Balsall Heath Neighbourhood Council – plans launch this Saturday
This Saturday, drop-in to the Gala Pool in Moseley Road Baths between 11:00am and 2:30pm to find out more about plans for a Neighbourhood Council for Balsall Heath.
A Neighbourhood Council is being proposed for Balsall Heath. This follows the publication of a White Paper from Birmingham City Council in 2019 called “Working Together in Birmingham’s Neighbourhoods”. Balsall Heath is one of a number of neighbourhoods in the city which have responded to the paper, with a proposal for devolution of responsibilities and greater local democracy.
Balsall Heath is a district with a great deal of local enterprise and initiative. It was the first Birmingham district to make a statutory Neighbourhood Development Plan, in 2015, which is still the only one in the city. The Neighbourhood Council is proposed to be based on the Plan’s boundary, and would help to deliver the Plan.
What responsibilities the Neighbourhood Council would be able to take on would be a matter for negotiation with the City Council, but would be based upon what Balsall Heath residents believed was possible and appropriate. It might take over local responsibilities such as street cleaning and parks maintenance and improvement. But it might also add additional services which would make Balsall Heath a greener, more attractive and more neighbourly place to live in.
There has to be a referendum of local residents to decide the proposal, which the Steering Group intends to happen in 2022. If sufficient residents vote Yes, there will then be a non-political election held to elect councilors.
The public launch of this proposal will be at Moseley Road Baths in Balsall Heath, on Saturday 13th November. Anyone with an interest in Balsall Heath is invited to drop in between 11.00am and 2.30pm, to find out more about the proposal, ask questions, and discuss the future of Balsall Heath.