|
Honoured to open Cherished Connection Hub
|
|
 |
|
Above: Opening the new Connection Hub with Cherished founder Hannah Simnett.
Yesterday, I had the terrific honour of officially opening the new Connection Hub in Sutton town centre for the much-loved local charity Cherished.
The charity, which was recognised with the King’s Award for Voluntary Service last year, was set up by Sutton’s Hannah Simnett in 2012 to help marginalised and vulnerable girls and boys with confidence, guidance, support and encouragement as they chart the difficulties of young life.
It’s hard to overstate the impact Cherished has had. Through their mentoring and workshops, they have not only offered support but have fundamentally transformed lives. It’s more than just a charity - it’s a lifeline.
The opening of the Connection Hub marks a new era for Cherished. It is a vibrant community space dedicated to fostering collaboration and building meaningful connections. It allows Cherished to offer training, support, and resources for children, young people, and families in the local area. Additionally, the hub offers private room hire, hot desking, and stylish meeting spaces, perfect for charities and local businesses.
In fact, even as it was being built, it was fostering new connections. It opened after a huge community effort that saw everything inside the new Hub donated by local businesses. Indeed, it is testament to the importance of Cherished that so many local people came together to create the Hub, supported by the team at the Gracechurch Shopping Centre. They deserve great credit for backing Cherished, and providing the charity with its new home.
But above all, my thanks and congratulations go to Hannah and the entire Cherished team. Hannah’s vision and dedication have been the driving force behind the success of Cherished. She and her team are a credit to the Royal Town.
You can find out more by clicking here: https://www.cherisheduk.org/connect-at-our-hub/
|
|
|
|
|
New era set to begin at our Town Hall
|
|
 |
|
Above: A revamped website and logo are just the start of a new era for our Town Hall.
I have more good news to report – the project plan for the transformation of Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Hall is now being prepared, with phased work potentially starting next month.
Under the stewardship of the brilliant Royal Sutton Coldfield Community Town Hall Trust, this project is being funded by West Midlands Combined Authority, with cash that I secured with our brilliant former Mayor, Andy Street.
Depending on how the plan progresses, November could see the start of work on a new pedestrian connection between the Hall, the Town Centre and the High Street. In February, it’s hoped that work will start on creating a new office suite in the historic building, to provide a training hub for local apprentices. Then, next April, we hope to see vital work begin on the building’s roof.
All of this represents a major project that will not only make significant physical improvements to the building, but it will also help secure its future by providing new revenue streams.
It’s an exciting new era that has already begun, with a new logo already created and a new website up-and-running, giving details of all the latest shows you can catch – including the panto, Robin Hood.
Click here to take a look: https://www.suttoncoldfieldtownhall.com
|
|
|
|
|
Courier firm is delivering jobs – and a greener future
|
|
 |
|
Above: Visiting DHL in Minworth.
Last week I visited DHL’s Minworth base, to find out more about how they are investing in Sutton Coldfield and creating quality local jobs.
Delivery and courier services are now a mainstay of modern life, and DHL Express offers a worldwide courier service from over 1,300 DHL Service Point locations nationwide.
The company employs over 40,000 in the UK, with 125 staff at the Sutton location.
I met James Stephens, Vice President Corporate Affairs for DHL UK & Ireland, who proudly showed me around the Sutton site and introduced me to the team.
We discussed skills within the industry as being a challenge, and how they are proud sponsors of the Generation Logistics, a government-backed initiative to future-proof the profession and ensure the resilience of the UK's supply chains by attracting a diverse range of talent into the sector.
With so many of their vans on our roads, they are also making a determined contribution to the UK’s net zero ambitions.
Their aim is for more than 30% of their fleet to be ‘green’ vehicles, with most of the vans you see on Sutton’s roads now being electric.
My thanks for DHL’s hospitality during a fascinating visit.
|
|
|
|
|
A remarkable year as Royal Sutton Fun Run raises more than £300,000
|
|
 |
|
Above: The youngsters of the Cooke family – passionate supporters of the Royal Sutton Fun Run for decades – reveal this year’s remarkable total.
The Royal Sutton Fun Run remains the biggest date on the town’s calendar – and continues to deliver phenomenal amounts of money to good causes.
Last weekend saw the annual presentation evening for this year’s run, in which 4,000 people took on the 8.5-mile route through the streets of the Royal Town and our Park.
Held at Cookes Furniture, which has been a key supporter of the Fun Run for decades, the presentation event offers an opportunity to thank all the sponsors who make the run possible and highlight just a handful of the thousands of often moving stories that motivate so many runners to get involved.
Crucially – it also reveals the amount of money raised each year – and 2024 delivered a remarkable result.
This year’s run raised a staggering £302,085 – one of the biggest amounts in its 41-year history – which will go to more than 130 local charities.
The Royal Sutton Fun Run shows our town at its very best.
|
|
|
|
|
A Powerful indictment of how Labour is destroying Birmingham
|
|
 |
|
Above: Mere Green Cllr Meirion Jenkins has laid out in stark detail the damage Labour is doing to bankrupted Birmingham.
It is now more than a year since Labour bankrupted Birmingham – and we are still waiting to discover the full impact of the scandalous mismanagement of the Second City’s finances.
We all know the grim headlines – a 21% rise in Council Tax, our libraries to close, bin collections cut to fortnightly, park rangers services slashed, street lights dimmed, assets sold, services cut and charges raised. But after more than 12 months, Labour has shown that it is unable – or unwilling – to get a grip on this dire situation, as the city’s liabilities continue to grow.
Now Mere Green Councillor Meirion Jenkins, who is the shadow cabinet member for finance and resources on Birmingham City Council, has written a powerful article that sets out in great detail just how deep the Labour rot runs in Birmingham.
In it, he highlights:
-
The city still doesn’t have a balanced budget. Last autumn, Labour knew that it needed to shave £300 million off the current account. Labour identified £150m of savings, but have failed to identify the other £150 million needed – and this figure has now grown to £195 million.
-
Perry Barr athletes’ village – which was built for the Commonwealth Games, but no athlete ever stayed there – has been sold off at a huge loss. Most of the 1,400 units have been sold off at an almost unbelievable loss of circa £400,000 per flat. The average value of a flat in this part of Birmingham is about £130,000.
-
Matters are greatly aggravated by the latest ‘equal pay’ dispute and Labour’s abject failure to implement a new Oracle accounting system – but we should be clear that Labour had created this ‘bankruptcy’ anyway, simply by failing to balance the current account. The extensive asset sales taking place are needed to fund an overall liability north of £1 billion.
Meirion’s comprehensive and powerful article makes it clear: Labour is destroying Birmingham. Their financial failure is making the delivery of even basic services patchy or non-existent with dreadful customer service.
If you care about the Second City and the damage being caused by Labour, I urge you to read it here:
https://conservativehome.com/2024/09/13/meirion-jenkins-labour-birmingham-a-year-on-from-bankruptcy-and-still-no-balanced-budget/
|
|
|
|
|
Choral Society to perform in November
|
|
 |
|
Above: Royal Sutton Coldfield Choral Society in action.
The brilliant Royal Sutton Coldfield Choral Society is marking the centenary of Gabriel Faure’s death with a concert on Saturday, November 16th with a programme including his popular Requiem.
The Society will be using Faure’s original 1897 orchestration. Other works include Faure’s setting of the Cantique de Jean Racine.
The present choir grew out of an evening class formed in1969 and was re-constituted as the Sutton Coldfield Choral Society a year later.
It normally performs two large-scale classical concerts a year, usually in May and December, accompanied by a professional concert orchestra and soloists. These concerts often feature substantial large scale works and recent performances have included Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Coronation Mass, Handel's Coronation Anthems, Rossini's Messe Solenelle and Mozart's Requiem.
The upcoming concert is to be held at Emmanuel, the Parish Church of Wylde Green, at 7.30 pm. Tickets (£15) may be booked on 0121 3546999.
You can find full details in the ‘further information’ section at the end of this message.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Above: appearing on Radio 4’s Any Questions last week.
Last week I crossed the border into Walsall, travelling to St Matthews Church to appear on Radio 4’s ‘Any Questions’, alongside Bronwen Maddox, Alison McGovern MP and Layla Moran MP.
Hosted by Alex Forsyth, the show covered diverse topics such as the coming Labour budget, the conflict in the Middle East, the Conservative leadership contest and the pressures on council budgets.
On council funds, I told the audience: “I have to tell you that in my constituency, in the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, we are deeply dismayed by the fact that Labour have bankrupted Birmingham City Council.
“It’s the second city of Britain and we now face a 21% increase in our Council Tax and the closure of virtually all our libraries. And this is not just the ‘wicked last Conservative Government failing to provide funds’, because the Labour Party themselves said that Labour incompetence in Birmingham had led to this position, in the internal Labour report into what had happened there.”
|
|
|
|
|
Former Chancellor to be guest at Annual dinner
|
|
 |
|
The countdown has begun to this year’s Conservative Association annual dinner in Sutton Coldfield – and this year we have a brilliant guest of honour!
Each year, this proves to be a spectacular evening of political insights, friendship, fun and excellent food!
Our speaker this year is a highly distinguished parliamentarian and an experienced Cabinet Minister - former Chancellor of Exchequer, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt, Member of Parliament for Godalming and Ash.
The black-tie dinner will be held at New Hall Hotel and Spa, on Friday 15th November.
Tickets cost £55 and are available from Jack Annett at Jack.Annett@conservatives.com
You can find full details in the ‘further information’ section at the end of this message.
|
|
