24 January 2025
Weekly Message to Constituents 250 - Our 250th weekly message

This is our 250th weekly message! Thank you to everyone who spread the word about my message and contributed to making it as successful as it is. Today, thousands of people across the Royal Town are subscribed to my weekly emails - receiving local news, useful updates and finding out what their local MP is doing for them. I encourage you to urge anyone you believe may benefit from these messages to subscribe – and thank you for your support!

In the Constituency

Town Hall’s rebirth is signed, sealed and soon-to-be delivered!

Above: Outside Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Hall.

What better way to start my 250th message than with excellent news about the plans for the Town Hall’s refurbishment?

The Town Hall is one of my four priorities for the Royal Town, along with a revamped Cottage Hospital, revived Town Centre and better protected Sutton Park. 

I am thrilled to confirm that all legal documents for Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Hall’s transformation have been signed and completed – and construction looks set to begin in February.

The first area set to be overhauled will be the basement, which will become the office of Sutton’s very own groundbreaking Young People Training Hub. It will provide training for local youngsters who might otherwise struggle to find their way into work.

Then, in May, work should begin on the Town Hall’s roof, which will have significant physical improvements to protect the integrity of this historic building.

This fantastic project is being led by the brilliant Royal Sutton Coldfield Community Town Hall Trust, to whom I am hugely grateful for their dedication to one of our Town’s most impressive and important buildings. The renovation is being funded by West Midlands Combined Authority, with cash that I secured alongside our brilliant former Mayor, Andy Street.

These changes will not only protect the Town Hall’s physical structure and revenue, they will also provide new income to secure the future of this much-loved landmark.

What a load of rubbish! Brilliant work by litter picking volunteers

Above: volunteers of the Litter Action Group stand proudly with the rubbish they have collected.

Sutton Coldfield Litter Action Group’s fourth anniversary litter pick was a rousing success, with the volunteers collecting over 40 bags of rubbish from Falcon Lodge.

It was the biggest litter pick in Falcon Lodge so far, and has made a huge difference to the area. Over two dozen residents and volunteers collaborated to collect a variety of rubbish, which has been disposed of courtesy of the Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council.

The Litter Action Group is one of Sutton’s finest voluntary groups, with 1,500 volunteers taking care of over 650 adopted streets across the Royal Town. Last year they were even nominated for a 2025 Kings Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award given to UK voluntary groups.

I am always impressed by the selfless work the group do in keeping our streets clean, and would like to personally thank them for four years of excellent service.

Objection to battery plant plan near Royal Town

Above: Meeting with concerned residents and Cllr John Cooper to discuss the plans for a Battery Energy Storage System near Minworth last year.

This week I backed concerned residents by formally objecting to plans to build a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on former Greenfield land near Wishaw Lane in Minworth.

Should the planning application be approved, the BESS will be built on greenfield land recently reclassified as brownfield by Birmingham City Council, which is only 360 metres from neighbouring residential properties. 

Local Conservative Councillors Ken Wood and John Cooper have been working with me to raise the concerns of residents over this plan.

While I understand the need for renewable energy sources, and welcome investment in Sutton, the plans raise significant concerns regarding safety, environmental damage and transparency with the local people. In a letter to city planners, I outlined these concerns raised by myself, Conservative councillors  and local residents.

I noted that according to the planning application, in the event of an incident, no attempt will be made to extinguish any fire, which will instead be left to burn out. This approach is highly concerning to nearby residents and the environment, which would be endangered due to the release of significant quantities of toxic gases. Nearby roads and infrastructure are also unable to provide access for emergency services, with Wiggins Hill Road being too narrow for fire engines to pass through.

I also raised concerns about the effective monitoring of the plant. The site will be remotely monitored from another country. Given the notoriously poor mobile signal in this area, this raises serious doubts about the effectiveness of real-time monitoring and response capabilities. 

Noise and light pollution, as well as environmental damage, in this rural area are of high concern. I have stated clearly that the plans are an inappropriate use of green belt land, with the fundamental purpose of this land being to prevent urban sprawl and protect the British countryside.

But perhaps the most infuriating failure of this planning project was the wholly inadequate consultation process. Only one notice about the consultation meeting was posted, on the Walmley website, with the villages most directly affected (Minworth, Wishaw and Curdworth) being completely left in the dark. Residents understandably felt excluded from decisions which will have a massive impact on their lives and the value of their property.

I urged the council to reject the planning application, as the potential risks and negative impacts on the community far outweigh any proposed benefits.

70th anniversary of rail crash in Sutton Coldfield

Above: The devastation after the Sutton Coldfield rail crash, which happened 70 years ago this week and (inset) the memorial plaque in Sutton Railway Station.

This Thursday, January 23rd, marks the 70th anniversary of one of the darkest days in Sutton Coldfield’s history – the devastating train crash in which 17 people tragically lost their lives.

The Sutton Coldfield train crash took place on the afternoon of January 23rd, 1955, when a passenger train travelling from York to Bristol derailed just as it entered Sutton station. The crash was devastating.

Forty ambulances from districts around Sutton rushed to the scene, as did a mobile surgical unit from Birmingham Accident Hospital. Royal Air Force servicemen stationed at Whitehouse Common aided the emergency services.

However, while the tragedy was undoubtedly one of the worst days in the history of the Royal Town, it also showed Sutton at its best - as many local residents who had heard the commotion ran from their homes to help in any way they could.

A year after the 60th anniversary, I was proud to help unveil a memorial to those who lost their lives, the result of an 11-year campaign with the Royal Sutton Coldfield Observer.

Whenever I visit Sutton Coldfield Train Station, it is always good to see the plaque in place, reminding everyone of what happened here 70 years ago.

Welcoming the region’s High Sheriff back to his hometown

Above: With Doug Wright MBE.

Last week I had the pleasure of welcoming back to the Royal Town a son of Sutton Coldfield and the High Sheriff of the West Midlands, Doug Wright MBE.

A significant local philanthropist and the owner of a huge local business and employer, McDonald’s, I congratulated him on the tremendous success he is having in his year as High Sheriff – and he was as energetic and successful as you’d expect from a citizen of our Royal Town!

Minister’s response on Vesey Mandarin funding 

Above: Bishop Vesey students show off their Mandarin and (inset) the response  from minister Catherine McKinnell.

I continue to fight for the funding of Bishop Vesey Grammar School’s highly successful Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP) beyond 2025. This week, I received a letter from Catherine McKinnell MP, Minister for School Standards, on the subject.

MP McKinnell confirmed that funding for the programme is in place for 2025, and BVGS’s summer trip to China will go ahead as planned. The government are considering their approach to Mandarin learning beyond August 2025, and the MP assured me that she will be in contact to confirm their position as soon as possible.

She said: “We remain committed to supporting the teaching of modern foreign languages in England’s schools. Languages provide an insight into other cultures and can open the door to travel and employment opportunities. They also broaden pupils’ horizons, helping them flourish in new environments. 

“Having the opportunity to study a modern foreign language should be part of the broad and rich education that every child in this country deserves.”

I hope the Minister and the wider government will secure the future of the MEP, which has been providing life-changing opportunities to Vesey students since 2018.

In the Commons

Speaking up on genocide in Darfur

Above: speaking in Parliament.

Last week I spoke out on the genocide currently taking place in Darfur in Sudan – which is without doubt the worst humanitarian crisis happening in the world right now.

Sudanese civilians are subjected to unspeakable suffering at the hands of two warring factions, whose continuous violent clashes have left 25 million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. 8 million Sudanese people have been displaced within the country, and 3 million are seeking refuge in nearby countries.

With the situation as it stands, a horrific famine is inevitable, which will lead to hundreds of thousands of men, women and children starving to death before the eyes of the world.

Worse still, the violence perpetrated by the Sudanese paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), is explicitly identity-based, involving the deliberate targeting of Black African tribes such as the Masalit and Zaghawa.

Right now in El Fasher, Darfur, over 500,000 civilians face siege and the triple threat of identity-based mass violence, armed conflict and famine.

Last week, the US Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, called these horrors out for what they are: genocide. His determination is surely the clarion call for the UK, as the penholder on Sudan at the United Nations, to confront genocide and crimes against humanity in Sudan. 

Having visited the border between Chad and Darfur myself last year, I have witnessed the appalling conditions civilians are forced to live in. Sudan has long been a forgotten crisis on the global stage, and the world’s neglect has allowed these inexcusable crimes to take place and worsen.

I urged the government to take urgent action on this horrifying conflict and help bring the indescribable horror of genocide to an end. 

Meeting investment chief

 

Above: with Leslie Maasdorp.

This week I met with Mr Leslie Maasdorp, the new CEO of the British International Investments (BII). 

BII invests billions of pounds in Africa and around the world on behalf of Britain, creating jobs and generating wealth. The company leads the private sector towards new markets and new opportunities. 

I am determined these opportunities should flow into the West Midlands as well, as to the advantage of business in our Royal Town.

Backing global vaccine alliance

 

The Covid-19 pandemic closed borders, shuttered businesses, overwhelmed hospitals and quarantined billions in their homes. It triggered the largest economic and human crisis in more than a century. Global poverty increased for the first time in a generation. 

But it was also a reminder of the power of vaccination and the contribution that GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance makes in saving lives and keeping the world secure. 

So, I had a meeting with senior figures at GAVI this week to discuss how Britain can play its part in this important work and the benefit it has for all of us.

Interestingly, this expenditure is something our tax payers (86% of them) strongly support.

Sponsoring bill to protect the oceans

As an example of cross-party working - something that is much more common than the media would have you believe - I am co-sponsoring the Private Members' Bill on Marine Protected Areas (Bottom Trawling) with Katie White, the Labour MP for Leeds.

This is a very important bill, building on work the last government and I did during my time at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to protect the oceans.

I know this is of great importance to a number my constituents, as well as being an important British priority and objective. 

The Bill calls for a blanket ban on “bottom trawling” of seabeds in marine protected areas (MPAs), which endangers fragile ecosystems and habitats that often take decades, or even centuries, to recover.

 

Chairing meeting of African investors

This week I chaired the annual meeting of the Eastern Africa investors, UK business community and entrepreneurs. The powerful investors and businesspeople attending included many who invest and trade in the West Midlands, and I wanted to ensure that our local interests were at the fore.

The U.K. has probably the best export credit guarantee organisation in the world (UKEF), the best tariff free and the most advantageous trade regime for Africa, through British International Investment (BII - formerly CDC), which is the foremost private equity investor in the world.

Any of our local businesses who are interested in expanding or doing business in the geographical area should contact my office and I will make the necessary connections. 

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