A few months ago I wrote to Birmingham City Council highlighting the safety concerns of many residents around the Lily Road / Gladstone Road underpass following the assault of a constituent.
I have received a response from the cabinet member Waseem Zaffar who has agreed that infilling the subway is the most appropriate solution in the long term, but that it will need to be budgeted for in future works programs.
The Council has proposed the following measures until the funding to remove it is available:
• The renewal of the existing lighting units within this subway has been included in the 2021/22 works programme. This will improve the overall lighting levels enabling easier graffiti removal.
• This subway will be included for cyclical graffiti removal every 4 weeks. This should assist in improving its environment and reducing anti-social behaviour.
• Consideration will be given to the installation of mirrors by the Local Engineering service as part of the ward minor measures programme. (We will be pushing the council to approve this expenditure.)
• The installation of CCTV will also be considered by the Council’s Community Safety/Resilience team.
I will be writing to the Community Safety Team to stress the necessity for CCTV at this crossing for as long as it is necessary. I have also started a petition for the infilling of the subway so that we can keep the pressure on and make sure this work is completed as soon as possible.
Please sign the petition at http://www.jessphillips.net/underpass-survey , and get in touch at jess.phillips.mp@parliament.uk if I can help with anything else.