Page Text: We Asked, You Said, We Did
Below are some of the issues we have recently consulted on and their outcomes.
Al-Furqan Primary School - IEB Proposal: VA to VC - Part 1
We asked
We aksed for your comments as part 1 of the consultation on the IEB proposal to change Al-Furqan Primary School from Voluntary Aided category to Voluntary Controlled category.
You said
128 responses were received (see the section "results"). Many of the responses included written comments.
We did
The results of the consultation and the written comments were anonymised and shared with the IEB for their consideration.
Spring Hill landscape design
We asked
Following the November 2020 public consultation for the wider Dudley Road Scheme, Birmingham City Council have taken on board comments from members of the public and tried to include these with the revised design.
To facilitate the improvements to Spring Hill, Western Road and Barford Estate it is necessary to implement a comprehensive landscaping proposal through the corridor. The landscape proposal ties together the early phases of the Dudley Road Revised Main Scheme delivery and provide continuity and a sense of place through the corridor. The original Revised Main Scheme public consultation did not detail these plans therefore additional public engagement was required.
You said
Analysis of the responses provided indicates both strong support and disapproval of the revised proposals. The key themes of providing enhanced compensatory planting has been identified and retention of trees where reasonably practicable have been fed back into scheme designs.
We did
Some valuable comments have been received by the local stakeholders and residents. These comments have been incorporated in revisions to the scheme; making further minor improvements to help to alleviate the problems raised.
For comments/views in regard to the draft Statement of Gambling Principles.
You said
Responses will be collated and reviewed and will contribute towards a report for the Licensing and Public Protection Committee to consider.
We did
The results of this consultation will form part of a report which will be heard and approved by members at a future Licensing and Public Protection Committee.
Birmingham Health and Wellbeing Board Strategy: Creating a Bolder, Healthier City
We asked
We asked for your comments on our proposed Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, ‘Creating a Bolder, Healthier City 2022-2030’, for the next 8 years.
You Responded
We had 142 responses to the public consultation as well as collecting a wide range of views from local focus groups, webinars, and presentations to ward forums.
People from a wide range of ages (20-79 years) responded to our consultation with the largest amount of responses received from those aged 45 to 59-years old.
51 responses (36%) were from people reporting to have a physical or mental health condition.
98 responses were received from heterosexual or straight respondents, 10* from people identifying as gay or lesbian, and 10 from those identifying as bisexual.
39 respondents identified as Christian, 16 Muslim, and 52 with no religion.
Those responding to the online survey were mainly from a White (British) ethnic background (89 respondents).
We did specifically commission community-based focus groups to discuss the strategy with groups from our minority ethnic and faith communities to help inform the consultation. Additionally, we carried out a Health Impact Assessment with several individuals from a range of communities to analyse the positives and negatives of the strategy. We also attended several ward forums from a range of wards across the city. Finally, we had the strategy reviewed by a group of academics from the National Institute of Health Research to provide their perspective and insight.
*Value suppressed
You said
88% of respondents agreed with our vision statement for the Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The five main themes were also well supported with the proportion of respondents agreeing with each theme as follows; Healthy and Affordable Food (90%); Mental Wellness and Balance (90%); Active at Every Age and Ability (87%); Green and Sustainable Future (87%); Protect and Detect (83%). Similarly, our three themes covering the life course were well supported (87%) as were our over-arching themes (75%).
Within the theme with the most agreement, ‘Healthy and Affordable Food’, the ambitions were all agreed with by large majorities, with reducing dental decay in 5-year-olds (80%) and increasing the percentage of adults eating their ‘5-a-day’ (80%) getting the highest level of support. There was also strong agreement for the ambition around childhood obesity (60%).
There were also very high levels of agreement for the ambitions in the ‘Mental Wellness and Balance’ theme. Reducing the prevalence of depression and anxiety in adults (85%) and reducing the emergency intentional self-harm admission rate (86%) received the most positive support while all the other ambitions had levels of agreement over 70%.
Support for ambitions in the three life course themes continued to be very high. In the ‘Getting the Best Start in Life’ theme, every ambition received more than 80% agreement. Reducing infant mortality and halving the rate of children killed or injured on the roads both received 87% support.
There were slightly lower levels of agreement for the ambitions in the ‘Working and Learning Well’ theme, although every ambition still had above 70% agreement. The ambition agreed with most was increasing the number of targeted health checks for people with learning disabilities, carers, and severe mental health issues (84%).
Finally, there were very high levels of support for the ambitions in the ‘Ageing Well and Dying Well’ theme, with all having more than 80% agreement. The most supported ambition was to increase the % of eligible citizens offered an NHS Health Check with 89% support. All the ambitions for this theme also received the lowest amount of disagreement with four of the ambitions receiving 0% disagreement.
We did
We have taken on board the views and opinions raised throughout the public consultation for the Birmingham Health and Wellbeing Strategy, ‘Creating a Bolder, Healthier City 2022-2030’.
As a result of the responses received, the Health and Wellbeing Strategy has been refined with the content of each theme as well as the overall structure of the strategy changing to reflect feedback. Some of these changes include:
Embedding the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic in every theme across the strategy, rather than its own theme, to reflect that all aspects of health and wellbeing have been affected.
Adding examples of current or planned projects to actions to demonstrate how we are working towards our ambitions in the short term.
Removing aspects of crime prevention from the ‘Protect and Detect’ theme and placing them in the life course so that the importance of health protection and crime prevention are not diluted.
Creating a new ambition in the ‘Active at Every Age and Ability’ theme around increasing the percentage of physically active children and young people.
Identifying where we can explain the reasoning behind our targets and actions for each theme.
We presented these changes to the officers whose work areas align with the themes, to further refine the strategy. In addition, the feedback from the consultation and the strategy itself will be the starting point for each of the Health and Wellbeing Board Fora to develop their own delivery plans. These plans will detail the specific actions that each forum will take as well as their measures for success in the short term.
Cannon Hill park to Moseley cycle route
We asked
For feedback on proposals for a cycle route between Cannon Hill Park and Moseley, linking to the existing Rea Valley Route and the route under construction between A38 Bristol Road and Cannon Hill Park.
You said
546 responses were received, with 48% of respondents showing strong support for the plans and 16% showing strong dislike.
Key concerns were raised around the layout of the cycle route at the entrance to Cannon Hill Park, and the location of the crossings which allow cyclists to move from Edgbaston Road and Park Hill.
Residents of Chantry Road expressed a number of concerns with the proposed layout on their road, including the loss of on street parking, changes to traffic movements and safety and congestion particularly at junctions and around the school.
We did
The feedback and suggestions noted above for the Edgbaston Road section of the route should be able to be accommodated in the final design. We will begin to build this section soon.
The feedback and concerns around Chantry Road require further consideration. We are working with elected members and are looking into options to address as many concerns as possible. Delivery of the Park Hill and Chantry Road section of the route will take place at a later date.
Bradford Street cycle route
We asked
For feedback on responses for a one-way cycle lane on each side of Bradford Street. This cycle route links directly with the A45 cycle route to Small Heath Park, which we are also proposing to upgrade from a pop-up to a permanent route.
You said
136 responses were received, with 38.97% of respondents strongly supporting the plans, and 11.03% strongly disliking the plans.
Key concerns mentioned by respondents were that some felt that the cycle lanes crossing of Barford Road may be dangerous. Others felt that cycles moving onto the pavement on Alcester Street may cause conflict with pedestrians. Finally, some cyclists would like to have seen the provisions to be added to Digbeth High Street instead.
We did
We are currently reviewing comments raised as part of the consultation and will amend the final design with appropriate changes.
A45 corridor cycle route, city centre to Small Heath Park
We asked
For feedback on the proposal to improve and make permanent the current pop-up cycle route from the city centre to Small Heath Park, parallel to the A45. The new proposal follows the same route, past Bordesley Circus then via Bolton Road, Byron Road and Tennyson Road.
You said
202 responses were received. The majority of respondents (59%) selected that they really disliked the proposed scheme. 19% of respondents supported the plans.
Most of the negative responses were towards the scheme design, and that the scheme would have a negative impact on car travel. The most common response was that the cycle lanes would not be used enough and therefore were seen to be unjustified. Also, the schemes use of a shared area between pedestrians and cycles was considered an issue by respondents.
We did
We are currently reviewing comments raised as part of the consultation and will amend the final design with appropriate changes.
A457 corridor cycle route, city centre to City Hospital
We asked
For feedback on responses for a one-way cycle lane in the Jewellery Quarter (away from the city centre) on Graham Street and Legge Lane. On Carver Street a two-way cycle lane providing dedicated space for inbound and outbound cyclists.
Once the route crosses the A4540 Middleway ring road, the proposal is for a one-way cycle lane on each side of Hingeston Street, with space shared with pedestrians around bus stops. At Clissold Passage, an off-road two-way cycle lane will run alongside the pedestrian footpath.
You said
140 responses were received. Nearly half of the respondents were positive in relation to the proposed cycle route, with 48% of respondents selecting they ‘really like/like it’. 29% of respondents stated that they disliked the proposals.
The key issues identified were surrounding lane placement, and whether the cycle provisions would be used enough. Two issues that were specifically mentioned the most related to the crossing at Icknield Street, and respondents wanting to ensure that cars would not park in and block cycle lanes.
We did
We are currently reviewing comments raised as part of the consultation and will amend the final design with appropriate changes.
Barford Estate local measures
We asked
The scheme aims to improve the A457 Dudley Road by reducing traffic congestion through junctions and improve facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. This is an area of the city where we expect a lot of changes to happen in the next few years and for travel patterns to change.
You said
As a result of feedback from the consultation and a review of the proposals, we are looking to make some changes to those that were originally proposed in the Barford Estate.
We did
Analysis of the responses provided indicates both strong support and disapproval of the revised proposals.
Some valuable comments have been received from the local businesses and residents, which have assisted in revising the scheme to make further minor improvements.
International Physical Activity Questionnaire
We asked
We asked Birmingham residents questions specifically related to active travel, physical activity and sedentary behaviour, as well as safe travel.
You said
Responses from this questionnaire are being analysed and compared to ongoing engagement with Birmingham residents to identify any change in physical activity.
We did
We are feeding this data into a wider piece of work and influence future funding of initiatives.
UNIVERSITY AND HOSPITAL PARKING MEASURES: Traffic Regulation Order
We asked
During Aug/Sept 2021 the Traffic Regulation Orders were advertised for the eight areas identified for the University of Birmingham & Hospital Parking Scheme.
You said
As a result of the Traffic Regulation Orders advert, responses have been received both in support and objecting to the proposals. The comments were either specifically about the proposal in one of the eight areas or more wider issue around parking provision in the Hospital or the principle of residents parking. As a result, further development and consultation is required for Area 2C, Area 3A, Area 3D and Area 5 once the issue raised in the consultation have been investigated.
We did
The next step is for the objections to be considered in the remaining areas: Area 1B, Area 2B, Area 3B & Area 3C and whether to accept the objections on their merit or to proceed with the proposal as advertised.
The following Objections Reports are currently in progress: Area 2B, Area 3B & Area 3C.
The Objection Report for Area 1B has been considered and the recommendation to proceed with the proposals as advertised has been approved.
The following Objections Reports are currently in progress: Area 2B, Area 3B & Area 3C and will be considered shortly.
Once a decision has been made the residents will be informed of the decision.
Publicising Fly-tipping and Environmental Crime Cases Policy
We asked
We asked users, businesses and interested parties if they would like to comment on the proposed Publicising Fly-tipping and Environmental Crime Cases policy.
You said
341 responses were received, overwhelmingly supporting the proposed Policy with 95% agreeing or strongly agreeing:
Option