Richard Burden MP: Fighting for a fair deal for everyone in Birmingham Northfield

11 December 2009

The heart of any community is its people -

Christmas seems to be hurtling towards us far too fast this year. I’m nowhere near ready and there seem to be a million things to do over the next couple of weeks.

A lot of people in the Northfield area have got their act together a lot better than me, though, and it is great to be able to see some of the results of their efforts over the last week or so.

Last Saturday I went along to the switch on of the Northfield Christmas lights. They are better than ever this year and a tribute to all the hard work of a range of people from across the local community – brought together by the Northfield Town Centre Partnership (NTCP). There are City Council officers – like Sue Smith, until recently the Northfield Town Centre Manager and whose contribution has always gone beyond the call of duty, and her successor, Liz, who I am sure will also be an asset to the area. There are the rest of the staff associated with the NTCP shop opposite Northfield’s main shopping centre. There are the traders and shopkeepers like Andy Clark from Phase 2 hairdressers without whose commitment and contribution the NTCP would not happen. There are all the volunteers from the local community and the churches, schools and community groups that made Saturday such a success despite the bad weather.

For many people who came along, there is no doubt the star of the show was Northfield’s own “Britain’s Got Talent” star, Aiden Davis, who performed and signed autographs throughout much of the day. Thanks are due to Aiden, and to all those who made it a success.

Smaller in scale but equally significant was the Christmas Fayre which took place at the recently opened Oddingley Hall in the Wychall area of West Heath. Again the story was the same, local people putting in so much time and effort to make a difference to their community. I was pleased to be able to get along to Oddingley Hall between my Saturday morning advice desk in Longbridge and the Northfield event later in the afternoon. All credit to local community activist Maria Challenor and the others who made the day a success.

Maria was one of a number of “Christmas heroes” from around the country invited to Downing Street on Wednesday as a personal thank you from Gordon Brown. It is right that the contribution of people like Maria is recognised – just as it was right that Gemma Cartwright’s contribution to the community response to the collapse of MG Rover was also recognised last month when she received an MBE.

The heart of any community is its people. At Christmas we are really reminded of that.

A very merry Christmas and a happy new year to all.