AnadoluJet to Launch from Birmingham Airport

AnadoluJet, a subsidiary of Turkish Airlines, will launch a new operation from Birmingham Airport on the 19^th July 2021 to the popular leisure destinations of Antalya and Dalaman in Turkey.  

The flights will arrive into Birmingham daily at 1140 hours and depart at 1240 hours, using a 189 seat Boeing 737-800 jet. Bookings can be made via www.thy.com or www.anadolujet.com or through local travel agents. 

AnadoluJet, a brand-new carrier for Birmingham Airport, operates low fare and convenient flights at 43 airports and 80 routes with a fleet of 36 aircraft.  

Commenting on the news, Tom Screen, Birmingham Airport’s Aviation Director, said: “As we prepare to welcome customers back flying again, we are extremely pleased that AnadoluJet will be offering new services to Antalya and Dalaman from the 19^th July 2021. Working with its parent company, Turkish Airlines, over many years of flying to Istanbul from Birmingham, I know that customers will receive outstanding service, affordability and reliability with AnadoluJet.”  

Mr. Omer Faruk, Turkish Airlines’ General Manager, Birmingham, said: “We are delighted to announce that we are starting non-stop flights to Antalya and Dalaman with AnadoluJet, trademark of Turkish Airlines.  Whether it’s couples looking for a romantic break, families setting sail on a summer holiday or friends looking for a week of fun in the sun, Antalya and Dalaman have something for everyone. We are looking forward to welcoming passengers onboard this summer.” 
 

Birmingham Airport is the UK’s third largest airport outside London and supports employment on site for 7000 people. Prior to the COVID pandemic, some 13 million passengers travelled through the airport annually, and as it prepares for the restart of travel once restrictions are lifted, health and safety will be front and centre of its plans.    

Birmingham Airport has achieved ISO 45001 certification following a successful assessment of its occupational health & safety management system by the globally recognised certification body, Lloyd’s Register. 

ISO 45001:2018 is the international standard for Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Management Systems. It has been designed to provide companies with a framework that elevates the importance of OH&S on the corporate agenda. It aims to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and accommodate health and safety challenges.  

The airport’s ISO 45001 certification scope covers the terminal operations, including security, cleaning and facilities management, and supports its commitment to providing a safe and secure work and operational environment for all who use the facility. 

Simon Toseland, Head of Health, Safety and Fire at Birmingham Airport, said: “We are all tremendously proud to achieve the ISO 45001 certification. It demonstrates the commitment to our ‘Safety Culture Excellence’ vision to provide the safest possible environment for our employees, passengers and all other persons who visit the airport. 

“It was important that we chose a certification body who has a strong working knowledge of our industry and who were going to challenge our OH&S Management System as we strive for year on year continual improvement. Working with Lloyd’s Register throughout this process has been an extremely positive experience; they really took the time to understand the unique risk factors of our complex operation as well being able to competently liaise with our teams at all levels”. 

Pam Phillips, Senior Auditor at Lloyd’s Register, added: “Throughout the certification process, Birmingham Airport demonstrated a great level of commitment and engagement that makes their achievement even more important. The whole team involved was very enthusiastic, knowledgeable about their management system and understood well their roles and responsibilities. LR is looking forward to supporting Birmingham Airport through our services in the future”. 

Birmingham Airport is the UK’s third largest airport outside London and supports employment on site for 7000 people. Prior to the COVID pandemic, some 13 million passengers travelled through the airport annually, and as it prepares for the restart of travel once restrictions are lifted, health and safety will be front and centre of its plans.    

Solihull Council has approved a new Cycling and walking strategy for the borough following consultation with local residents and businesses. Alongside the comprehensive new strategy, a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) was also approved at Cabinet yesterday evening.

The strategy outlines the overall strategic approach to active travel in Solihull. The document supports the National Cycling and Walking Plan, adopted in July 2020 and sets a clear standard for cycling and walking infrastructure. It aims to embed cycling and walking initiatives into local policy and ensures major developments consider integrating active travel infrastructure from the start.

The need to develop a Cycling and Walking Strategy, and associated LCWIP, was initially established as part of the Council’s transport strategy, Solihull Connected, and is further emphasised by the work that the Council has adopted, such as the Clean Air Strategy and Climate Change Prospectus. Encouraging residents to cycle and walk more often also closely aligns with the Council’s emerging Net Zero Action Plan  which outlines how the borough intends to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2041.

During the development of the Cycling and Walking Strategy and associated LCWIP there have been two rounds of consultation, firstly in February 2020 and more recently in November-December 2020.  Some of the key themes mentioned during consultation included support for segregated cycle lanes, improving cycle storage facilities and reducing severance (barriers) for pedestrians in local centres.

Based on the feedback received a number of changes were made to the strategy such as adding further rural links to the Cycling Network Plan, adding a specific policy on School Streets and including an overview of region-wide cycling and walking programmes taking place in the West Midlands.

Residents are able to view the adopted strategy in full and the LCWIP by visiting the Council website.

Elements of the strategy are already being implemented with three free to use cycle repair stations being installed across the borough. As part of the West Midlands Active Travel Fund, plans are currently being consulted on for three new temporary cycle lanes in Solihull. To find out more information on the proposals visit solihullactivetravel.commonplace.is. The routes proposed are Blossomfield Road, Knowle to Solihull Town Centre and Meriden to Millisons Wood.

Councillor Ted Richards OBE, Cabinet Member for Growth & Infrastructure Delivery at Solihull Council, said:

“The adoption of the Cycling and Walking Strategy is a significant milestone in our commitment to increasing active travel uptake in the borough. I’d like to thank all those who contributed to the recent consultations for helping us shape this bold strategy.

“The health and wellbeing as well as environmental benefits of cycling and walking are well documented. Throughout the pandemic we’ve seen a significant increase in those walking and cycling. We want to build on the learnings of the past twelve months and for this to become the norm.

“Active transport will have a major role to play in addressing future congestion issues and in helping Solihull reduce carbon emissions currently associated with travel.

“It’s exciting times in the borough with consultation currently taking place on three temporary cycle lanes. It’s really encouraging to see Government ambitions aligned with our own through the provision of the active travel fund which is financing these particular schemes”.  

Following the adoption of the Solihull’s Electric Vehicle Strategy, a number of new electric vehicle (EV) charging points are being installed around the borough. In this latest wave Shirley, Knowle, Olton, Silhill, Blythe, Lyndon, Elmdon, Dorridge and Smiths Wood will all benefit from the new points.

Funding has been jointly provided by Central Government through the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (75%) and the Council’s own funds (25%) to improve charging infrastructure across the borough. This coincides with an additional £200k being sought at tomorrow’s cabinet session for the implementation of the EV Strategy. At a national level, an insufficient number of high quality charging points has consistently been found to be a key barrier in preventing wider uptake of electric vehicles and this initiative begins to address this.

The locations of the EV charging points have been carefully considered based on whether there is a demand or expected future demand for electric vehicles in that area, or simply if residents don’t have access to their own off-street parking. The Council will continue to engage with residents to understand where there is appetite to improve the local charging infrastructure as it plans its next round of installations.

As well as the new installations, nine charge points installed in the north of the Borough under a previous EV car club project are being switched back on, providing even more options for residents who are looking to go electric.

The coming years will see a wider shift towards electric vehicles and the Council’s commitment to tackling climate change supports this. The Solihull Clean Air Strategy, adopted in 2019, ensures there is a process in place to continually improve air quality across the borough.

This project forms part of the Council’s wider UK Central Solihull programme which aims to deliver key infrastructure projects to support sustainable and inclusive growth.

Councillor Ken Hawkins, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Environment & Highways said:

“I’m delighted to see the roll out of the EV charging infrastructure and the opportunities that it will provide to residents who don’t have access to a private driveway. With electric vehicles set to become the ‘norm’ in the not too distant future it’s so important as a council that we provide opportunities to residents in a variety of accommodation types to be able to charge their electric vehicle locally and efficiently.

“I’d encourage everyone who’s thinking about purchasing an electric vehicle in the future to complete our resident engagement survey hosted on https://www.solihull.gov.uk/About-the-Council/Electric-Vehicle-Strategy; and tell us how as a council we can help you overcome any barriers you may be facing. Getting feedback from residents across the borough on where they would like EV charging points really helps to inform us about where we should target our efforts.

Cllr Andy Mackiewicz, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Climate Change, Planning & Housing said:

“The installation of EV charging points across the borough is a vital part of our Electric Vehicle Strategy and the desire to achieve net zero emissions in Solihull by 2041. Transport emissions make up approximately 39% of the borough’s carbon emissions. Installing these EV charging points is a great start in our commitment to reduce this figure.

“It was only last month when Jaguar Land Rover, a major employer in the borough, announced it will become an all-electric brand from 2025. With plans in place to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030 its imperative to get ahead of the transition and invest significantly in our charging infrastructure.

“The timing of this rollout couldn’t be better with the launch of the Green Paper for our Net Zero Action Plan last week. The delivery of this infrastructure shows we’re serious about tackling the climate emergency head on with policy quickly being followed by on the ground action. We’re inviting residents to help shape our action plan in achieving net zero emissions and they can find out more and get involved by visiting https://netzerosolihull.co.uk/.  

As part of the Solihull Council’s Low Carbon Future Mobility project, which is supported by the West Midlands Combined Authority, an innovative scheme is underway to look at how zero-carbon, autonomous vehicles could be integrated into the borough’s transport network in the future. With significant development in automation technology in recent years, the trials will involve what is effectively a fully electric eco-friendly mini-bus, capable of operating both manually and autonomously on the road.

The exciting two-year trial scheme will see the Council work in partnership with a range of organisations to demonstrate real-world uses and learn about the technology with the aim of understanding how in the future residents and visitors might be offered new means of zero emission shared transport and an alternative to single occupancy car journeys.

Last year Solihull Council successfully bid for funding to the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) for the purchase of one road-legal connected autonomous vehicle (CAV) with which to deliver the scheme, with the support of Transport for West Midlands.

Permission was granted last night at the Council’s Growth and Infrastructure Delivery Decision Session for the project team to enter into future partnerships with both public and private sector organisations to set up trials. Work will now commence to move the project forward.

Cllr Ted Richards OBE Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Growth and Infrastructure Delivery, said:

“CAVs might seem like something out of a sci-fi film but the technology is here and it offers an exciting opportunity to reduce the number of single occupancy car journeys made across the borough, replacing them with a zero carbon shared alternative. The really exciting thing about this technology is its longer term potential to make mass low carbon transport in the borough more accessible.

“It’s important to note that while this vehicle will be driven autonomously, there will be a human operator on hand at all times to ensure safety and it can be manually driven at any point when required.”

Cllr Andy Mackiewicz –  Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Planning & Housing, said:

“The Low Carbon Future Mobility project forms part of a wider strategic approach we are developing to decarbonising the borough in line with our Climate Declaration ambitions of: Net Zero for the Council’s own operations by 2030 and Net Zero for the wider borough by 2041.

“We know that transport currently accounts for 39% of CO2 emissions across the borough, making it the single biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Almost all of this is due to road transport. Tackling our carbon emissions is going to require decisive and far reaching action but addressing our transport emissions will be vital. It also offers exciting opportunities for us all to make positive changes to the way we live, work and travel, encouraging us to embrace new technologies such as this.”

To find out more about the Council’s plans for tackling carbon emissions and help shape their Action Plan go to  https://netzerosolihull.co.uk/

Tim Pile – Chair of Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership said:

“GBSLEP’s investment in the Connected Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) project comes at a time when the government is driving forwards ambitions of a green industrial revolution. The potential to reduce CO2 emissions and reduce congestion through shared occupancy CAV, will have an impact on the way we all travel in the future.  

“At GBSLEP, Low Carbon is identified as a high growth area for businesses and we are leading on a sector recovery plan as part of the West Midlands Industrial Strategy.  Our investment acknowledges the huge potential of CAV and we are keen to encourage market growth in this fast growing sector.

“This project is an example of how we have worked with Solihull Council, one of our partner organisations, to allocate money from our Local Growth Fund to drive forwards an inclusive and green economic recovery in our region.”

In today’s budget announcement Solihull has received a huge sum of funding to develop the multi-storey car park at the future HS2 Interchange Station site. £50m of central government funding, set to be matched by a regional contribution of £45m will provide the financial backing for this important project to go ahead.

The multi-storey car park will service the HS2 Interchange Station, with direct links to London in 38 minutes, making Solihull an extremely attractive location to live, work and invest in. The adjacent UK Central Hub, builds on the connectivity and opportunity the station brings, and includes the 340 acre Arden Cross development site.

Leaders at both Solihull Council and the Urban Growth Company have been campaigning hard to progress an alternative solution to the extensive ground level car parking originally proposed in the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act which received royal assent in 2017. The original plans to build 7,400 parking spaces would have seen approximately 22 acres of green belt land tarmacked over for surface level parking

Securing funding for the multi-storey car park is a significant milestone for Solihull as it frees up valuable land that can now generate much need jobs, homes and growth.

Councillor Ian Courts, Leader of Solihull Council, said:

“It’s fantastic news for Solihull to secure such a significant investment in today’s budget announcement. This vital financial injection provides the stimulus for us to begin to realise the incredible development opportunity at the UK Central Hub.

“Five years ago we established a vision at the Council for how the land around the HS2 Interchange Station could be developed to bring maximum benefits for Solihull. I set the four guiding principles of connectivity, optimising land use, integrating green and blue infrastructure and good design. We were never comfortable with the prospect of such a connected location in the borough being simply used for a surface car park.

“Constructing a multi-storey car park as opposed to tarmacking swathes of valuable land allows us to maximise the benefits that the HS2 Interchange Station brings directly to Solihull and its residents. At the heart of the vision for our UK Central programme is to deliver key infrastructure projects that support inclusive and sustainable growth.

“In order to achieve our vision we set up the Urban Growth Company (UGC) to maximise development and investment into creating more opportunities for Solihull residents. I’d like to thank Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, all involved at the Council and the Urban Growth Company for helping to make this possible. Through working tirelessly over many years with partner organisations we’ve been able to ensure our bold vision for this part of the borough comes to fruition.

“To have the Hub – one of Europe’s best connected destinations right on our doorstep is such an immense opportunity and we have been determined to make the most of it since day one. The Hub will create the environment to support 70,000 new and safeguarded jobs, up to 5000 homes and 650,000 square metres of commercial space.

“I’m proud to see Solihull consistently punching above its weight nationally”.

Nick Brown, Chairman of the Urban Growth Company (UGC), said:

“Securing £50m of new central government funding, to be matched by a regional commitment of £45m, is a tremendous achievement and a transformational step in delivering ambitious economic growth for The Hub. 

“We can now build the infrastructure needed to support the delivery of jobs, homes and growth, creating the best connected place for business, leisure and living in Europe.

“The UGC has been working closely with its public and private sector partners for several years to develop an alternative solution to the land-hungry surface car parking originally planned for the HS2 Interchange Station at the Arden Cross development site in Solihull. 

“We worked hard to build early consensus that this alternative multi-storey parking proposal was the only way we would truly be able to deliver the full economic, social and environmental benefits we know to be possible.

“We can now continue our delivery programme with much greater certainty, and work with our partners to secure the future funding required to deliver this proposal in its entirety.  Meanwhile, other work is already underway with colleagues at HS2 including identifying early land release from construction sites at Arden Cross, which could become innovation, health and science campus developments.    

“As much as anything, this funding commitment is a demonstration of the faith that both central and regional government have in the UGC to deliver large-scale infrastructure projects that underpin the overarching objective of driving growth at The Hub.”

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said:

“The UK Central Hub vision is an incredibly bold one for land around Solihull’s HS2 Interchange station, and I am delighted that the Government has today backed the plans to the tune of £50 million. This is the biggest development opportunity across the whole country right now, and it’s here in the heart of our region.

“HS2 was always going to be a game-changer for the West Midlands, but in light of the pandemic it has become even more critical that we make the most out of it. The plans for The Hub do exactly that, and I look forward to working with Solihull Council, its Urban Growth Company, and others to bring them to life.”

A dental clinic has announced plans to open its first Midlands branch in Solihull.