Liam Byrne today started a big conversation amongst residents about the future of Hodge Hill.

The launch with a group of Liam's junior constituents was the public start of a campaign that's taken the Hodge Hill MP over a year's worth of planning.

Liam said:

"I’ve worked for over a year with residents' meetings, conferences and seminars to pull an ambitious vision we can share for the future of our community. Now I want to hear from young and old alike about how we turn dreams into reality."

Liam's HH2020 programme pulls together ideas from scores of meetings into a new masterplan for the physical regeneration of Hodge Hill. It centres on four ideas:

* A ‘Sports Corridor’ including redevelopment of public and educational green space

* A ‘Retail Quarter/Textile Hub’ centred on Alum Rock

* New housing for local families centred on Shard End

* A Science/Engineering corridor embracing LDV, the Heartlands and Alcoa and stretching to Birmingham airport

Liam went on to say:

"If we're to transform our community we need a plan - but a plan that puts the community in charge of change.

"My first priority was community safety. Now our new local police teams are delivering falls in crime of up to 20 per cent, now is the time to turn more peaceful streets into a new prosperity."

Mr Byrne has put a series of stepping stones carefully in place:

* A huge community conference sponsored by government in 2006 to develop ideas followed by two planning conferences with agencies and local businesses

* City agreement to translate the vision into a ‘constituency investment framework’ to guide development

* The Eastern Corridor of which Hodge Hill is part – was named in December’s Regional Spatial Strategy as a top priority for city redevelopment

* A pioneering partnership with the NHS and JobCentre Plus put together by Liam is helping our unemployed back to work.

* In Hodge Hill's secondary schools the Templeton Foundation is now pioneering, at Liam's invitation, a programme of ‘character education’ to raise aspirations and self esteem.

Liam added:

"Now some foundations are in place I'm asking everyone to give me their views on what they want the future of our community to look like. So over the next few months I will be asking local residents for their priorities and things they want to see different in Hodge Hill in 2020."

Today's launch takes place at Cloverlea Hall playscheme, where local children wrote up what they want to be in 2020. The ideas will be placed in a time capsule with others completed by primary school children to be kept safe at the House of Commons.

Liam also unveiled a logo for the programme designed by Sameena Ali of Hodge Hill Girls School who won the competition opened to all residents under 21 earlier this year.

Local heros spoke to the children about the importance of working to achieve their dreams

Liam said:

"I passionately believe our young people are key stakeholders in this. This is why I have involved them at every step.

"I want every young person in Hodge Hill to have ambition and aspiration. Hodge Hill 2020 is about making our community a launchpad for our youngsters achieve whatever they choose to go for."