Local News

SELLY PARK LOCAL COMMUNITY AND CHURCH SUPPORT THE BUPA GREAT BIRMINGHAM RUN

2011-10-24T14:49:00.008+01:00

Crowds from the local community and parish church turned out on the Pershore Road through Selly Park on the morning of Sunday 23rd October to watch the 15,000 runners in the BUPA Great Birmingham Run half marathon pass by both on their way out of the city centre, from where the race started near the NIA, and on the return stage towards the finish in Broad Street.

The front steps of Christ Church Selly Park and stretch of pavement along Pershore Road outside the church were full of enthusiastic spectators for the BUPA Great Birmingham Run 2011. Ahead of the race a spokesperson for Christ Church said ‘We won't be holding a conventional Sunday service at Christ Church that day. Instead, we're serving the community in a different way.’ The church provided a live band to entertain the runners as they passed by and the spectators from the local community as they cheered them on, as well as giving out free refreshments.Christ Church had several of its own members taking part in the race and many race entrants, from Christ Church and other churches, signed up to the Bishop of Birmingham’s fundraising challenge in support of Christian Aid and other charities.

Further reporting and photographs can be found on the photo link to the top right of this Features page. Birmingham Mail website readers will need to go to
http://sellyparksouth.org.uk/features/

Further reporting and photos can also be seen on the Christ Church website at:
http://www.christ-church-selly-park.org.uk/birmingham_half_marathon.html

There was a field of 41 elite runners and wheel chair athletes leading the race ahead of the many thousands of other runners - club runners, regular running enthusiasts and those who trained up specially for the event, a number of them wearing fancy dress and all raising money for a wide range of charities through sponsorship. The Men’s Elite Race was won by former World and Olympic Champion Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia in 1 hour 1 minute and 29 seconds, the Women’s Elite Race by Gemma Steel of the UK in 1h 12m 21s, and the Wheel Chair race was won by Phil Hogg, also of the UK, in 59m. The whole event was televised live on Channel 5. The race organisation was very efficient with a rapid clear-up operation following the last runners to go through and Pershore Road through Selly Park being open to traffic again during the afternoon.

CENTENARY DAY AT SELLY PARK TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE FOR GIRLS

2011-10-06T14:46:00.006+01:00

100 years ago in October 1911, what is now Selly Park Technology College for Girls first opened its doors. The school consisted of a Boys Junior, Girls Junior and an Infants Department. The first Headmistress of the Girls School was a Miss Helena Barnes and she had 260 pupils on her books.

Now 100 years on the school is celebrating its Centenary. On Saturday 1st October the school held its Centenary Day and was open to past and present pupils, their friends and family and the community. Selly Park has enjoyed an eventful history over the past 100 years and many people attended Centenary Day to see the exhibitions, displays and presentations as well as enjoy performances from the school choir and musicians.

Amongst the displays was a time line set out all around the walls of the school hall with significant events for the school, the city and the country represented for each of the 100 years. The War Years were particularly significant in the history of the school and a number of exhibits concentrated on this time, including the reconstruction of a real Anderson air raid shelter in the school garden.

The school’s more recent and current links were not neglected though with a Global Presentation by pupils and display relating to its international links with Multan in Pakistan, Stellenbosch in the Republic of South Africa, Varna in Bulgaria, Oman and various other countries.

The Deputy Lord Mayor Cllr Len Gregory and Deputy Lady Mayoress Gill Gregory were in attendance (the Deputy Lady Mayoress being herself a former pupil of the school) and unveiled the Commemorative Centenary Plaque.

To view a series of photographs taken at the event please click the link at the top right of this article. If you are reading this via the Birmingham Mail YOUR COMMUNITIES page you will need to go to www.sellyparksouth.org.uk/features

To see the Selly Park Technology College website years please go to:
http://www.sellyparktc.org/

SELLY PARK SOUTH FLOOD ACTION PLAN EXERCISE

2011-05-26T21:39:00.000+01:00

Article published at www.sellyparksouth.org.uk/features
the community website for Selly Park South Neighbourhood Forum.

Birmingham Mail Your Communities readers please use the above address to view the images if they do not appear on the page as linked from the Your Communities web page.

On Saturday 22nd May the Selly Park South Flood Action Group held their annual main exercise of the Neighbourhood Flood Action Plan.

The Group was set up as part of the Neighbourhood Forum’s response to the serious flooding of September 2008, in which a substantial number of properties were flooded and many more only just escaped. The Group currently consists of a Coordinator, Deputy Coordinator, five Flood Wardens each in charge of implementing the Flood Plan for a particular road and a team of Flood Volunteers. The Volunteers have all been equipped to step up to the role of Flood Warden, should any of the Wardens be unavailable. The Flood Group has a total membership of 26, all of them local residents although with a third of the team living outside the flood risk zone who are giving up their time to help those people living in the risk zone. On the day of the exercise 20 members of the Flood Group were available to take part.

The Flood Action Plan was developed jointly by the SPS Flood Group, Birmingham Resilience Team (the Emergency Planning Department of the City Council) and the Environment Agency. The first full exercise of the Flood Plan took place in May 2010 which led to a number of modifications and improvements being made. As a result the exercise worked very well this year and at the feedback meeting which immediately followed the exercise it was felt that only minor adjustments are now needed.

The Flood Plan has five alert levels which are triggered by Met Office severe weather warnings and Environment Agency flood alerts and flood warnings. Communications between members of the Flood Group and between the Coordinator and the Environment Agency and Birmingham Resilience Team duty officers is all via mobile phones. Additionally the Group has flood defence equipment available and this is stored at the St Andrews Healthcare Hospital, situated close to the flood risk zone, which has security staff and vehicles available to deliver the equipment to the Flood Plan Area Control Points 24/7 throughout the year. The Flood Group and Neighbourhood Forum are very grateful to St Andrews Healthcare for this vital support.

On the morning of the exercise the first alert calls went out at 09:00 and the Flood Group personnel were mobilised and moved onto the streets from 09:30. Deployment took approximately 15 minutes and within a further 15 minutes all of the flood defence equipment has been successfully delivered. The Flood Volunteers then carried out various tasks including making a series of warning announcements by megaphones to residents, who had been fore-warned that the exercise would take place. At 11:00 the exercise on the streets was concluded, the equipment collected to be returned to store and the members of the Flood Group met at Christ Church on Pershore Road where refreshments were served and the feedback meeting took place. The whole operation came to a close at 12:30.The time scale for the purposes of the exercise was considerably compressed – the experience of the September 2008 floods suggest that in reality a number of hours would pass between the first alert being called and mobilisation and that then the whole flooding incident would be likely to last for a further several hours.

We do all of course hope that the Flood Action Plan will never have to be fully implemented for real, but the trend of increasingly severe rainfall events over recent years means that we must be prepared and we are confident that should it be needed then the Flood Plan would provide substantial support for the residents of the neighbourhood.

ROYAL WEDDING CELEBRATION PARTY IN SELLY PARK

2011-05-02T09:55:00.001+01:00

Please click images on the right to enlarge.

Article published at www.sellyparksouth.org.uk/features
the community website for Selly Park South Neighbourhood Forum.

Birmingham Mail Your Communities readers please use the above address to view the images if they do not appear on the page as linked from the Your Communities web page.

Friday morning is the time for the regular weekly community Coffee Morning at Christ Church, Selly Park, but on April 29th it was a coffee morning with a difference! The Royal Wedding between HRH Prince William and Catherine Middleton, now HRH the Duchess of Cambridge, was shown live on the big screens in the main hall at Christ Church from 9.00am onwards and refreshments were available all morning, including a very special wedding cake to celebrate the occasion. All were welcome to join in with the fun and around 90 people from the local community came along to enjoy the day together.

With orders of service on every table, no-one had any excuse not to join in with the singing of the hymns, and there were plenty of cheers for the newlyweds with a good deal of flag waving thrown in.
For the children who came along it was a day to remember – “I’ve never seen anything like it!” commented one girl.
A great day was had by all, and there’s no doubt that it was the first of many which will be hosted at Christ Church.
“What are we doing for the Diamond Jubilee next year?” asked one happy partygoer.
WATCH THIS SPACETO FIND OUT!

Voluntary donations were invited to help to cover the cost of the event and the surplus will be donated to The Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund. This comprises 25 independent charities with the themes of:
Children fulfilling their potential
Support for Services personnel and their families
Changing lives through Art and Sport
Help and Care at Home
Conservation for future generations
For full details of the Charitable Gift Fund please see www.royalweddingcharityfund.org

SELLY PARK ROYAL WEDDING CELEBRATION

2011-04-21T20:02:00.007+01:00

Please click images on the right to enlarge.

Article published at www.sellyparksouth.org.uk/features
the community website for Selly Park South Neighbourhood Forum.

Birmingham Mail Your Communities readers please use the above address to view the images.

Friday morning is the time for the regular weekly community Coffee Morning at Christ Church, Selly Park, but on April 29th it will be a coffee morning with a difference! The Royal Wedding between HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton will be shown live on the big screens in the main hall at Christ Church from 9.00am onwards and refreshments will be available all morning, including a very special wedding cake to celebrate the occasion. All are welcome to join in with the fun – wear red, white and blue, bring balloons and streamers or just come and share the day with other members of our Selly Park community.

The schedule:
09.00 -10.00 - Hot drinks and toasted tea cakes served
10.00 onwards – self service hot and cold drinks, cakes and other light refreshments
11.00 - Wedding Service begins
12.15 – Carriage procession to Buckingham Palace
13.25 – Bride and groom and the rest of the Royal Family appear on the balcony.

Everyone in the community is invited to Christchurch to share in Pershore Road’s – and the whole neighbourhood’s - very own indoor street party!

Voluntary donations will be invited to help to cover the cost of the event (the usual charge at Coffee Morning is £1 per person) and any surplus will be donated to The Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund. This comprises 25 independent charities with the themes of:
Children fulfilling their potential
Support for Services personnel and their families
Changing lives through Art and Sport
Help and Care at Home
Conservation for future generations
For full details of the Charitable Gift Fund please see www.royalweddingcharityfund.org

The location of the Royal Wedding Coffee Morning is:
Christ Church, 953 Pershore Road, Selly Park, Birmingham B29 7PS. 0121 471 2379.
For any enquiries ahead of the event please call 0121 415 5088.

ST MARY’S HOSPICE APPEAL FOR NEW VOLUNTEER DRIVERS - UPDATE

2011-04-01T13:42:00.005+01:00

Report updated Thursday 14th April

As part of an effort to reduce costs and improve patient care, Birmingham St Mary’sHospice (located in Raddlebarn Road, Selly Park) has recently launched an urgent appeal for new volunteer drivers. So far they've had 24 enquiries and are interviewing three people shortly. "We're very pleased with the response so far and are truly grateful to everyone who has come forward. However the campaign goes on, as ideally we need to recruit 10 for this very rewarding role. So if you think you would like to make a big difference at your local hospice, please get in touch," said Sharon Harkin, Voluntary Services Manager. (Contact details can be found at the foot of this article).

The initiative is part of an ongoing review of spending amid a tough economic climate in which charitable giving has come under great pressure.

The hospice, which serves patients with life-limiting illnesses across Birmingham and Sandwell, aims to recruit 10 volunteer drivers in an effort to reduce its reliance on taxis and ambulances, which are costing the charity more than £10,000 annually.

Birmingham St Mary’s began using these services a couple of years ago on a temporary basis with a view to replacing them with volunteers. But repeated attempts to recruit volunteers failed to attract enough would-be drivers.

However, not only would volunteers save the charity thousands of pounds, but in this highly rewarding role they would help improve care as regular volunteer drivers establish a close relationship with patients.

Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice Voluntary Services Manager Sharon Harkin said: “The taxis, while providing a good service, do not provide the same drivers all the time so patients never get to know them, which is vital really. And combined with the ambulances, transport is costing the charity thousands of pounds each year which could be spent on clinical care.

“Volunteer drivers make a massive contribution to Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice. Ferrying a patient from their home to the hospice offers much more than a car journey. It gives patients the chance to get out of their homes and see the city, see life, see changes that are happening and make them feel in touch with the community. It is undoubtedly a form of unacknowledged therapy.”

Sharon added that according to Volunteering England, more people than ever before are looking to do volunteering." This recruitment drive will help to create new capacity for those wanting to give something back," she said.

The hospice currently has 18 volunteer drivers, some of whom have been with the organisation for more than 10 years. Between them they are estimated to contribute over 4,000 hours per year, saving £32,365.

Volunteer driver Jenny Buchan, aged 69, from Harborne and a former teacher, has ferried patients to and from Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice for 12-and-a-¬half-years.

She said: “I got involved after a friend who had cancer was cared for by the hospice’s home care nurses. I heard they needed volunteer drivers and decided to sign up – and I really enjoy it.

“Over the years I’ve met so many lovely people, and I know from talking to the patients that this service means so much to them. Many live alone and struggle to get out on their own, so it does have a huge impact on their lives. If you're thinking of doing some voluntary work, this is a great option.”

Cancer patient Olive Collins, aged 70, of Smethwick, agreed with Jenny. She said: “The service the volunteer drivers provide is superb. It’s more than just a ride to the hospice, they come and collect you from your home and check that you’re ok.

”It also means I can get out of the house and see the city, which would be very difficult without help.”

Olive added: “If they didn’t have these drivers I wouldn’t be able to get to the hospice and it means a great deal to me. It offers peace of mind knowing that if I have any medical issues there’s advice and support available and there’s a range of complementary therapies that do a lot for me.”

The volunteer drivers collect patients from their homes in the morning and take them to Birmingham St Mary’s Day Hospice in Selly Park. They also take the patients home again at the end of their day at around 3pm.

With people leading such busy lives, the hospice encourages its volunteers to volunteer when it suits them rather than take on the pressure of giving up their time on a set number of days each week. Volunteer drivers can also claim a mileage allowance if they use their own vehicle.

For further information about becoming a volunteer driver at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice please telephone Voluntary Services on 0121 472 1191 or email volunteers@bsmh.org.uk, or go to website: www.bsmh.org.uk

SELLY PARK TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE CENTENARY EVENT

2011-02-18T21:40:00.003Z

Selly Park Technology College for Girls, on Pershore Road, formerly known as Selly Park Council School, is looking forward to celebrating its Centenary in October 2011.They see this very important event as an ideal opportunity for former pupils and staff to share their memories, not only with past and present students and staff, but also with our local community of which the college has been an important part for the last 100 years. Celebrations and events will be ongoing throughout 2011.

LATEST EVENT:

On the morning of Friday 18th February some 20 former pupils of Selly Park Council School met the visiting Lady Mayoress of Birmingham, Gillian Gregory, and the current Head Teacher, Michelle Magrs, at the regular Friday Coffee Morning which takes place at Christ Church, Pershore Road, Selly Park. There was much lively discussion of memories of school days and various old photographs and items of memorabilia over which to reminisce. The oldest former pupil present was Winnie Tilley who will be 85 in September this year and who was therefore born just 15 years after the school opened at the start of October 2011.

Please take a look at the LOCAL NEWS page of our website to see photographs of this most enjoyable occasion.

CENTENARY YEAR REQUEST:

The College would particularly like to make contact with the oldest surviving former pupils of the school in order that we can both learn more from them about the history of the school and so we can make sure they are invited to our centenary celebrations. So, if you know of any friends or relatives that attended the school, please let them know about our celebrations and encourage them make contact.

It is a tribute to the school that it has continued to provide an outstanding education for its pupils for 100 years. It has been particularly successful in adapting to the many challenges and changes throughout this period. In its most recent history the school has been particularly successful in meeting the needs of pupils in a technological age. A particular highlight of this came about in 1996 when the school was designated a Specialist Technology College. All those interested in contributing to the Centenary Celebrations can contact us in the following ways:

By Letter Miss M. Magrs, Centenary Celebrations, 5, Selly Park Road, Selly Park, Birmingham, B29 7PH

Email – enquiry@sellyprk.bham.sch.co.uk

Phone - 0121 472 1238

Selly Park Technology College Centenary Celebrations

2010-12-10T12:45:00.000Z

An important message to the Selly Park South Community and to all former pupils and staff from Selly Park Technology College

Selly Park Technology College for Girls, on Pershore Road, formerly known as Selly Park Council School is looking forward to celebrating its centenary in October 2011.
We see this very important event as an ideal opportunity for former pupils and staff to share their memories, not only with past and present students and staff, but also with our local community of which the college has been an important part for the last 100 years.

To bring these precious memories to life and record them for posterity we need to get in touch with former pupils and staff so that they can join with us in building up a picture of Selly Park throughout its long and distinguished history. That history has included: the reigns of three monarchs, two World Wars, the setting up of the Welfare State, Votes for Women, the provision of free education for all, the ICT revolution and the development of Birmingham as a multi cultural city.
As part of our celebrations we are looking forward to including an exhibition of photographs, artefacts, written submissions and recorded interviews. We envisage providing an opportunity for our community and all past pupils and staff to visit the school on an open day during our centenary celebrations.

We would particularly like to make contact with the oldest surviving former pupils of the school in order that we can both learn more from them about the history of the school and so we can make sure they are invited to our centenary celebrations. So, if you know of any friends or relatives that attended the school, please let them know about our celebrations and encourage them to contact us.

It is a tribute to the school that it has continued to provide an outstanding education for its pupils for 100 years. It has been particularly successful in adapting to the many challenges and changes throughout this period. In its most recent history the school has been particularly successful in meeting the needs of pupils in a technological age. A particular highlight of this came about in 1996 when the school was designated a Specialist Technology College. All those interested in contributing to our Centenary Celebrations can contact us in the following ways:

By Letter Miss M. Magrs, Centenary Celebrations, 5, Selly Park Road, Selly Park, Birmingham, B29 7PH

Email – enquiry@sellyprk.bham.sch.co.uk

By telephone call to Lynette on 0121 472 1238

Meeting of Selly Park South Flood Action Group

2010-11-14T17:42:00.004Z

SELLY PARK SOUTH FLOOD ACTION GROUP MEETS

2010-11-14T17:42:00.000Z

The latest meeting of Selly Park South Flood Action Group was held on the morning of Saturday 13th November and attended by 20 of the local residents who act as Flood Volunteers along with an emergency planning officer from Birmingham City Council’s Resilience Team and an officer from the Environment Agency.

The Flood Action Group was formed in response to flooding of the neighbourhood by the River Rea in September 2008, when 90 houses were inundated by flood water and many others only just escaped. In all 280 of the 700 houses in the neighbourhood are at potential risk in the event of a severe flood. Since 2008 measures have been taken by the Environment Agency and City Council to reduce the risk of future flooding and further measures are proposed or are being sought by residents. The purpose of the Flood Action Group is to help residents to become more prepared and to know what to do in the event of any future flood alert in terms of protecting their homes and reducing the impact of flooding. The group has worked closely with and been supported throughout by the Birmingham Resilience Team and the Environment Agency.

At the meeting, held at Christ Church Selly Park, on Saturday morning, volunteers were briefed on improvements which have been made to the local flood action plan in response to a full exercise of the flood plan which was held a number of months previously. Volunteers then received training in the deployment of items of flood defence equipment for homes and the use of communications equipment. Groups made site visits to the local streets to identify and familiarise themselves with potentially hazardous points in the event of a flood, health and safety issues were covered and the meeting ended with a DVD video presentation of Birmingham Resilience Team’s “Preparing for Emergencies in Birmingham”.

Selly Park South Flood Action Group is part of Selly Park South Neighbourhood Forum, the local community association for the area. Website: www.sellyparksouth.org.uk

Pictured right: Top – the Flood Action Group meeting in progress. Others – scenes of flooding in Selly park South on Saturday 6th September 2008.

A report and photographs of the earlier full exercise of the flood plan appear on our Local News page.

RESIDENTS FROM SELLY PARK SOUTH TAKE PART IN A WEST MIDLANDS POLICE COMMUNITY SPEED WATCH OPERATION

2010-10-21T18:59:00.008+01:00

On the afternoon of Monday 18th October a number of residents from Selly Park South took part in a West Midlands Police Community Speed Watch operation on Dogpool Lane and Cecil Road. The scheme involves community members working alongside members of their local neighbourhood police team in using a speed camera to measure vehicle speed. During the operation six motorists were caught speeding and as a result will be sent warning letters informing them that they were caught speeding and if they are caught doing so again they will face possible criminal proceedings. The letter also educates drivers about how their speeding can affect the safety of pedestrians and other road users.

IMAGES ON RIGHT: 1 to 3 - Residents and Police Officers carrying out Community Speed Check; 4 to 5 - Dogpool Lane Bridge; 6 - Pershore Road.

REPORT ON SELLY PARK SOUTH NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUM OPEN MEETING HELD TUESDAY 19TH OCTOBER

NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING: An officer from the Selly Oak Neighbourhood Police Team reported on a serious racist assault which took place recently on Pershore Road and asked members of the public for their help in providing information. Details are given on the Forum website Local News page. The officer also consulted with residents on plans to seek measures to curb antisocial behaviour by some gangs of youths in the area. The problem of illegal turning by drivers from Pershore Road and Dogpool Lane through the Ten Acres estate was also discussed and the police will continue to carry out traffic enforcement operations as much as possible, However it is felt that the problem will only be solved when the City Council takes measures to improve the congested junction of the two roads mentioned.
THE EDF BIRMINGHAM HALF MARATHON: The race will pass in both directions along Pershore Road on Sunday 24th October and an organising officer from the City Council was at the meeting to give latest details and to answer questions from residents.
PLANNED REPLACEMENT OF DOGPOOL LANE BRIDGE: The Forum’s Communication Secretary reported on the latest information received from the City Council that the construction work is scheduled to start in March or April 2011 and will last several months. It is also planned to install a traffic light controlled crossing for pedestrians and the Rea Valley cycle route adjacent to the new bridge, although as this will be financed separately the timing of the work on the crossing is dependent on the availability of funding. It was agreed however that it would be most cost effective and least disruptive to carry out both projects at the same time.
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD FLOOD ACTION PLAN: The Flood Action Coordinator reported on recent high river levels on the Rea and on the continuing work of the local Flood Action Group.
SELLY OAK CONSTITUENCY AWARDS: The Chair reported that in these annual awards SPS Forum and Flood Action group have received a Letter of Commendation for their work and that the Forum’s Website Editor and Communication Secretary, John Clayton, is one of four finalists selected for a Community Award.
WEBSITE: The number of daily visits to the Forum’s website is generally in the thirties and forties and on occasions over the past two months has been in the fifties and sixties.
VARIOUS OTHER MATTERS OF BUSINESS were raised by residents at the meeting.

LATEST INFO ON THE SELLY PARK SOUTH NEIGHBOURHOOD WEBSITE

2010-10-08T16:54:00.000+01:00

Latest updating of the website was completed at 4:35PM on Friday 8th October including on the Home Page in the Latest Information section details of major road works on Bristol Road, Bournbrook, connected with the construction of the A38 Selly Oak New Road, and in the Forthcoming Events section details of a Free family Fun Day in Cannon Hill Park this Sunday and the fast-approaching EDF Birmingham Half Marathon along Pershore Road. Also readers can catch up with the latest local weather reports and images from Birmingham Selly Oak Weather Station of the very changeable conditions we have experienced over the past week, and a near-to-bursting River Rea, by using the link from the Local Weather Section on the Home Page.
Please see also in the Archive section of the Features Page Blog a detailed report on the recent Second Anniversary of the Selly Floods of Saturday 6th September 2010.

SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE SEPTEMBER 2008 FLOOD IN SELLY PARK SOUTH

2010-09-06T10:13:00.005+01:00

THE FLOOD EVENT:

On the afternoon of Saturday 6th September 2008 a period of high intensity rainfall resulted in water from the River Rea flooding roads and properties in Selly Park South. Approximately 90 homes were flooded and in many of these cases residents were forced to find alternative accommodation for up to 6 months while their properties were repaired. This was the first time that such a flood had occurred since 1927. The rise in the floodwater was rapid when a prolonged downpour of rain started around 13:00BST. The rate of rise slowed after 15:00BST and the peak was reached by 16:00BST. The water gradually began to subside during the next hour and subsided more rapidly from 17:00BST onwards. The heaviest of the rain was over by 15:00BST after which rainfall became moderate then light.

BACKGROUND AND CAUSES OF THE FLOOD

On the morning of Saturday 6th September 2008 the ground was already saturated by many days of high rainfall and this followed a very wet August. There were already pools of water lying on the surface of the Kitchener Road playing fields and the river was full to the top of its natural channel. As a result of this, all of the rain that fell that Saturday simply flowed straight to the river, which rapidly overtopped is banks. The afternoon rainfall was also particularly intense with rates in excess of 64mm/hour being indicated on rainfall radar in the Rea catchment area to the south west of Selly Park. (The normal total rainfall for the whole month of September in Birmingham is 54mm).

The Environment Agency (EA) automatic river level gauge on the Rea at Calthorpe Park Edgbaston, downstream of Selly Park, showed that whereas the mean discharge of the river is 0.78 cubic metres per second (cumecs), in the hours prior to the flood the river was flowing at 6 cumecs and the flow peaked at 72 cumecs at 15:30BST. Calthorpe gauge is downstream of the confluence of the Rea and Bourn Brook and so it was also measuring the input from this major tributary. However, as this was the highest peak recorded at this gauge since constant gauging began in 1972, it is indicative of the exceptional volume of this flood.

Observation at the time of the flood and subsequent investigations and eye witness reports established that the route taken by the Selly Park South flood water started with the river overtopping its western bank to the south of Dogpool Lane Bridge. The water flowed over the flood plain, through the factory premises and car park of W H Leake & Sons and flooded Dogpool Lane and the southern half of Fashoda Road. There it flowed right through the houses on the eastern side of the road, on through the back gardens to flood through the houses on the western side of Cecil Road and out into the street. Some houses in Hobson Road and Kitchener Road were also flooded. The water finally flowed onto the Kitchener Road playing fields where an extensive temporary lake formed. In effect the Rea had created a temporary second course for the duration of the flood and subsequent investigations by the EA show that this in fact follows the line of the lowest land in the area, suggesting that this was probably once a former course of the river. The flooding was made worst by Dogpool Lane Bridge restricting the flow of water on the Rea and causing it to back up south of the bridge. This was largely due to the two “temporary” concrete piers and steel jacks which support the bridge. To see photographs of the flood event which illustrate these points please follow this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcweatherman/sets/72157607172937378/

(To do this please open a second browser window and copy and paste this URL into the address box. You will then be able to view he photos in the new second window and this article in this first window).

ACTION SINCE THE FLOOD

In the months following the flood Selly Park South Neighbourhood Forum established the Selly Park South Flood Action Group (SPSFG) which currently consists of more than 30 residents with the roles of, and Flood Volunteers and Flood Action Coordinator. SPSFG has worked closely with the Environment Agency, with Birmingham City Council’s Resilience Team (BRT) – the Council’s Emergency Planning Department - and with the Council’s Drainage Department towards improvements which will reduce the possibility of future major flooding but which will also provide immediate support to assist residents should another major flood be threatened or occur.

Achievements:

A comprehensive Flood Action Plan (FAP) has been developed and tested in exercises carried out by members of the Flood Action Group and organised and coordinated by BRT and the EA.

Flood Information Packs have been produced with the help of BRT and the EA and distributed to all of the 281 households potentially at risk of flooding in the Selly Park South Neighbourhood. All of the households were also visited by members of the Flood Action Group to ascertain the extent to which they were affected by the flood, their preparedness in the event of another flood being threatened or occurring and to establish the households where there are elderly, infirm or disabled residents who would need extra assistance in the event of another flood.

With the help of BRT and funding from the Birmingham Environment Partnership various items of flood defence equipment have been obtained.

The management and staff of St Andrews Healthcare on Dogpool Lane have offered assistance in the event of another flood and the hospital is providing storage facilities for the flood defence equipment.

Christ Church, Pershore Road, Selly Park has been established as the front line evacuation centre, should this become necessary in the future.

Members of the Flood Action Group have attended various meetings and conferences locally, regionally and nationally to share information on best practice in community flood resilience. This has been facilitated by BRT.

The Environment Agency responded to a request from SPSFG to install a new automatic river level gauge on the Rea between Dogpool Lane and Cartland Road. The installation was completed in September 2009 and the gauge is now active and linked to the EA’s Flood Warnings Direct service, which all residents in the flood risk area have been encouraged to subscribe to, free of charge. The new river gauge provides much better warning of flood threats on the Rea than was previously provided by the more distant gauge at Longbridge. BRT has also arranged for the SPS Flood Group managers to receive automated SMS text warning messages from the Met Office of severe weather affecting the West Midlands.

EA has also now completed a comprehensive computer model of the Rea system which shows how the river behaves under flood conditions. The model confirms precisely the pattern of flooding described earlier in this article. Informed by this information, SPSFG made a formal request to EA in July 2010 for the creation of flood defence measures to the south of Dogpool Lane Bridge where currently no defences exist.

Birmingham City Council highway engineers have produced plans for the rebuilding of Dogpool Lane Bridge, again in response to requests from the SPS Flood Group, and also because the bridge does not meet current highway engineering standards. A major Private Finance Initiative agreement was signed in May 2010 between the City Council and Amey plc for the maintenance of Birmingham’s highways and the new bridge will be built as part of this agreement. Work is scheduled to start in Mrach 2011.

In conclusion a great deal has been achieved in the two years since the flood through the partnership of SPS Flood Group, BRT and the EA and we are confident that we are much better prepared now to deal with any future threats of flooding. However, no-one is complement and we all realise there is still significant further work to be done.

SELLY PARK SOUTH NEWS LINKS WITH BIRMINGHAM MAIL YOUR COMMUNITIES PAGES

2010-08-25T20:26:00.003+01:00

The Birmingham Mail has launched 34 new community sections on their website at www.birminghammail.net/your-communities with one of the pages devoted to Selly Oak. The postings on this FEATURES page of the Selly Park South Neighbourhood Forum website www.sellyparksouth.org.uk now feed directly onto the Selly Oak page of the Birmingham Mail website. As a companion to the web pages there is also a YOUR COMMUNITIES page published every Tuesday in the Birmingham Mail newspaper.

CURRENT NEWS STORIES AT WWW.SELLYPARKSOUTH.ORG.UK:

Latest news on the construction of the Selly Oak New Road (A38 Selly Oak by-pass).

The Fifth Annual General Meeting of the Neighbourhood Forum -full report.

The opening of the new Queen Elizabeth Hspital - news and photos.

EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon 2010 - Fully updated on 24th July and including road closure and re-opening maps.

Birmingham Counts Down to the 2011 Census.

Selly Park South Flood Action Group Exercise - May 2010 - news and photos.

Dogpool Lane Bridge Replacement Scheme - latest update.

Forthcoming events in Selly Park, Selly Oak Constituency and further afield.

WWW.SELLYPARKSOUTH.ORG.UK is a comprehensive and regularly updated community website proving information for the 700 households of Selly Park South, neighbouring areas and those from further afield with an interest in the area. It features a detailed HOME PAGE - the "front page" of the website with latest information and many useful links to other sites, NEWS PAGE with more detailed articles, this FEATURES PAGE, LOCAL INFO page, LOCAL LINKS page, YOUR FORUM page and CONTACT US page. The website also provides important information relating to the SELLY PARK SOUTH FLOOD ACTION GROUP. The website was professionally designed and constructed by HOMEGROWN DESIGN (www.wearehomegrown.com) and was funded by a grant from GRASSROOTS GRANTS.