Great Barr & Newton Neighbourhood Forum.

I went along to this forum yesterday. Well respected forum run voluntary by ex local councillor. Issues discussed always pertinent to our area. Yesterday only six attended and two of them were councillors. Police attended as did the man from the PCT and a chap from Hospital Trust to talk about the new hospital site. Police report was pretty predictable. A spate of burglaries in the area and a suspicious silver people carrier seen near where these have occurred.
The report from the PCT on our long overdue clinic was extremely disappointing. The issues have always been around getting a suitable site in the area. Of 14 sites reviewed all have been rejected. No new sites so no clinic. Not ever no way. This to me is not acceptable. Politicians present seemed to accept it in fact one Liberal suggested they should build it on the Conservative Club which is apparently up for sale. It’s a bit of a dilemma for me because I have been an up front campaigner for this clinic and I’m not going to be able to let this go. More on that later. The guy from the hospital trust brought along his power point presentation which contained some what I thought were totally patronising questions about our knowledge of the new hospital project. He was quickly told we had been consulted to death then totally ignored. People in Great Barr feel aggrieved at loosing Sandwell has the main hospital and that our views were just washed over in the mad rush to get the Smethwick site accepted. There never was any real alternative. We do not need to accept it but there now seems we can do little about it.