A mouthful of a title - it includes a Tai Chi demonstration (gentle Oriental exercise), willow-weaving workshops, how to make a bird-box session…. all are on the schedule for the ‘Health, Environment and Democracy Day 2008 ‘, from 11a.m. till 3p.m at Centre Park on Saturday 14th June. There are plans to entertain and inform all age groups. Line-dancing sessions, drama productions, storytime groups, cheerleaders, information and giveaways from health and environment agencies……. can this all be free?????

Yes.

If you want a stall in Centre Park on the day, call Tracy Barrington on 0121 747 5520.

The Skylark, the only remaining pub in Castle Vale, which has been on the market for the past four weeks at £350,000 has attracted a buyer. Chris Wright, Property Manager for Thwaites, has said that the Birmingham branch of Fleurets Estate Agents have found someone who has come up with an acceptable offer, though no details of the buyer are available yet.
The Skylark has found it difficult to attract customers in recent months, notably since the smoking ban, which Lynn Anderson, the current landlady has blamed for a significant fall in sales. (Click here for ‘Skylark considers closing…’ article 8th November 2007)
Andy Tudor, of Fleurets, who are dealing with the sale, says that the buyer came to them about three weeks ago,and made an acceptable offer. There are no plans for change of use of the property; it will continue as a pub, and if all goes well, the sale should be completed before the end of the summer. Fleurets are the country’s largest Estate Agent and Chartered Surveyor that deal with the licensing trade, notably pubs, night clubs and restaurants.
The Skylark is a freehold pub; the buyer will own the land and the building. The advertising details describe the Skylark as a well-known pub on a large estate, with two distinct trading rooms, a large car park and beer-garden, 3-bedroom living accommodation, with a substantial site of land (0.57 acres).

£3000 in prize money is being donated for the Birmingham-in-Bloom Competition. This is the second year of the competition. Judging will take place in July and people are being asked to  nominate friends, neighbours or relatives by 15 June for one or more of the following categories:
best front garden,
best rear garden,
best communal garden
best balcony/window box/hanging basket/pots.
Competitions will be held in each constituency and winners automatically entered into the city finals which will take place at an official ceremony later in the year.

To enter, send details of your name, address and telephone number or details of the person you are nominating, plus category to: Estate Services, FREEPOST MID 18453, Louisa Ryland House, 44 Newhall Street, Birmingham, B3 3BR
You can also enter online at: www.birmingham.gov.uk/inbloom.
Or telephone 0121 303 2906 for more details.

 Doreen Palmer

   Carole Rafferty

Castle Vale Tenants and Residents Alliance has appointed Doreen Palmer as its Acting Chair, as cover for Carole Rafferty who has recently been unwell. Doreen  is TRA Treasurer, a resident board member of CVCHA, and is active on the 2005 Group.
The TRA Board has made Carole an Honorary President of the TRA, in recognition of her contribution to the estate over the last twenty years. Carole was one of the people behind the original campaign for a Housing Action Trust, was a HAT Resident Board Member for twelve years, and had an active involvement with the stables, the Environmental Trust, CREW and many other aspects of Castle Vale life.
TRA Company Secretary Grant Williams said: “Few people have made as important a contribution to Castle Vale over such a prolonged period of time as Carole.  The estate has been fortunate to have had such a forceful champion for so long, and we look forward to benefiting from Carole’s wisdom for many years to come.”

It used to be called ’swinging the lead’, some refer to it as ‘throwing a sickie’, in school they call it ‘wagging it’ - whatever it’s known as, Birmingham City Council reckon they are cutting down on staff absence rates.
Figures just released show City Council staff took 9.89 days off sick last year, down from 10.25 the previous year, and 10.18 for 2005/6.
The average for the UK is 7 days absence per year, according to a Norwich Union Health Care survey. The Confederation of British Industry puts the figure at 7.8 days absence per year.

JKS finished their soccer season in style, winning the Challenge Vase by beating Greenhill 3-0 at Stratford Town Football Club’s new stadium. JKS have completed an impressive treble this season: Division Two champions and two cups.

Caste Vale JKS won their final league match of the season against Feckenham, and will be promoted as champions into Division One of the Midland Combination. At the end of the game, the team were introduced to their manager for next season, Nigel Fry.

Nigel was appointed by the JKS Board last week, and promises that the team will benefit from his experience, and his disciplined approach to soccer. “There won’t be a fitter side in the league,” he vowed.

END OF SEASON TOP FOUR

The 67 is good bus territory, one of the best bus routes in Birmingham, the appropriately named Steven Rhodes, Bus and Highway Director for Centro, told his audience at the Castle Vale Neighbourhood Partnership meeting.

Mr Rhodes outlined Centro’s ambitious proposals for improving bus services across the West Midlands. These include improving punctuality, more frequent evening and Sunday services, better  air-ventilation, introducing high-back seats, leather seats, tinted salon-windows, improved spacing, and regular in-bus cleaning, and a passenger charter offering money back in the event of poor services. He said that at the moment, if an empty can of drink is rolling around a bus floor at 9a.m., it’s still likely to be doing the same thing six hours later. Centro aims to make sure that all buses are cleaned during their journeys.

One million people travel daily on buses across the region, but the number of bus users has declined each year for the past ten years.

In a test study of six bus routes around the region where many of these improvements have been tried out, there has been an 8-14% increase in passengers.

When a member of the audience asked Mr Rhodes how he got from his City Centre Office to Castle Vale High Street to make his presentation, the audience held its breath.

“By bus, of course, ” he smiled.

West Midlands Police have presented two Merlin Security Staff with Good Citizen Awards for their contribution to the arrest of car thieves in Castle Vale earlier this year. The thieves had stolen a car in Birmingham, and had driven into Castle Vale, where the CCTV cameras picked them up and directed local police to them.

Jenny Giryn of Merlin Venture told the Neighbourhood Partnership Board at their quarterly meeting that the local Police Force placed a high value on the work of the Merlin Security CCTV Operations, despite the poor publicity that CCTV systems had received nationally in recent weeks.

Sallyann Rose has announced that the  Farmers’ Market, usually scheduled for the third Saturday of each month in Farnborough Road, will not take place in May, and that she intends to run the next market in a different location, possibly Centre Park, or one of the local churches. Sallyann told the Neighbourhood Partnership meeting that she thought that a more central location, one that was not quite so exposed in poor weather conditions, might boost numbers of shoppers. The next Farmers’ Market is planned for Saturday 21st June - the location yet to be confirmed.

Centre Park is fast becoming the location of choice for major Castle Vale events. The Carnival - renamed ‘Party in the Park’ (July 6th) and the ‘Health, Environment and Democracy Day’ (June 14th) will both be held at Centre Park.