'Our hearts go out to everyone'
'Our hearts go out to everyone'
Plus: Council cuts revealed
Dear Patchers — Welcome to your Tuesday briefing.
In news that has long been signposted, last night Birmingham City Council announced the cuts and council tax rises that will hit the second city over the next two years. With money set to be taken from a broad range of services, it’s worth clicking through on the links in today's briefing to find out how you, your loved ones, or, indeed, your place of work might be affected.
As ever, we aim to keep you as informed as possible as this story of financial crisis evolves. Later this week, Kate will bring you a Council long read, which highlights more of the twists and turns in this story. You can also take a step back into our archive to look at how the council got itself into this mess.
In more positive news, there are now 383 of us subscribing to The Dispatch. If you want to read more about what makes us and our city tick, join us as a paying member and get full access to The Dispatch. We’d love to have you.
That’s all from me for today. Speak soon — and take care. Dan.
Brum in Brief
📉Council cuts revealed: With news that £300m of savings need to be found, Birmingham City Council has announced cuts and council tax rises for the next two years.
As expected, council tax will rise by 9.99% this year and the same again the year after.
As for cuts to services, £150m will be slashed this year and next. In a surprise move, this year fortnightly bin disposals will be piloted in some areas of the city with the view to implementing citywide in 2025-26.
Assisted transport for disabled young people and children will be hit by a £25m cut with care packages for disabled and elderly residents also hit by a £5.7m cut.
A spending review is also underway for city youth services and libraries. Full details via Jane Haynes, here.
🚗Fatal crash: A man has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving after a passenger was killed in a Soho Road crash in Handsworth. Videos of the crash have widely circulated on social media after an Audi ploughed into several stationary vehicles on Sunday evening. Two others were hurt. Andy Street, West Midlands mayor, described it as “another needless death in Birmingham.” Mat MacDonald and Martin Price, co-chairs of Better Streets for Birmingham, said: “This senseless collision has left our city reeling, and our hearts go out to everyone who has been affected.” The whole story can be read, here.
⚽Blues boss steps back: Tony Mowbray has had to temporarily step away as Birmingham City boss due to treatment for an unnamed illness. In a statement, the club confirmed he would be away for six to eight weeks with his assistant manager, and ex-Wolves player, Mark Venus taking the reins in his absence. The ex-West Bromwich Albion, Coventry and Sunderland manager was in the dugout for Saturday’s dramatic win against his former North East employers. Birmingham chief executive Garry Cook said the club’s thoughts are with Tony and his family.
✈️Airport investigation: Police have launched a probe after human remains were discovered near Birmingham Airport. The bones were found by a member of the public on land near Marston Green last Saturday afternoon. As investigators carry out forensic tests, The Independent reported that this is not the first time that remains have been found near the airport. In 2020, local forces found human remains near the Jaguar Land Rover plant where officers had previously searched for a pair of missing boys.
📖Weekend verse: VERVE poetry and spoken word festival returns to Birmingham for a seventh time at the Hippodrome this weekend. From raucous poetry to quiet reading events and open mics, the programme is designed to encourage audiences to see their favourite poets as well as try something new. If I was in Birmingham this weekend, I would definitely be at the Friday night headline event of award-winning poets and I also quite like the sound of Hannah Silva’s experimental memoir session on Saturday. Details by clicking through.
🎶One for the midweek culture vultures: At just a stroke past two on Wednesday, the Symphony Hall will see Kazuki Yamada, chief conductor and artistic advisor for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), conduct Elgar’s Enigma Variations and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto 3. Don’t ever say our wonderful city doesn’t have range. Tickets here.
Your paragraph about the 2003 Bull Ring (I prefer to stick to the old unbranded spelling) prompts me to comment that the story behind the making of the development is largely unwritten . ( The book Remaking Birmingham, Routledge 2004, is an exception). The campaign group Birmingham for People, founded in 1987, authors of a published counterplan. succeeded in improving the development from what would have been a town planning disaster to something that is halfway all right. The campaign ended around 1997, ten years later, with planning approval finally granted.
Joe Holyoak