Tornado Residents

Tornado - A force for change: Engagement events

Thank you for attending the recent Planning Group meeting, where it was agreed that a series of further engagment events would take place.

To this end, an event for women will be held on Monday 10 October 2005 from 9.30am-12.00 noon at the Family Centre, Farm Road. Attached is a flyer, which I should be grateful if you would circulate as widely as possible.

The event for residents will also take place within the next few weeks and the Family Centre at Farm Road is available as follows:

Saturday 15 October 2005 1.00pm-4.00pm

Sunday 16 October 2005 10.00am - 1.00pm

Sunday 16 October 2005 1.00pm - 4.00pm

In order to prepare for the next residents’ event, and taking into account the comments made regarding the last event, it would be helpful if you could provide the following advice:

Please indicate which date would be best for local residents.
Please indicate the appropriate length of time for the event, e.g. 2
hours, 3 hours, etc.

Your comments by tomorrow (Wednesday 5 October) would be much appreciated.

Thanking you for your co-operation.

Elaine Wills
Senior District Manager
Sparkbrook District

Womens-event-flyer-10.10.05.doc

Dear Nicky

I am uneasy about the suggestion that “The Group” is the only body suggested as giving approval for the membership of this committee. I think that it was previously agreed that each organisation should appoint a person who lives in the tornado zone, and that the local residents should suggest their own representative. I am not sure that this has been done – or rather I know that it has not in my case.

I mentioned that I am willing to act as the Housing Association representative, but first I need to check with the affected HAs that they feel that I would represent them adequately. I hope that the recipients of your invitation all live within the tornado zone, and that they will check with their neighbours that they wish them to be their representative (and tell them how they will keep them informed about what is happening) and that Forum members will check the same with their Forum membership.

I sense a bit of manipulation here and I don’t like it.

With best wishes from

Esther

Subject: Regeneration Planning Post tornado

Colleagues - the City Council has called a meeting specially for women (flyer attached) to discuss what is needed for regeneration.

If any of you can make it (Family Centre, Monday 9.30 a.m.) please do come. I am afraid that otherwise:

a. Some things that are needed will be overlooked

b. women will be overlooked.

Please bring anyone else - female - you can drag along. So far, the many proposals coming from existing groups make no mention of health………..childcare……..training for women (culturally appropriate but leading to employment)……..children and young people with disabilities……..children and young people with other profound disadvantages (e.g. no family).

Can’t I tempt you to come and mention some of these things or others which are important to you? Pass it on!

Anita

Six meetings related to the Tornado are planned for this week:

Monday - Women only: 09:30 - 12:00 at the Family Centre, Farm Road
Tuesday - City Council Tornado meeting 19:00 at the Family Centre, Farm Road
***NB*** different venue
Wednesday - Traders only: 16:00 - 19:00 at Clifton Junior, St Paul’s Road
Wednesday - Residents’ meeting 19:00 at St Paul’s, Clifton Road (no supper
this time)
Saturday - Residents’ meeting 14:00 at St Paul’s, Clifton Road
Sunday - City Council organised “Residents’ Regeneration Event” focussed on
Sparkbrook Ward: 11:00 - 15:00 at the Family Centre, Farm Road

I hope that you will get to as many of these meetings as you can.

I attach the latest Tornado Bulletin

Best wishes from
Esther

BULLETIN-20051006.doc

This is reminder about the residents meetings on Wednesday and Saturday – we must firm up:

- What the group should be called?

(Tornado Action Group?)

- What its aims are?

(to ensure that the views of the local community are represented in city council plans for the area;

to support the local community affected by the tornado in practical ways - like the Carlisle group;

to manage the Tornado Hardship Appeal fund;

anything else?)

- Appoint a committee – or more than one committee, or one committee plus working groups?

Attached are flyers for events that you have already been told about – and notices for those who put notices in their windows or elsewhere for meetings tomorrow, Wednesday and Saturday.

tornado-notices-200510.doc

Residents-Event-FLYER-161005.doc

Traders-Event-FLYER-12.10.05..doc

The fourth attachment is minutes of a meeting about the Tornado Hardship Appeal.

With best wishes from Esther

Any comments for tonight’s meeting?

Please let Elaine know

Action-Account-27-9-05a.doc

Half Term Holiday
24th - 28th October

Free places on the half term play scheme run at St Paul’s Venture may be available to families whose homes were affected by the tornado.
10.30 to 4pm Monday 24th - Friday 28th October
Children aged 3 - 12 years
Autumn themed activites; trips, games, sports, computers, cooking, crafts

To book a place ring 464 1888
or call at the Venture, next to the city farm off Clifton Road

The residents meeting tonight should not be long, but is important. We need to make decisions about the group name, and committee and the Tornado Hardship Appeal and I will report back on the council organised meeting last night, which in spite of having more officers than residents present, had some interesting developments - and questions for us.

A meeting for street reps is planned for next week - when Becky Jones is back from leave. I was asked to find out the best day and the best time of day for this meeting, taking into account working hours, childcare commitments and Ramadan. If you have already said that you are willing to be a street rep, or are interested in finding out more about the role, please let me know when you are free next week.

I look forward to hearing from you

Esther

These are the minutes from last week.

As expected, we had a much smaller gathering this evening. We progressed a
few matters and made recommendations for the meeting on Saturday - 2 p.m. at
St Paul’s, Clifton Road - to carry forward.

If you have not seen the Evening Mail tonight (or is it now the Birmingham
Mail?) I hear that there is an announcement of a tornado recovery plan by
the city council. If it is possible to scan it and send it round I will
(but if your computer can’t handle large files, please let me know.)

With best wishes from
Esther

Minutes-20051003.rtf

Hi folks
Three documents are attached:
1 - The minutes of Wednesday’s residents’ meeting;
2 - The petition referred to in those minutes - for approval by the meeting
tomorrow (Saturday at St Paul’s Clifton Road at 2 pm);
3 - The latest version of the planning document referred to in the petition.

Sorry I can’t be at either tomorrow’s meeting, or at the BCC organised
meeting at the Sparkbrook Family Centre on Sunday at 2 pm - the sixth
tornado meeting this week. I look forward to hearing reports from those of
you who attend.

Next week the only tornado meeting that I am aware of is the one to advise
residents with insurance problems - organised by the council. This is on
Wednesday 19Oct05
at 5.30pm at
The Family Centre, Farm Road, Sparkbrook - see the bulletin of 06Oct05 sent
out on 11Oct05

Best wishes from
Esther