CRS eNewsletters
Here are the new monthly e-Newsletters distributed to members by email. Please click on the links below to download a pdf.
November 2022 | December 2022 | January 2023 | February 2023 | March/April 2023
eNews 003 27th August 2021 (pdf)
Dear CRS Member
Now we are getting somewhere near “normality” we’d like to commiserate with those of you who have had a sad pandemic and to take this opportunity to update you on what’s happening with The Society.
As you may be aware, we’ve been having our monthly Committee meetings virtually since March 2020. We are delighted to tell you that we will resume our face-to-face meetings at our September meeting.
At this meeting, we are welcoming three new co-opted members, all of whom responded to our recent request for new Committee members. They are Professor Mushtaque A. Ishaque (a Consultant Spinal Surgeon known as “Mush”), Nick Brown and Steve Watson.
We have also set up a Sub-Committee for Traffic and Parking which will be headed by “Mush”. As you will all be aware, the problems of Traffic and Parking on the Estate are very demanding of the Committee’s time.
We’re also very pleased to confirm the location for our AGM on Wednesday November 24th 2021 at 7pm. This will be an important occasion – the 50th Anniversary of CRS! Once again the new Head of Edgbaston High School for Girls has agreed that we may utilise their very splendid facilities. CRS is very grateful to her.
Our Speaker will be John Crabtree, OBE, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in July and August 2022.
Some forthcoming events:
Saturday, 4th September, 10am–3pm Greenfield Crescent: Calthorpe Estate Artisan Market. CRS will have a stall.
Saturday, September 11th, 3pm–8pm. Martineau Gardens Late Summer Garden Party. Tickets £15 on the door or can be pre-booked from Martineau Gardens (includes drink, bands, Charity auction)
December 2021, date t.b.a. Opus Restaurant will reopen under the name “Chapter” in Greenfield Crescent run by the same team!
We look forward to meeting up with members, particularly at the AGM.
eNews 002 21st December 2020 (pdf)
Happy Christmas & Updates!
We would like to wish all our valued members a Happy Christmas!
After what has been a very challenging and unusual year, we hope you are able to make the most of the festive season…
It has been wonderful to see so many houses with lovely decorations and lights to brighten up our area.
As you are probably aware, next year we celebrate our 50th anniversary! We had planned to hold our 50th anniversary AGM in March 2021, however, the Committee has taken the decision to postpone this until the autumn when hopefully we will be able to meet you all again. As soon as a date is fixed we will let you know.
You may be sure that we are trying to keep up with developments on the Estate despite the fact that most Organisations are communicating virtually.
In the meantime we can confirm that the CRS Committee has continued to meet monthly, albeit virtually! We anticipate doing this until well into next year.
We would draw members’ attention to our updated webste which gives rolling news applicable to the Estate. There is also a facility for members to raise any queries they may have.
We would also like to draw your attention to information we have received from our Councillor Deirdre Alden:
“Birmingham City Council has extended the E-scooter trial area into Edgbaston from December 4th. This is very concerning because – although they are not allowed on the pavement – so far the only ones seen (around Five Ways) WERE being ridden on the pavement. If an elderly or disabled person got knocked down, it could have terrible consequences. Also only the VOI rental ones are allowed – you can’t buy your own private one and ride it on roads and pavements in Birmingham. If you see a VOI one on the pavement, you can report its registration number to them.”
More information: VOI contact VOI FAQs
We commiserate with people who have lost loved ones due to COVID-19 and hope that with the advent of a vaccine 2021 brings a much happier time for all.
Thank you for being part of the Calthorpe Residents Society!
eNews 001 26th May 2020 (pdf)
CRS has been very quiet in recent months. Along with many small organisations like ourselves, things have been in limbo and there is little to report. However there are some positives from the situation we find ourselves in, which we hope you are able to take advantage of while you can; the wonderful sound of the birds singing, quiet roads and much cleaner air, few problems with traffic and parking and a wonderful opportunity to get to know your neighbours better – clapping for the NHS on Thursdays and being involved in the WhatsApp groups that have been set up in various areas offering help – and what would we do without Tik Tok! Enjoy while you can – looks as though things are changing!
On the negative side, unfortunately the CRS Committee has not been able to meet since March and at the moment cannot see when we may meet again. We are still not in a position to give any more information about our delayed 2020 AGM, and the only event we have on the horizon at the moment is the Autumn Meeting on November 12 at EHS where our speaker will be local Edgbaston resident Mindu Hornick, MBE, talking about her experiences in Auschwitz.
You may be interested to know that one of our newly appointed Committee members, Pranav Gupta, has been doing stalwart work on the Estate in reporting potholes to the Council and has had some success in getting them dealt with or a promise to get them dealt with. Seemingly some potholes reported do not meet the criteria for urgent reparation!
Pranav has also been vigilant in reporting graffiti on the numerous telecommunications/IT boxes on the Estate and has had huge success here – Virgin Media have even replaced some of their cabinets. By the way, if you find a problem in your street, you can report it via the website “Fix my Street”.
On the Planning front BCC have closed their offices for the moment and called in applications are now dealt with virtually by the Planning Committee – they happen on Thursday mornings fortnightly – the next one is due on June 4th. The public can also access the hearings via the website www.civico.net/birmingham.
Unfortunately an application regarding 68 Wellington Road, although recommended to refuse 2 years ago, an almost identical application was approved (8 votes to 4) by BCC 3 weeks ago. Residents are coordinating objections to Calthorpe Estates who also must approve. Please contact Stephen Richards at Mainstay and/or to Mark Lee at Calthorpe Estates.
The Planning Application for No6 Norfolk Road is ongoing – 2 more amendments were made to the application in April with a closing date for further objections of May 4th. We understand from Preet Gill, our Edgbaston MP, who has become involved, that she has an assurance from the Council that another public hearing will be held when the current crisis is over.
Things are quiet on the traffic and parking front apart from a letter the Chairman sent to the Birmingham Post which was published on May 14th – see below:
Dear Editor
Birmingham City Council wants to introduce the delayed Clean Air Zone (CAZ) as “early as possible in 2021”. As long as March 2019 it recognised that the scheme would bring chaos to the neighbourhoods adjacent to the Inner ring road as commuters would dump their cars in these areas and walk into the city centre to avoid paying the daily charge. We envisage that the CV19 pandemic will make the situation even worse as people will be wary of travelling on public transport and come to the city in their cars instead. Councillor Zaffar promised to bring in measures to stop this happening (Birmingham Post March 14 2019). Since then no such measures have been announced. Birmingham City Council must publish any measures that have been formulated straight away or admit that they have no plans but are simply going to allow a dangerous and chaotic situation to develop in these areas.
Peter Arnold
Chairman, Calthorpe Residents’ Society
Website – a dedicated COVID-19 page has been set up and we would be delighted to hear how members are spending their time in lockdown, together if possible with appropriate photos. Contributions to: calthorperesidents.org/contact and complete the COVID lockdown story form.
PACT MEETINGS.
The Edgbaston Neighbourhood Policing Team have advised that no PACT meetings are currently scheduled and they will make an announcement when the meetings are due to start again. If you haven’t signed up already, we encourage you to subscribe to West Midlands Police’s free online messaging service at www.wmnow.co.uk to keep up to date with what’s happening near you.
Finally – important information – in case you are unaware – much research has found that there are good local suppliers of wines and spirits which can be delivered by Majestic Wines, Loki and Connellys.
The Committee wish you all well, and you may be assured that we will all meet again but don’t yet know where or when!