Your Questions Answered Balsall Heath Election 2026
Last week we sent our election candidates your questions – here are their responses!
We’ve included links to find out more about them and their election policies and manifestos, and you may also want to check out other sites like:
- Poll Check – a guide to local elections based on the latest polls
- Who can I vote for – a useful compilation of info for all candidates
We’ve had responses from Duncan Ali, Jo Hindley, Guy Hordern, Zhor Malik – for other candidates we’ve linked to their websites or social media.
Balsall Heath West Election
- What are your views on The Balsall Heath Development Plan?
One of the first neighbourhood plans drawn up by local people. Many good ideas were put forward and achieved popular support – now being supported by the Balsall Heath Alliance. One idea that has been put forward is to achieve the first zero carbon neighbourhood. The new housing development Belgrave Village was an idea from the plan – we think these are superb ideas. The neighbourhood plan recommends one train station for Balsall Heath we are strongly in favour of opening a station in Balsall Heath and will do all we can to achieve that aim.
- How will you support our Library, opening soon, to provide the best services?
Ensure that it is well stocked with excellent books especially for young readers, also have daily newspapers available – community language texts available – include IT and computers available for public use, hold monthly surgeries in the library to discuss residents concerns, – Secure funding to enable the library to remain open as much as possible – aiming for 7 days a week.
- Fly tipping and bin collection are a big problem. How are you going to address this locally?
Zero tolerance of fly tipping – where addresses are found insist that there is follow up. Install cameras in grotspots, teach residents to use fix my street – bin workers strike to be ended by agreement with UNITE
- How are you going to address traffic and transport problems locally? Will you campaign for a Balsall Heath Train Station?
Free bus travel for under 16 – £1 day saver Traffic lights on Edward Rd at junction with Lincoln St. possible one way – Willows Rd and Cannon hill Rd . Fix potholes! Big YES to a station.
- How will you support the Friends’ Institute to reopen?
Explore change of use eg. supported accommodation, SEND school provision and/or youth club combined with Cafe – expansion of local restaurants – effective recycling/second hand shop.
We want to use it to bring people from the community together. It’s been held in trust as a gift and allowed to rot. Community use or Co-housing possibilities eg Stirchley
- There are a whole range of housing concerns locally. Which of these will you prioritise and what will you do?
Retrofit to make existing homes warm and save money. HMO’s need models of good practice, Max of one HMO per street. Establish a working group including representatives from local religious houses, builders and tradespeople, along side homeless people to renovate derelict properties then the homeless will live there.
Duncan Ali is the Green Party candidate. Find out more about their policies in the Green Party manifesto.
- What are your views on The Balsall Heath Development Plan?
Much of the plan chimes with priorities the Local Conservatives have set out, improving the street scene, protecting historic assets and seeking to invest in the Balti Triangle to secure its future viability. Clearly as the plan nears the end of its 15 year life it is important that working with residents it is refreshed to ensure it remains fit for purpose for the next decade.
- How will you support our Library, opening soon, to provide the best services?
Local Conservatives are committed to all the cities libraries. In Birmingham we face a huge literacy challenge. 50% of the wards in Birmingham are in the top 10% nationally for literacy need. Nearly 40% of pupils in deprived neighbourhoods fail to reach their expected standards. 1 in 10 children aged 5 – 18 lack their own book at home. While 22% of people in the West Midlands are classified as ‘non users’ with no home internet access.
Therefore Local Conservatives will invest in the library service to ensure that additional services such as job clubs and homework clubs are rolled out as well as seeking to increase the opening hours of libraries across the city.
- Fly tipping and bin collection are a big problem. How are you going to address this locally
Only Local Conservatives have a plan to clean up the city. Our plans include we would save weekly bin collections, which the Labour Council are scrapping later this year, introduce dedicated clean up crews for each neighbourhood to get the streets clean and use cctv/anpr cameras to increase enforcement and catch people throwing rubbish out of cars. We would also install 3000 new and replacement bins across the city in the next 4 years.
- How are you going to address traffic and transport problems locally? Will you campaign for a Balsall Heath Train Station?
Local Conservatives support the opening of a train line at Balsall Heath Station and I believe are the only party to have put that support in their manifesto. We would also provide each ward with a £150,000 highways budget to deliver road safety schemes that are the priority of the local area. City wide we are pushing for an expansion of the rail and metro networks in the city.
- How will you support the Friends’ Institute to reopen?
The Local Conservatives are committed to protecting our heritage and culture. This includes buildings like the Friends Institute. If elected I would of course be happy to meet with local interested parties and the senior officers and Councillors to discuss what can be done to help.
For more information see Birmingham Local Conservatives Manifesto
- What are your views on The Balsall Heath Development Plan?
I support the 2015 Development plan, and any plan or people who take action for services and people living here. I’m not attached to any parties, organisations or alliances so I will act in the interests of Balsall Heath. Please see my leaflets.
- How will you support our Library, opening soon, to provide the best services?
I will support the Library in any help that is required, I have already stated in one of my leaflets the need to Protecting Local services, Library, Swimming Baths and Schools are included in that. I will send you a copy of the leaflets to you, please read them.
- Fly tipping and bin collection are a big problem. How are you going to address this locally?
Fly tipping is an issue that needs to be resolved by having cameras installed and reported to the Police. Also educating individuals of proper disposal methods. Fly tipping is not always a problem caused by the local community. People outside of the area fly tip.
Regarding the bin collections, the first and most important thing to do is to get the strike issue resolved as I believe once that is done the majority of the problems will be easier to resolve.
- How are you going to address traffic and transport problems locally? Will you campaign for a Balsall Heath Train Station?
I have already made my feelings clear on the issue of having a train station for Balsall Heath, please see my leaflet. I believe that the residents of Balsall Heath have been let down badly by being excluded from the original plan which included the train station for Balsall Heath. I will be pushing for a Balsall Heath Station. On the traffic issues I have mentioned in my leaflet the need to put in traffic calming measures. I will fully campaign for this.
- How will you support the Friends’ Institute to reopen?
I was shocked to learn the closure of the Friends Institute, in my view (wrongly) I assumed that the matter had been resolved. As someone who was an employee of Birmingham City Council I visited the Friends Institute back in 2010 and 2 issues were raised, one was the roof and the other one was the heating system. I then changed to a different area and assumed everything had been resolved. I will help in any way possible, meeting potential interested parties, even though the Institute is not in my Ward but is used by residents of my ward.
- There are a whole range of housing concerns locally. Which of these will you prioritise and what will you do?
One of the biggest concerns is HMOs, which I will address at the planning stages and be supportive to the residents effected. As a candidate councillor for Balsall Heath West, I understand that housing is the foundation of our community’s wellbeing. If elected, my top priority will be tackling the over-concentration and mismanagement of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and Exempt Accommodation, as these have the most direct impact on our residents’ safety and quality of life.
My Priorities and Action Plan
To address these critical housing concerns, will focus on the following key areas:
* Tackling HMO and Exempt Accommodation Over-concentration
* Strict Planning Enforcement: I will push for more robust use of planning powers to prevent further conversions of family homes into HMOs where the concentration is already too high.
* Mandatory Licensing & Inspections: I will advocate for regular, proactive inspections of all HMOs to ensure they meet strict safety criteria, including room measurements, fire doors, and smoke alarms.
* Increased Enforcement Officers: I will demand more funding for council enforcement officers to carry out these essential checks and hold rogue landlords accountable.
* Cleaning Up Our Streets and Reducing Anti-Social Behaviour
* Targeting Fly-Tipping: I will prioritise the removal of dumped rubbish and used syringes, which are often concentrated around poorly managed HMOs, by demanding more frequent street cleaning and security gating in affected alleys.
* Reducing ASB: I will work closely with the police and local residents’ groups to tackle drug-related activity and anti-social behaviour linked to specific properties, ensuring these issues are not ignored.
* Protecting Family Housing and Increasing Affordability
* Preserving Family Homes: Balsall Heath has a high demand for larger, 3+ bedroom houses. I will work to protect our existing Victorian housing stock from being fragmented into small units.
* Improving Living Standards through Retrofitting
* Cutting Energy Bills: I will champion passive housing retrofitting programs to improve insulation in our older properties, helping residents lower their heating costs and live in healthier, warmer homes.
Email Ba**************@*****il.com
No response to questions – website https://balsallheathwest.co.uk/
No response to questions. Farah Naz is the Liberal Democrats candidate. Find out more about their policies in the Liberal Democrats manifesto:
No Response received. Labour Facebook
No Response to Questions. Reform Party
Sparkbrook and Balsall Heath East Election
You’ve got two councillors in this ward, so two votes, fourteen candidates:
- What are your views on The Balsall Heath Development Plan?
I believe Balsall Heath is very lucky to have such a comprehensive Development Plan. I attended some of the meetings when it was being put together by a broad and inclusive representation of local residents. It is both practical and visionary
- How will you support our Library, opening soon, to provide the best services?
I am delighted work on the Library is now underway. It is sorely missed and can’t reopen soon enough. The main thing when it reopens is that it stays open, that it is well staffed and has generous opening times. As well as books and digital resources I support it being a local information hub, hosting a toy library and perhaps a new home for the ‘library of things’.
- Fly tipping and bin collection are a big problem. How are you going to address this locally?
Obviously I will work with other councillors to resolve the bin strike and reinstate our recycling collection. In addition I intend to launch a “Keep Balsall Heath Clean & Tidy” campaign linked with rebuilding pride and belief in our community. Part of this will be supporting people to reduce their rubbish, separate their rubbish and support our local composting schemes. We can work together to identify and prevent the flytippers and coordinate regular bulky waste collection. Balsall Heathans have a proud history of doing things for ourselves. We can do this.
- How are you going to address traffic and transport problems locally? Will you campaign for a Balsall Heath Train Station?
I think it is scandalous that Balsall Heath has missed out on having a local rail station and will campaign strongly for this to be amended. Alongside protection for Blue Badge disabled drivers and passengers a parking levy needs to be introduced to penalise households with more than 2 vehicles and we need to reclaim pavements for pedestrians by enforcing penalties on pavement parking.
- How will you support the Friends’ Institute to reopen?
I am already actively involved in supporting an emergent group to help save the Friends Institute building from further neglect which could lead to demolition! Richard Cadbury gave it as a gift to the Community. As such the community should be fully involved with the process of its restoration and deciding on its future use.
- There are a whole range of housing concerns locally. Which of these will you prioritise and what will you do?
I support local housing organisations such as Birmingham Fair Housing Campaign and Retrofit Balsall Heath working to address Birmingham’s housing crisis. I will prioritise support for local people suffering from damp, cold and mould as a result of poor housing and people at risk of being made homeless through eviction. A one-stop-shop housing crisis action line is needed to stop people falling through the net.
Jo Hindley is a Green Party candidate. Find out more about their policies in the Green Party manifesto.
No response. Linktr.ee
No response to our questions. Your Party Candidate
No Response received. Labour Facebook
No response to questions. Farah Naz is the Liberal Democrats candidate. Find out more about their policies in the Liberal Democrats manifesto:
No Response received. Labour Facebook
No response to our questions. Your Party Candidate
No response to questions. Farah Naz is the Liberal Democrats candidate. Find out more about their policies in the Liberal Democrats manifesto:
No response see https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18JEkjk7ds
No Response, for more information see Birmingham Local Conservatives Manifesto
No response, Green Party candidate. Find out more about their policies in the Green Party manifesto.
No Response to Questions. Reform Party
No Response, for more information see Birmingham Local Conservatives Manifesto
No Response to Questions. Reform Party
Thanks to all the candidates who are giving up their time to be candidates to represent Balsall Heath. Don’t forget to vote!