With thanks for the information to RtV:
Hear Mark Tate briefly here: http://www.itv.com/news/central/2012-05-18/the-future-of-birminghams-wholesale-market-could-be-secured/
And read about misgivings here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-18114134
This subject was first raised here on April 27th and more information is on the dedicated website. Pending an online facility for signing, the petition can now be downloaded here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9V2JolWMLo_M09uUnhiQ1poSFU/edit
After lodging the claim with the administrative court, Robin Clarke is now awaiting the “issue” by the court, and then will have a few days in which to “serve” on the Secretary of State and Centro.
He adds that the first two paragraphs work as a summary of the whole matter and could be quoted as such.
A composite market: fruit, veg, fish, meat and dairy under one roof
Spitalfields Market (fruit and vegetables), which operates under a Royal Charter granted in 1682, moved out of the City to a 31 acre site in East London in 199. High rise flats and offices were built on part of the site but one Grade II listed building is still a market selling goods. The old market was mentioned in a short film about the area which can be seen here.
At its East London centre is the Market Hall, housing more than 100 trading units for wholesalers dealing in fruit, vegetables and flowers, equipped to the latest standards with facilities that include cold storage rooms, ripening rooms and racking for palletised produce.
Janet Hutchinson, chief executive of the Spitalfields Market Tenants’ Association, “married into the market”, and runs New Spitalfields Market alongside her husband Chris, who is the chairman of the tenants’ association.
It would reduce the carbon footprint for the catering industry – what an amazing sell that would be
The Fresh Produce Journal reports Chris Hutchinson’s hope for the future:
“There is no other market like New Spitalfields anywhere in the country,” he says. “But what I would really like to see is a composite market: fruit, veg, fish, meat and dairy, all under one roof. Paris has got it, so why shouldn’t we? It would reduce the carbon footprint for the catering industry – what an amazing sell that would be.”
A lot of effort has gone into ensuring that the market can operate as close to normal as possible during the Olympic Games, planning ahead for the huge impact that road restrictions will have on distribution of fresh produce to London and the South East.
For more news of the move under former chairman Jim Heppel (pictured) - and of Spitalfields past and present – visit a charming website Spitalfields Life.
At an Institute of Directors award ceremony held in the new Edgbaston Stadium, Kirsty Davies Chinnock, Managing Director of Professional Polishing Services, won the West Midlands Family Business Director of the Year Award. The judging panel were impressed by her passion for the future and conviction that UK manufacturing and SMEs as a whole are essential to growth within the UK. The judges termed her an ‘Ambassador for Manufacturing’ and Kirsty further stressed her support for this sector:
“I believe a pro-manufacturing strategy needs to be created in line with further encouragement of SME’s. SME’s have a unique perspective when it comes to being a successful business; well-managed, they are the life blood of the UK.”
In the headlines a few years ago when she sharply criticised Birmingham’s Chamber of Commerce for its promotion of out-sourcing – and resigned – she added:
“On a personal level I want to show that there are many managing directors working for the benefit of the company – and the employees –rather than themselves. We take our responsibility as an employer seriously and do everything we can to create sustainable employment.”
Kirsty will go forward to the National Competition in London in October 2012.
Recently a local consultant emailed: “At the recent Birmingham Transport Summit I had the impression of a total power vacuum, in which businessmen are clamouring for ever-more-expensive solutions that their companies can get a slice of in contracts, irrespective of actual public benefit or sustainability: £1,000 million for a high speed rail station at Curzon Street!!. plus new Metro lines, expanded airport … I felt they have been driven insane by greed.
70 minutes is fast enough
“I was on the Chiltern line recently. There is a non-stop service from Warwick parkway to London Marylebone in 70 minutes. In most of the world that would be considered high speed.”
The council hosted the Summit but . . .
“The ‘council leader’ was absent, as usual. I began to wonder if having a high profile person directly elected by the voters on a defined platform and answerable to them, to make decisions across the board for Birmingham might be just what was needed, as in cities of North and South America, Europe, Australia etc. Someone who is very aware what the voters will do if their priorities are ignored. An elected chief executive, instead of the current unelected one.”
The issue of permanently relegating bus-stops to the city’s outskirts has provoked lengthy comments. John Tyrrell points out some advantages of a Metro:Friends of the Central Library
SYMPOSIUM ‘ALTERNATIVES TO DEMOLITION’
An opportunity to examine proposals for the retention and re-use of the Central Library building following its expected closure in September 2013.
DATE: Thursday 17 May 2012
TIME: 7pm to 9pm.
VENUE: The John Peek Room, Birmingham and Midland Institute, Margaret Street, Birmingham, B3 3BS
7.00
INTRODUCTION
Brief review of FCL campaign and introduction to contributors
7.15
THE FEASIBILITY OF REFURBISHMENT
7.30
AN OUTLINE BUSINESS PLAN
7.45
NEW USES FOR THE BUILDING
8.15
AN ALTERNATIVE MASTER PLAN (Holyoak/Turner)
8.45
SUMMING UP
9.00. CLOSE
0121 772 7165. alan.clawley@virgin.net
20th May 2012 at 15:00 
http://www.anuradhapatel.com/public_thomas.htm
If you can bring flowers that would also be welcome.
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“The Clarion Singers”
Speaker & reader – Bill Heatherington, veteran C.O.
Reading of Names, and Laying Down of Flowers (1)
Flowers will be laid intermittently during the reading of names
“The Clarion Singers”
Reading of Names and Laying Down of Flowers (2)
Various Readings
One Minute’s Silence
“The Clarion Singers”
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The organisers: http://wmcnd.org.uk/event/conscientious-objectors-day
Read more about the Peace Garden in the Birmingham Press archives
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