Cllr Paula Smith

The 2011 Hall Green Mela and Festival takes place at Sarehole Mill recreation ground on Sunday July 11th from 12-00 until 5-00. There are plenty of refreshments and seating for this very pleasant and relaxed family occasion. For further information or if you would like to be a volunteer, please call me on 778-6679. I hope to see you there!

At this time of the year there must be many elderly people as well as those who are frail or who, at any age, have a physical disability who long for a break in a comfortable and friendly hotel with understanding staff, pleasantly located and not too far from Birmingham.
A week’s holiday at the beautiful Georgian Merton House located in Ross on Wye could well be the answer. As a result of sponsorship by Birmingham Rotary, prices for full or half board are extremely reasonable. And if transport is needed to get you there, this can be provided for a supplementary charge.
Merton House is a not-for-profit community service project and the helpful and caring staff and the ambience of the house fully reflect this.

If you are interested in a stay, you can contact the hotel direct on: 01989 563252 on the internet you can go to the Merton House website at :

http://www.mertonhouse.org

As you will probably have heard, the Labour Party candidate won Hall Green Ward in the elections to Birmingham City Council that were held on Thursday May 5th.

The outcome here reflected a trend which was widespread across the city – and indeed throughout much of the country. In Hall Green, the Labour candidate finished about 800 votes ahead of the Conservative Party candidate and we were a further 1,000 or so votes behind them – with the Green Party candidate some 1,400 votes behind us.

We understand some of the reasons for this very severe reversal. It is undoubtedly a great setback for us as local Liberal Democrats, and as individuals, as part of the Hall Green Focus Team and the 24 member Liberal Democrat group on the City Council, we will continue to do all that we can to set things right for the future.

We would like to say a very sincere ‘thank you’ to every one of the 1,625 local residents who voted for us in the council elections – your support is very much appreciated. It has always been a great privilege for all of us in the Hall Green Focus Team to work for you – as we will continue so to do.

If you’ve not already done so, please don’t forget to vote today in the elections for Birmingham City Council – and in the national referendum that is being held on the Alternative Vote method.
We hope that you will support the longstanding work of the Hall Green Focus Team by voting for our candidate, Paul Smith, in the City Council elections to guarantee continued service and action all year round.
We also hope that you will vote ‘Yes’ in the Alternative Vote referendum so that, amongst other advantages, in future in parliamentary elections you can safely put your favoured candidate first without having to worry about tactical voting or wasting your vote.

This is a very important election on both accounts – and your vote really does matter!

Our candidate for Hall Green in the City Council elections this coming Thursday – May 5th is Paul Smith. Paul, who lives in Green Avenue, is the husband of Councillor Paula Smith and has given dedicated service to our area for many years and is passionate about making our area an even better place in which to live.

Paul is especially strong on environmental matters and likes nothing better than taking direct action to keep the green in Hall Green! He would be a dedicated, accessible and committed representative for our ward.

Working in the public interest as a local volunteer – all year round, whatever the weather – is second nature to Paul and, as another example, he’s been working hard to see that the Community Room at Hall Green Library continues to be available as well as helping to deliver our advice service there on Thursday evenings.

If elected as one of your three councillors (he would join Paula Smith and Michael Wilkes) this Thursday, Paul would have even more power in his elbow and be an even greater asset to Hall Green!

So make the wise choice and give Paul Smith your support on local election day!

The Hall Green Focus Team do enormous amounts of personal casework helping individual people throughout the ward. This very considerable volume of work has led the way in Birmingham.

We never report these personal issues in our leaflets. We always put the interests of local people first. We achieve this not by ‘Punch and Judy’ politics – here today and gone tomorrow – but by sustained hard work for and with local residents throughout Hall Green.

We sincerely believe that this longstanding service is what local people want – and will continue to want.

We hope that you will be able to support Paul Smith in the local elections that are to be held on on Thursday so that our complete team of three local Councillors for Hall Green can fully continue with this work.

Our commitment to the residents of Hall Green has always been very strong. Our local campaigning began nearly three decades ago back in 1981 so we’re approaching thirty years of continuous service to our area. We work very hard to resolve local and city-wide problems that affect young and older people alike.
For many issues we don’t do this in the glare of publicity, but carefully and discretely behind the scenes. But where the profile of a particular issue must raised, we will do that as well. We carry out regular surveys in the area, and we follow up all local issues and concerns that you raise with us.
And we’re always prepared to go that extra mile, roll up our sleeves and do the work ourselves! And there’s no better example of this direct action to get things done than Paul Smith, our local candidate for Hall Green this year.

While others talk, your Hall Green Focus Team prefer to get on with the job on behalf of residents, making sure that Hall Green continues to be well looked after.
Local activist Paul Smith leads the way by example and is always happy to roll up his sleeves as often as necessary for some effective, direct action to make sure that our area is kept in good condition.
Whether it’s a matter of clearing away accumulated rubbish, pruning back overgrown bushes or removing the latest graffiti, Paul will be there. ‘Action speaks louder than words’ and ‘Working for Hall Green’ are his proud mottoes – and he has certainly earned the right to use them!

As we announced in our last newsletter, Paul Smith has been selected as the local Lib-Dem candidate in this year’s local elections to be held on  on Thursday May 5^th. Long serving councillor Jackie Hawthorn is standing down at this election after many years of dedicated service to our area.

Many of you will know Paul for his outstanding work in Hall Green. As a dedicated environmental campaigner, Paul is often to be seen out and about taking direct action clearing away rubbish, removing graffiti and taking an active lead in community clear-up days. He attends all of the Hall Green Ward Committee meetings, Constituency meetings and the Neighbourhood Tasking meetings.

Since his wife, Councillor Paula Smith, was elected Paul has been assisting her with the large volume of work that she carries out. Many of you will have met Paul at the Thursday Advice Bureau at Hall Green Library that Councillor Smith set up.

Electing Paul on Thursday May 5^th will ensure that the Hall Green Focus team remains complete with Councillor Michael Wilkes as well as Paula Smith working together with paul for the benefit of everyone throughout Hall Green.

The Hall Green Focus Team are well known throughout the area for seeking out local issues in surveys and then getting them sorted out. Paul Smith has been closely involved with this community work for many years.

Do you know of a place where there is a problem with graffiti? If so, please contact Paul so that it can be dealt with.

Do you know of an area that is in need of some ‘tender loving care’? Maybe a small corner that needs a bit of help with litter picking, has become overgrown or is just in need of a bit of a tidy up. If you do, then please let Paul know.

Do you know of an area in need of gates? We can arrange for an area that has suffered from burglaries, anti-social behaviour or fly tipping to be assessed to see if gates would be useful.

On all these issues you can write to Paul at 5, Green Avenue, Hall Green, B28 8DE or ring him on 778-6679.

We hope to hear from you soon!