As I made my way through the crowds at the Solihull Apprenticeship Show this week, I found it really heartening, not just to see so many people there (well over a thousand), but also to hear from some apprentices about all that they have learnt and enjoyed. It’s not just the young people themselves, but it was great to talk to their parents and families who are extremely proud of the progress they make. JLR, Virgin Media O2, Balfour Beatty Vincin, NEC Group, and of course Solihull Council were in attendance, looking for the next generation of talented apprentices to join their organisations and help take them forward. Last week I alluded to the variety of apprenticeships available, and that was really well illustrated here. Apprenticeships can lead you into careers in more or less anything these days, from accounting to zookeeping.
One place that prospective apprentices may end up working at some point in their careers is the fantastically high-tech Norton Motorcycles facility at Monkspath industrial estate. I visited the facility this week as part of my ongoing programme of business engagement. It really is marvellous, you might think somewhere connected with the manufacture of motorbikes would be all oily rags and sparks flying, but honestly you could have eaten your dinner straight off any surface in the building. The prestige engineering and manufacturing sector is something we’re very proud of in the borough, and it was a brilliant opportunity to see their work up close. It’s a joy to have such a storied British brand based back here in the midlands and building top quality products, providing good jobs to local people.
I make time to visit local businesses on a regular basis, it’s something I value extremely highly. Not only do we as a Council get to see the innovation going on right on our doorstep, but it helps business gain a better understanding of our plans as a Council, which can help them as they plan their own futures. Councils sometimes have a reputation as red-tape merchants, more ready to stifle the entrepreneurially minded than support their innovation, but I’m proud that here in Solihull we are much more of a friend to business.
On that note, I’m happy to announce that we will be offering greater support through our Business Growth West Midlands (BGWM) roadshow. The event, which takes place on Tuesday 21 November at the Cranmore Park Conference Centre in Shirley, is targeted at small and medium enterprises (SMEs), those seeking to start their own business, and influential members of the business community.
A wide variety of help will be on offer, including helping businesses to explore funding opportunities to fuel their growth, while all the latest programmes available through the new Business Growth West Midlands (BGWM) service will be outlined. You can read more about the event here.
It was wonderful to hear the announcement that many of the performances due to take place at The Core in the next couple of months have found a new home at Artrix in Bromsgrove. The pantomime - always a highlight of the festive season, and other scheduled shows will be able to go ahead thanks to this partnership. It’s wonderful that all the hard work of the performers and crews will not go unrewarded and that audiences will be able to enjoy their long-awaited evening out at the Theatre. It’s good news for The Core but also for Artrix, which hasn’t hosted performances for a while. I know the locals in Bromsgrove will be very pleased to have their community arts space open again and welcoming audiences. You can read more about the partnership and which shows will be moving here.
As many of you will be aware, we’re undertaking an ambitious redesign of Kingshurst Village Centre. This week we received the excellent news that we’ve secured additional government funding to help deliver on the latest phase of that scheme. The £1.05m grant, part of the Government’s Brownfield Land Release Fun, will enable house building and other work to get underway. This is a big and complex project, involving a lot of construction in a built-up area. I talked more about the details of the scheme and this funding for a news story earlier this week, which you can read here.
On Wednesday, I attended a meeting at the Marie Curie West Midlands Hospice in Solihull to discuss End of Life care in the borough with colleagues from the Council, The NHS, and Marie Curie. It’s such an important topic, difficult no doubt, but one that we must get right. Dignity at such a difficult time means so much to those receiving care and their families, so meetings like this are a vital opportunity to make sure that all those involved are working together.
Involving people who have first-hand experience of adult care and support is the best way to ensure our services meet people’s needs and expectations. That’s why we’ve launched a new initiative called Get Involved. We’re asking people with lived experience to register for Get Involved so they can use their expertise to influence adult social care services. You can register online or pick up a form at our libraries and community advice hubs.
Lastly, I have not one, not two, but three different varieties of local funding pots to tell you about now, which can be applied for by community groups across the borough. Firstly, you have until next Friday 3 November to bid for a share of over £250,000 to improve their local neighbourhoods. This is a great opportunity for groups to come up with ideas and projects which will benefit their local community. This funding comes from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) which is available for community groups in six wards (Blythe, Lyndon, Shirley South, Shirley West, Silhill and St Alphege). The CIL money collected in 2022/23 has been added to any unallocated funds from previous years. Find out all the details here.
Secondly, there is funding available to any organisation that wishes to apply to have a defibrillator installed on site. This money will provide 2000 new defibrillators in community buildings, sports clubs, and other public places where they may be needed most. For more information, click here.
Finally, if you run a youth group, sports club, voluntary group, school, charity or any kind of community organisation in the vicinity of Birmingham Airport, you can apply for up to £5000 of funding through their Community Trust Fund. For more information on that one, click here.
Thank you, have a good weekend.
Councillor Ian Courts