Emergencies in the City Centre

A Public Meeting organised by the Resilience Group in Birmingham City Council.

Please book a place by emailing info@birminghamprepared.gov.uk , if possible by 25th September.

Find out more about Resilience and Emergency Planning in Birmingham as a whole at http://birminghamprepared.gov.uk .

I work part time for the Resilience team – generally evenings and weekends. I have been asked to help organise this meeting because the needs of city centre residents like ourselves can be somewhat different from the rest of the city, and we want you to help us make sure we are thinking along the right lines. In addition we hope you would pick up tips about ways to help yourself, family and friends, and learn about what the resilience team does.

I hope I will get chance to meet you there!

Karen Caine

Birmingham City Centre Demonstration

Well, while it didn’t quite look like a normal Saturday – with large numbers of police and what seemed to be pretty low numbers of shoppers – I didn’t see much of a problem when I was in the city centre this afternoon.

The main irritation was that New Street was blocked by two lines of police with demonstrators between, causing residents and shoppers to have to divert.

I see police have made arrests though – mainly 20+ people on a bus. When I left the shopping area about 5:30 they seemed intent on dispersal.

Did any residents have major problems we should know about? Especially if it points up any idea for something different and better the police could do on a similar occasion in future? If so please let us know!

Karen Caine

Possible City Centre demonstration – Saturday Sept 5

West Midlands Police briefed city centre businesses this morning on some possible demonstrations on Saturday, September 5. I attended as a residents’ representative (possibly the only one?).

City Centre disturbances – West Midlands Police response

The Neighbourhood Forum’s protests to the Chief Constable, copied to others, have produced the response below:

“Watch Your Bags” say our local police

Our local neighbourhood policing team have noticed a recent increase in “distraction thefts” in retail premises around the area.