Today is Valentine’s Day and love is in the air. Perhaps I can talk, therefore, about a slightly ‘different’ form of love. Perhaps we should really call it a ‘relationship’, the deep and meaningful one that I have had for so long with the business and economic heart of this borough; one that provides so many jobs, supports our economy and helps our communities. One that goes back a long way and only grows stronger with each passing year.
Last Friday I attended the Signature Awards at The Vox on the NEC Campus. The evening was a celebration of the local and regional economy and the entrepreneurial spirit which drives it, recognising excellence across a range of fields. I was particularly pleased to note the existence of a category for excellence in promoting apprenticeships, something which regular readers of this message will know I am extremely keen on doing myself.
The ceremony got me thinking about our role in supporting business, something we do in several ways. We offer support with recruitment and apprenticeships, help connect businesses to premises in our excellently located corner of the world, and offer guidance and support (sometimes including grants) through our Start Up Business and Social Enterprise Advice schemes. You can find out more about all that here, but we also support businesses in very tangible ways.
Our relationship with business is not just local, it is global. It’s now less than 50 days until Solihull welcomes an instalment of the Rocket League Championship Series at bp pulse LIVE on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 March. Thousands of fans from across the world will travel to watch their Esports heroes in action, with 16 teams competing for glory. Esports is an unbelievably fast-growing industry worldwide, now worth billions to the global economy every year, and Rocket League is one of the most popular events. I am proud that we will be playing host to such a prestigious event, and I hope we can establish ourselves as a go-to venue for more such events in the future.
Returning to local matters now, on Wednesday 26 February we will be hosting a careers fair featuring opportunities in various sectors at Solihull Recruitment and Training Centre. Employers from businesses needing security, care, construction, customer service, and warehousing staff will be present along with our dedicated Employment and Skills team, who will be on hand to provide support to find work or training. You can book your place here.
However, on this special day, I must mention a couple of other more serious matters.
We have worked with businesses in Chelmsley Wood to draw up a proposal to create a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) around the bus interchange to tackle anti-social behaviour. We are consulting on this measure until Sunday 16 March. We have listened to local residents telling us they have seen an increase in the number of incidences of vandalism, concerns about violence, and other things we don’t want to see on our streets. It is vital that people can enjoy the places where they live in peace, and it is crucial for the local businesses that their customers are able to access them without feeling uncomfortable or even intimidated by others who are mis-using the space.
We want to ban people from using e-scooters and other vehicles in the restricted area, give police and council officers the power to move groups of three or more people on from the area, and the power to require people to remove face coverings if they are suspected of anti-social behaviour. We don’t take measures like this lightly. As a general rule, we don’t like to tell people how to live their lives, but when their actions are detrimental to their community – residents and businesses – we feel compelled to act. Please do give us your views.
We also acted to protect legitimate business recently with the prosecution of Boss Mart 2, a shop in Olton that was selling illegal tobacco products and disposable vapes. The company was also found guilty of selling disposable vapes to an underage customer. The director was fined £5,800 in total for the offences. We will take action wherever necessary to protect our communities, keeping our residents safe from dodgy products and ensuring businesses that play by the rules have a level playing field in their area. Both the prosecution and the mooted PSPO in Chelmsley Wood are the result of hard work on the part of our Regulatory Services team, so I want to thank them publicly here for their dedication to keeping everyone safe.
Finally, I was back at the Resorts World campus on Sunday for the Birmingham International Tattoo. This isn’t especially relevant to the theme of local business, but goodness me it was enjoyable! The pageantry and high-quality playing of the marching bands, ranging from our own Shirley Pipe Band to that of the French Foreign Legion, was as excellent as ever. I suppose I could claim I mention this as further evidence of our status as a home for world class events, which it really is, but in truth, it was just a great day out in Solihull. I hope you enjoy a similarly good time today and this weekend, whatever it is you’re doing, and give your loved ones all the attention and ‘fuss’ that they deserve.
Thanks for reading,
Councillor Ian Courts, Leader of Solihull Council