It was wonderful to see so many people at the war memorial at St. Alphege Church on Remembrance Sunday. I’ve heard there were huge numbers of people at many of the other events around the borough too, and I think that really goes to show the deep respect and enormous value we place on remembrance here in Solihull. The service of remembrance was enormously moving, and it is deeply sad to think of so many lives lost, but we are always inspired by the sacrifices made to protect this great country. We will remember them.
Back to the normal business of my column, starting this week with Kingshurst. I was there yesterday for a public drop-in session, where the project team were helping to keep residents in the loop about the latest developments in the Kingshurst Village Centre Redevelopment.
We’ve been making steady headway with the next phase of the project, and are finalising funding plans for Phase 2, which will include new retail and health spaces for the community, six homes, a vicarage and all the infrastructure needed to support them. Our plans are ambitious and we’re pushing on so we can deliver the transformation that Kingshurst residents deserve in their community. I visited with Saqib Bhatti MP recently and I know he’s of the same mind, so we’ll keep working together to make sure that happens.
Earlier this week I was just up the road from the redevelopment, visiting the excellent new culinary school in Chelmsley Wood. I have to say I was really impressed with the standard of the food the students were producing. A government funded collaboration between University College Birmingham and the Council’s Employment & Skills team, the school offers free one year courses for 16-18 year olds and shorter courses for people who are 19 and over. There’s an informal eatery attached to it, it’s up on the top floor of Chelmsley Wood shopping centre so pop along if you’re in the area and in need of a spot of lunch.
I mentioned recently that we’ve awarded the new all age carers support service to Carers Trust Solihull. To mark Carers Rights Day (20 November), they’re holding drop in events in north and south Solihull for people to find out about support for unpaid carers. There are an estimated 20,000 adults, young people and children in Solihull with caring responsibilities for a family member or friend. If that’s not you, you’re likely to know someone who is an unpaid carer. Please help us spread the word and ensure our unpaid carers get the support they need.
Last week was Youth Work Week, and we had a variety of events to celebrate including a drop-in session and the launch of our new Youth Voice Network. I will just say I’m grateful for the opportunity to recognise the excellent work done by youth workers in our communities across Solihull, whether they’re council staff, work for charities or social enterprises or volunteers in the community and faith sector, the important thing is their commitment to bettering the lives of our young people, so thank you to all of them.
Next week is Fraud Awareness Week. It’s something we take very seriously here at the Council, both in terms of protecting public money through staff training and auditing, and through support for residents to help protect them.
Finally, it is also Inter Faith week this week, there was a walk yesterday which took in various local places of worship, and an event tomorrow commemorating the 30th anniversary of Srbrenica.
Enjoy the weekend, who knows, it might even stop raining at some point!
Thanks for reading,
Karen