Tornado Residents

Notes from Council mtg with tornado residents Aug 31st 2005, St Paul’s

Present: Cllrs. Evans, Mullaney, Henley, Roger Godsiff MP, Cynthia Morrison (?spelling) Sparkbrook District Manager, Becky Jones Sparkbrook Ward Support Officer, about 40 residents
The feeling in the meeting was that the situation is deteriorating not improving. All the identical problems were raised as previously. In no particular order they are:

• Dealing with Asbestos contaminated debris
• Debris clearance, particularly trees
• Inadequate clean up effort in the Farm Park area
• Security problems
• Lack of action on fence replacement
• Poor communication, particularly with those who have moved away temporarily

The element that raised the level of residents’ anger was the fiasco with security when parts of the protection were removed on the Bank Holiday weekend without consultation with residents, or the Police, or according to the Supervisor, Ivan, the private security company, about the effects. This was made worse by the complete inability of anyone contacted at the weekend or since to find a decision maker who would reverse the reduction and start consultation. An Aga cooker had been stolen from a garden in a road where security has been withdrawn (though the exact sequence of events wasn’t clear).

Three new items of note:

• Charitable relief funds were mentioned and everyone agreed that the need was very great and speakers were disappointed that the Lord Mayor had declined to open a fund
• Collection of green waste in the affected area by Runamuck has stopped
• The residents held a separate meeting, after asking Council Officers and Councillors and the MP to leave.