In our referendum, Sutton Coldfield has voted pretty decisively to devolve from Birmingham, and although they muttered it wouldn't be binding, it looks like Birmingham are going to capitulate ......
We won't be running all our local services, but more building up a "Community Chest" fund (via a projected £50/year additional local rates) which will be spent exclusively in our area. For a long time now, Birmingham has favoured the inner-city areas in its spending and neglected what they have regarded as the more wealthier suburbs - as a result Sutton Coldfield has actually become rather "run-down" over the last 20 years or so.
For example, our roads are abysmal. The potholes are never repaired and now, frankly, getting dangerous. The pelican crossing nearest to us has not worked properly in the last two years to my knowledge and now - across all four traffic lights covering both directions - none of the green bulbs currently function. Birmingham signed a major 25-year contract with the company Amey Roadstone to keep our roads and street furniture repaired, paying £42m for it annually, and Amey are absolutely appalling. I can't drive down the by-pass round the "village" without swerving left and right to avoid the holes - and again, it's been like that for two years.
http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/lo ... up-9314998
That's just the roads. If you look at social services, child protection, education, all are in some sort of special measures or another. Birmingham City Council is a total failure.
We, the people, have needed to demonstrate some form of "anti-Birmingham Council-ness" and now, in Sutton Coldfield, this has been done. OK, road maintenance and the other major functions of local government will still be the responsibility of Birmingham, but even this basic form of devolution of establishing a Town Council (it will be a similar size to Shrewsbury, apparently!) could be a small step to bigger things, and who knows, in 10 years time, like Scotland, where might things finish up?
In the meantime, we residents should soon get free parking permits for Sutton Park. The rest of you beggars will have to pay yer whack!!
