Secretary of State in Smith's Wood

CABINET VISIT: Mr Brokenshire (third on the right) at
the Woodlands Campus last week.

A CABINET minister was among a trio of top politicians who paid a visit to Solihull College last week.
Housing Secretary James Brokenshire toured the Woodlands Campus, in Smith's Wood, and was shown its Centre for Advanced Aeronautical Provision.
He was joined on his "flying visit" by Meriden's MP Dame Caroline Spelman and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.
The guests were treated to a flight experience in one of the college’s two simulators, which is a replica from a Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft. They experienced taking off, flying and landing a plane.
Mr Street said: "I was very impressed with the aviation capabilities I saw at Solihull College & University Centre.
"James and I were able to explore the hangar, talk to students who were passionate about their studies and enjoy a simulator experience.
"The future for aeronautical students looks bright at the college and I look forward to hearing about the success stories in the future’."
Solihull College recently pumped £2.5million into its aviation and aeronautical wing, with the investment supported by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership.

Fish, chips and general knowledge...

A CHARITY quiz night - in aid of one of Britain's biggest charities - will be taking place in Marston Green this month.
The Marie Curie Fundraising Group has organised the event at the Parish Hall on October 13, starting at 7.30pm.
Tickets are £8 each, including a fish and chip supper on the evening. You can enter teams of up to six people.
Books yours from Ian on 0121 684 0707 or Linda on 0121 779 4787.

HS2 Station designs to go on show

RESIDENTS have a chance to view the designs for the HS2 Interchange Station when the latest set of roadshows comes to North Solihull.
Rail bosses are preparing to unveil concepts for the development, which will take up a triangle of land near to the NEC.
Plans will be on show at The Loft, in Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre on October 23 (2.30-6.30pm). And a few days later, on October 27, the roadshow arrives at Marston Green Parish Hall (11am-3pm).
With construction work due to begin in earnest in the coming months, discussions continue over the impact on the local area.
More news on the ongoing battle to secure some compensation for the loss of part of Heath Park and the North Solihull projects awarded community funding will be posted later this month.

Valuable drum kit stolen from Chelmsley Wood

POLICE are appealing for help finding a £12,000 drum kit, stolen during a burglary in Chelmsley Wood earlier this week.
The drums, amp and speakers were taken during a break-in on the estate overnight on Monday (October 1).
The distinctive kit is a DW 25th anniversary limited edition.
If you have seen the equipment being offered for sale or have any information about the burglary call officers on 101, quoting incident number 20SH/226369E/18.

CCTV appeal after Asda worker assaulted

ARE this pair familiar?
Police are appealing for help in identifying a man and woman wanted in connection with an assault on a supermarket security guard.
The incident took place at the Asda store, in Bosworth Drive, on Friday, September 14.
Two TVs were stolen from the shop and the suspects made off in a blue VW Golf, understood to have been fitted with false plates.
The getaway vehicle was being driven by a third, male, suspect - not pictured in the CCTV image, which was released earlier this week.
If you have any information about the crime, which happened at around 4pm, call PC Akehurst on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Chelmsley gym owner "blown away" by support

KNOCK OUT:  Jack Evans, James Boggust, Dimitra Tamvaki
and Almir Coelho, from JLR, helped repair Wayne Elcock's
 Boxing Academy

A CHELMSLEY Wood gym - which suffered severe flooding earlier this year - has been given a major overhaul.
Wayne Elcock's Boxing Academy was badly affected by the damage done by a burst pipe, with repairs and waterproofing work needed.
In addition, the interior of the Pike Drive premises was badly in need of a revamp.
Solihull Council, which works in partnership with the gym to offer youth training sessions, approached Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) for help. In turn the car giant dispatched a 12-strong team to the site.
The group quickly put their design and engineering skill to good use, plaster-boarding and decorating the building.
Mr Elcock, a former top boxer himself, said: "I can’t thank the teams at JLR and Solihull Council enough.  They not only repaired the damage my gym suffered through a burst pipe, but made it look better than it was before!
"I am absolutely blown away with how it looks and all the work the guys have put in to transforming the damaged area."
The club offers 12 weekly sessions aimed at young people and adults and two years ago won the Outstanding Community Project award at the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner's Outstanding Citizen Awards.

Litter louts to be stung with £100 penalties

FINES for dropping litter, fly-posting and similar offences will be increased in Solihull from today (Monday).

The council last week agreed to increase the maximum penalty imposed for a range of environmental crimes.

Under the new regime, people will have to cough up £100 (reduced to £75 if they pay within seven days).

New powers have also been adopted which should make it easier to go after those who throw rubbish out of vehicles - a problem which leaves verges and kerbs strewn with rubbish.

Changes in the law earlier this year mean that councils can fine the vehicle's "registered keeper" without having to prove that it's actually that person who chucked the rubbish out of the window.

This means that from now on drivers are effectively responsible for making sure their passenger doesn't toss drinks cans, sweet wrappers or even cigarette ends onto the roadside.

Councillor Alison Rolf, cabinet member for stronger communities and partnerships, said the council wanted to send a clear message the behaviour "was unacceptable from anybody" and could end up being very costly.

"It's about having the ability to fix a fine on people for doing it. And it's about making sure when we can do it, we do do it.

"For the ones who don't want to be educated we will issue penalties."

Coun Mark Wilson (Green, Smith's Wood) said he was amazed by the range of items which were discovered during litter picks around his ward - from burned-out vehicles and builder's rubble to electronic goods.

"I was shocked at the amount and also the type of things were there. I've found flytipped walkman's and batteries.

"I thought if these are leaking then that's pretty serious. People were looking and asking 'what's this doing here?' "

He had asked about the options for introducing public space protection orders (PSPOs) in parts of North Solihull experiencing particular problems.

Caroline Naven, the council's head of neighbourhood and regulatory services, suggested these powers were less than effective.

"I call them the toothless tiger," she said. "They're expensive to implement and you need officers to actually enforce the order and there aren't the officers to enforce it."

The increase in fines follows a number of initiatives to tackle environmental crime. The local authority has already agreed to contract a private company to issue fines to the culprits, while a set of portable cameras is being used at fly-tipping hot spots.