News
News from Balsall Heath and Balsall Heathans.
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Flag injunction: What It Means for Birmingham Residents
Tomorrow Birmingham City Council is seeking an injunction action to prevent ‘Raise the Colours’ and any ‘Person’s unknown’ from coming into Birmingham and putting up flags. It isn’t hard to understand why many residents are upset. There has been a lot of ‘fake news’ and conflicting opinions, not least from our own Councillors. We at…
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Liz Berry returns to Balsall Heath in Changing Times
We’re thrilled to welcome Liz Berry for an intimate event of poetry, informal chat, interviews, film and exhibition dedicated to the living history, stories and memories of Balsall Heath at St.Paul’s Venture. Check out Frank Skinner’s praise for Liz Berry, who brought him to tears with her reading of ‘Birmingham Rollers’: Award-winning West Midlands poet Liz Berry…
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Moseley Road Baths Joe’s Update #3
Joe Holyoak has written an update for us from the Baths and also will be leading tours of the Baths as part of Birmingham Heritage Week starting 11th September. Also look out for Balsall Heath in Changing Times exhibition and tours coinciding so you can view the baths and tour Moseley Road with local historian…
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Bringing Balsall Heath’s History to Life in Changing Times
This September, experience Balsall Heath in Birmingham Heritage Week through a multi-venue touring FREE exhibition, ‘In Changing Times‘ by Balsall Heath Local History Society. Featuring the photographic archive of Mick Turner, community oral histories, poetry, art, and history trails exploring Balsall Heath through the eyes of those who live it. Balsall Heath’s story is one…
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Changing Times in Balsall Heath: A Conversation with Zhor Malik
From the streets of 1960s Balsall Heath to decades of dedicated community service, Zhor Malik’s story is woven into the history of Calthorpe Park and Balsall Heath. A former Royal Mail union representative, long-time community advocate, and former local councillor, Zhor sat down with Marcus and Val for Changing Times to look back at Balsall…
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Wildlife Trusts seek Youth Leadership
The Environmental Leadership Programme (ELP2), a free nine months course for ages 18-25, opens for applications: Its to build leadership skills, create local nature projects, and explore green careers. Wildlife Trusts particularly encourage applications from people in the Balsall Heath area: Run by The Wildlife Trusts and Shropshire Wildlife Trust, it helps young people build…
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Summer Fun in Nature!
Join summer family fun activity session at the Belle Walk green space 25th August 10:45am. Birmingham Open Spaces Forum (BOSF) is a volunteer-led network that has been connecting and supporting the people who care for our city’s open spaces since 2005, whether that open space be a park, a community garden, an allotment site or…
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Road Safety Emergency Continues
1 August 2026 marks the second anniversary of the declaration of Birmingham’s Road Safety Emergency. Better Streets for Birmingham will mark this anniversary and ask the new councillors who represent us to increase their efforts to reduce road harm on Friday 4th September at 5pm outside the Council House. Contact Better Streets to join this…
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Celebrating Balsall Heath – Festival faces, figures and fun
Sadly the Festival is over for 2026, but the good news is we are already making plans for 2027, the fiftieth anniversary of Balsall Heath Carnival! We had over 1600 participating in over 20 events and 40 workshops over the 10 days of Festival. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of what’s been happening (there’s…
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My Faith Reflection – visit to Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara
The Faith Trail as part of Balsall Heath Community Festival has been a great way to celebrate our diverse community. It has been for me an invitation to visit the many different faiths I knew little about, like Sikhism. There was early migration during that time from India. As a Muslim interfaith is important to…
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A Visit to Moseley Road Baths – Joe’s update #2
Joe Holyoak has written an update for us from the Baths and also has been leading tours of the Baths as part of Balsall Heath Community Festival #BHCFest – Initially tours were offered to neighbours, stakeholders and local charitable friends. For our our festival we had limited free bookings for members of the public, which…
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The Sights and Sounds of Reaside Forest Garden
A community grows when you give it a little space, some shade, and some love. July 8th, Reaside Forest Garden, one of many Fruit and Nut Villages in Balsall Heath, welcomed visitors to the site. With the summer sun beaming down, we spent a very pleasant morning gathered under the cool, welcoming shade of the…
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Faith in the Future in Balsall Heath
With over 60 different Faith Centres across Balsall Heath, and many more either demolished or changed purpose, there are lots of places to visit. For Balsall Heath Community Festival Faith Trail, #BHCFest26, we were welcomed into Al Abbas Islamic Centre, Balsall Heath Church Centre, Birmingham Buddhist Centre, Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara Ss John and Martin…
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First Weekend of #BHCFest26 – so much more to come!
After such a fantastic weekend, the next three days promise to be equally wonderful as Balsall Heath Community Festival brings together so many more people to celebrate Balsall Heath! A quick summary, flyers below, offering joy and fun in gardens, exhibitions and in our fabulous Faith Centres across Balsall Heath from 6th to 8th July!…
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Join the East West Retrofit BH Walking Procession!
Celebrate the creativity, diversity and community spirit of Balsall Heath with a joyful walking procession from Balsall Heath Park to Calthorpe Park on Sunday 5 July as part of Balsall Heath Community Festival. Expect colourful banners, Brumbeats drummers, pop-up street theatre, family activities and plenty of carnival atmosphere as we walk together across the neighbourhood, celebrating local pride, greener homes,…