed on the roundabout. We are both proud of Kingstanding and will continue to work to keep our streets clean.
I must stress how much I am against Birmingham Council taking down flags of St George and Union Jacks across Kingstanding and Birmingham. I am so very proud of our country and our history and the flags reflect our pride.
I am quite frankly amazed that a Birmingham Labour Council that has made the city bankrupt, has an eight month bin strike on its hands, a Commonwealth Games Village that never housed an athlete and will require residents to repay the costs for 40 years etc, thinks that putting in staff to take down flags is a good use of its resources.
This Birmingham Labour Council has lost its moral compass.
(l-r) Cllr Clifton Welch and local campaigner Alex Richards / Photograph supplied by Cllr Clifton Welch
Words byCllr Clifton Welch
On Saturday 30 August I received an incredible warm welcome from the organisers of Together in the Community at their fun day on Conker Island. This was their 16th year of holding this event and I was proud to be told I was the first ever Kingstanding Councillor or MP to ever attend.
Together in the Community raise funds to support underprivileged families, homeless and the elderly across Kingstanding and they are doing a wonderful role.
They always require extra help so if anyone would like to volunteer please get in touch with me and I will pass your details on. I should also give a shout out to Kingstanding Inn who gave up their car park for the day.
On Friday 5 September I was back with Together in the Community for their fortnightly food bank. Alex Richards the Local Conservative Campaigner and I joined the volunteers as they assembled food parcels. It was a wonderful to see such commitment to the community.
Along with other parts of Birmingham, the last month has seen a significant rise of Union Jack and St George’s flags being flown across Kingstanding, most notably Hawthorn Road and Chingford Road. I personally love to see our two national flags on display.
I love my country, our proud history and our culture and these flags are a symbol of our proud history and culture. It should not be a problem flying these flags in our own streets and we should install the love and pride in our country to all generations.
Cllr Clifton Welch and Ginn the dog at Perry Barr Fire Station (photograph supplied by Cllr Clifton Welch)
Words byCllr Clifton Welch
Hello, on Saturday 9 August Alex Richards – the Local Conservative Campaigner for Kingstanding – and myself had a fantastic time at the Perry Bar Fire Station where the local fire brigade held an open day.
It was great to get the chance to talk to so many of the amazing people who go above and beyond every single day to save lives and be there at our hour of need such as Firefighters, the Police, First Responders, and numerous other volunteer organisations such as West Midlands 4×4 Response, First Aid, British Red Cross, Guide Dogs and Family HUB Birmingham.
The photo attached with this article shows me with Giddy, a beautiful Spaniel who is based at Perry Bar fire station. Giddy is trained to find the exact location that a fire started and is paid in tennis balls lol.
A massive thank you to everyone who helped organise this wonderful event and it was lovely to get to see and speak to so many volunteers.
On a different matter I have been receiving calls from several residents close to Crossways Lane of drug dealers being active in the area. The most recent example was Sunday 10 August, where Crossways Lane meets College Rd. I have passed details and suspected car registration numbers to Kingstanding Police.
Finally, as you are all aware Birmingham Labour Council Bin Srike chaos worsens. Birmingham Labour continues to drag Kingstanding and Birmingham down. Please continue to make me aware of examples of bins not being collected or examples of fly tipping.
(L-R) Cllr Clifton Welch and Local Conservative campaigner Alex Richards cleaning sign for Burford Road Playing Fields / Photograph supplied by Cllr Welch
Words byCllr Clifton Welch
This month at Birmingham Full Council Meeting on the 8 July, I added a petition of 525 people calling on the City Council to take enforcement action against 101 Hawthorn Road for operating without planning permission.
The background to this case is that in 2020 the City Council gave planning permission for a retail shop to be converted into an Islamic education centre for activities such as teaching languages.
Since then, residents have reported that it has effectively become a mosque for which there is no planning permission, with on occasions praying on the pavement and significant planning permission. I have been raising the concerns of residents to City Planning for 14 months, sadly without success.
Due to the breach in planning regulations and the failure of the Labour run Council to act I launched this petition demanding they take enforcement action. It’s not too late to sign the petition as I’m getting additional names every day and I will be able to add these names at the next Council Meeting.
On 27 June I had a wonderful afternoon at Kings Rise Academy School to share their 3rd anniversary of what is a stunning Nature Garden.
Local Conservative Campaigner Alex Richards and I have also been busy cleaning community signs such as the one in the above photo at Burford Park. Local Conservatives believe in Actions not Words.
Finally enjoy the beautiful sunshine but stay safe.
(l-r) Alex Richards and Cllr Clifton Welch collecting rubbish on Conker Island / Photograph supplied by Cllr Welch
Words byCllr Clifton Welch
(Ed’s note… this column was written the June/July Erdington Local newspaper and first published, in print, on Thursday 12 June.)
Hello, I thought I’d tell you about some of the things I’ve been involved in around Kingstanding in the past month.
On 23 May, my colleague and local campaigner Alex Richards and I visited Conker Island. Our original purpose was to look at the condition of the waste bins which turned out to be in a dreadful state, in some cases almost falling apart.
I’ve reported the state of the bins together with the fact that exercise equipment is missing and not replaced or broken, and matting in the play area is missing or in poor condition. Alex and I also took the opportunity to do an extensive litter pick of Conker Island as the photo above shows.
In early June, I was contacted by member of staff at Greenholm Primary School and sent a video of the waste bags that had not been collected for almost six weeks. I was shocked and very concerned at the obvious threat to public health of primary school aged children.
I wrote to the CEO of Birmingham Council the same evening I received the video, asking her to use her authority to get the waste collected from the school as a matter of urgency. I was delighted to hear and see photos showing the waste had been collected the next working day.
But within two hours I was sent another video from Warren Farm Primary School almost identical to Greenholm. This demonstrated this was not an isolated incident.
Birmingham Labour Council are putting the public health of small children and staff members at risk; this is simply unacceptable.
Existing and proposed floor plans for development at 55 Goodway Road, Kingstanding / Graphics taken from planning application
Planning has been approved by Birmingham City Council to turn a house in multiple occupancy (HMO) at 55 Goodway Road into a children’s care home.
The semi-detached property is currently housing eight people as an HMO. But on 8 May, Birmingham City Council planning committee gave developers the green light to change its use – allowing for a conversion to house three young people aged between six and 17 years old and their onsite carers.
In the ‘Statement of Purpose’ submitted to Birmingham City Council, the applicant states the development would “provide care and accommodation” for the young people “who identify as being in need of residential care due their vulnerabilities and difficulties with behaviours.”
According to Government findings, the number of children in care and ‘looked after’ by social services across the UK was up to 83,630 – based on data collected from 31 March 2023, to 31 March 2024.
The number of care homes and residential provision for vulnerable young people across the country, based on data from the same time period, was up to 3491 – a rise of around 12% from the previous year.
First submitted to BCC on 28 October 2024, the plans received objections from both local Oscott Ward councillors, Barbara Dring (Labour) and Darius Sandhu (Conservatives) – citing the vulnerability of local young people and pensioners as a concern, as well as the potential disruption to a predominately residential area.
A total of 32 letters from local residents objecting to the change of use were also received, with the planning committee’s report referencing concerns including pressure on local services and a lack of clear consultation.
Further concerns that were highlighted, as raised by local residents in their letters of objection, included the “applicant’s legitimacy” and “perceived financial motives” for the development of a children’s care home.
The application to change the use of 55 Goodway Road to allow for the development of a children’s care home was made by Stockport based care provider, iCare Solutions.
On their website, the company states it “is on a mission to empower lives with compassionate care and transformative support for children” and provides “top-notch residential childcare and support,
In their most recent Care Quality Commission inspection, published in March 2023, iCare were rated ‘Good’ – having addressed previous concerns raised by the CQC inspectors over a “[failure] to ensure safe recruitment practice”.
Alongside caring for children from birth to 18 years old, the organisation is also listed as providing care for adults both over and under 65 adults on the CQC database. It further offers support for people living with conditions from dementia and learning difficulties to physical disabilities and sensory impairments.
Outside of the Council House in Birmingham City Centre – with ‘BROKE’ stamp added / Photograph supplied by Adobe Stock Image and adapted for publishing
In a bid to balance the books after the financial crisis at Birmingham City Council, the Local Authority has approved cuts to children’s services provision by a reported £39m in the city’s budget for 2025/26.
Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, responded to the cuts by stating she was “massively frustrated and furious” – especially when the area governed by Birmingham City Council has previously had “real problems in terms of child deaths and child safeguarding issues.”
In an interview with ITV News Central, Dame de Souza when on to state: “We need to make sure child safeguarding is supported, children are supported, and that children’s services are the last things that get cut.”
Gravelly Hill Cllr Mick Brown (Labour) and Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families / Photograph supplied by Birmingham Labour
When previously asked by ITV News Central if the cuts could endanger life, Gravelly Hill Cllr Mick Brown, who is the current local Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, told: “It’s obviously a concern… It’s something that we need to be aware of, and I think we need to avoid being complacent.”
Planning officers at Birmingham City Council have granted iCare Solutions three years to complete their proposed development at 55 Goodway Road, Kingstanding.
(l-r) Conservatives Leader Kemi Badenoch MP and Kingstanding Cllr Clifton Welch / Photograph supplied by Cllr Clifton Welch
Words byCllr Clifton Welch
This month I’d like to talk about one of the biggest issues I get asked about – potholes across Kingstanding.
After the cold winter that we had, I spent a little time inspecting local roads for potholes and reporting them for repair.
Sadly, Birmingham Labour have been trying to axe £20 million a year from the road repair budget at a time that the roads across Kingstanding – and Birmingham in general – have needed investment more than ever.
Across Kingstanding we are starting to see the damage in our local roads of a decade of bankrupt Birmingham Labour’s mismanagement of the Council and its finances. Many of these potholes – such as on Rivington Creescent, Epwell Road, and Warren Farm Road – are dangerous and require urgent attention.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to update you on the Kingstanding and Perry Common Libraries.
The good news is the campaign that local Conservatives launched to save these libraries was a success and Birmingham Labour backed down on their closure plan, and they are both going to remain open. However, the opening times will be reduced to just three days a week with no commitment to open on a Saturday.
There is also a risk that Birmingham Labour will use any reduced visitor numbers as an excuse to come back next year to close either or both libraries.
So, I can pledge Local Conservatives will continue to fight to protect both Libraries and in the longer-term fight for the return of full-time services.
