Dear Editor, The letter from Councillor Timothy Huxtable (Post 13th July) is odd, to say the least.
I won’t dwell on his accusations about last week’s Commons statement on the MG Rover inquiry. Most people know that I have been far from silent about MG Rover over the years.
For the record, though, in the last week, I have both written to and met with ministers on the issue, spoken twice in the Commons about it and been directly in touch with the Serious Fraud Office about their involvement.
Coun Huxtable then implies that I have failed to turn up to a meeting of the Centro Working Group, which he chairs, looking at Longbridge transport issues. I have never been invited to such a working group. Please could he send me the details and the minutes of each meeting from now on?
For years, I have been urging both Birmingham City Council and Centro to raise their ambitions for public transport at Longbridge by committing themselves to a state-of-the-art transport interchange there.
Unfortunately, the actual Longbridge “interchange” plan for which they have sought funding has always seemed limited to a few extra bus stops, some cosmetic changes to Longbridge station and a rather expensive multi-storey car park. I’m pleased that Coun Huxtable supports the idea of improving rail services for passengers from Kings Heath, Hazelwell and Moseley but the needs of people living in the Longbridge area should also count for something. I want to see his words about the Longbridge transport interchange matched by action.
Richard Burden MP,
Birmingham Northfield.
