News
News from Balsall Heath and Balsall Heathans.
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Threads of Resistance: Sustainable Fashion Hits Balsall Heath
Local activists, designers and makers across the West Midlands are taking matters into their own hands for Sustainable Fashion Week 2026, 26 September through 4 October, uniting communities across the UK under this year’s theme, Threads of Resistance. The Old Print Works in Balsall Heath, Bham’s Hub, is hosting a vibrant lineup of skillshares, panel…
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Our Green Champion, Toqueer
Our very own Toqueer Quyyam, prominent local climate and social justice campaigner was recognised at the Benjamin Zephaniah Localism Awards. He is carrying on with his activism and we’re thinking to start our own ‘Heathan’ Awards in 2027 celebrating 50th year since our first Carnival, recognising outstanding people of Balsall Heath. Let us know what…
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Balsall Heath Local History Gazette September 2026
Balsall Heath Local History Society Gazette is out with news of upcoming events and feature stories: The monthly newsletter published by the Balsall Heath Local History Society (BHLHS) in Birmingham, UK. It serves as both a community bulletin and a historical record for the area. What’s Inside the Gazette? The publication typically includes a mix…
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Goodbye Joe, and thank you
We have to announce with love and respect, the sudden death of Joe Holyoak; architect, urban designer, campaigner, and good friend to Balsall Heath. Joe was coordinator of the first Neighbourhood Plan, with the Balsall Heath Forum in 2015; it was the first in Birmingham, and he was working on the revision in 2026. He…
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Old Stamping Ground in Changing Times
As the Changing Times touring exhibition draws to a close, local voices and artists come together to capture a unique picture of the area, inspired by the photography of Mick Turner. Acclaimed poet Liz Berry is set to bring her local verse to our touring exhibition on Sunday, but she isn’t the only one finding…
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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…