In the last couple of weeks, there appears to have been an increasing number of unpleasant incidents occurring across the Kings Heath BID area, mostly, but not exclusively, happening in the evening.
The BID, funded by businesses in Kings Heath, already provides a team of street wardens who, to date, have primarily worked with businesses that are open during the day to reduce incidences of shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.
We had already been considering how best to extend this provision into the evenings and will be doing so with immediate effect, with the warm weather, pedestrianisation on York Road and relaxation of Covid restrictions all playing a part in the BID team’s thinking.
Central to our thinking is both supporting the businesses that fund the BID and providing a calm and reassuring presence to visitors, staff and residents at the appropriate times of day and night. Dealing with criminal behaviour is and will always remain the role of the police, but we can do our bit to ensure that, whether you work in Kings Heath or are enjoying a night (or day) out, it feels like a safe place to be.
The BID exists to help make Kings Heath a welcoming and vibrant place to be. We are sure that reports you’ll have seen here and on other social media will remain the exception rather than the rule and that the whole community of Kings Heath share the same desire for our part of Birmingham to remain the pleasant and happy place that it’s always been.