A report in the Birmingham Mail in August mapped out the various ‘rat hotspots’ in Birmingham using statistics generated from desperate residents contacting pest control.

“We asked for the number of rodent callouts recorded by Birmingham City Council’s pest control team by postcode in 2021 to date, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017…

In total there have been 6,660 callouts in 2021 so far as of August 10. But this is likely to rise a lot further.

During the pandemic-hit year of 2020, there were a total of 13,726 callouts across all Birmingham postcodes.

And since 2016 there have been a staggering 65,534 callouts.” https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/birminghams-rat-hotspots-mapped-its-21300509

Bordesley and Highgate

Sadly those in the B8, B9 and B12 areas, which includes those living in Bordesley and Highgate, suffer from a failure by the council to take strong enforcement against flytipping.

The Workers Party – Birmingham, undertakes regular community outreach days, typically Saturday and Sunday’s between 12noon and 5.00pm. We’ve surveyed hundreds of residents this year and problems with vermin always come out near the top.

A public campaign against fly tipping must be backed with visible enforcement from the city council. Routine tipping by shopkeepers can be overcome by council investment in waste collection points on key roads (such as Alum Rock Road), backed up with extended opening at the public tips and the abolition of the online booking system and its present restrictions. A high profile enforcement campaign and the engagement of the countless community litter picking groups can help turn the corner in Birmingham. But whilst Labour continues to prioritise spending money on vanity projects its unlikely the public hygiene issues will be tackled.

Workers Party – Birmingham, what are we doing to help?

The Workers Party continues to raise issues of infestation with council officers who are generally quick to respond. We encourage residents to raise collective concerns rather than individual complaints. These are social issues, not problems of this or that flat.