Plant ‘n’ Plate vegan café, King’s Heath, Birmingham, opened in November 2020. I first became aware of it the following Autumn (which is when these photos were taken), via its being listed on the ‘Open for All’ website set up by business owners opposed to the totalitarian policy of ‘vaccine passports’. The café has a pleasant ambience and to me feels like it has a community feel about it, its active Instagram account showing recipes (of course), themed days or evenings as well as catering at local community events and markets. The food and service are good and the owners knowledgeable to talk with. There are plenty of commendable reviews on the Happy Cow site of vegan eating establishments. Since I took the above photo, the outside has been re-done in a different colour.
King’s Heath lies immediately to the south of Moseley, where the Sage wholefood shop used to be and which at a different location, Indigo Wholefoods is now based being a pretty good shop selling organic fruit ‘n’ veg as well as the standard fare one would expect. Both suburbs straddle the A435 Alcester Road, which for a stretch through King’s Heath, including where Plant ‘n’ Plate is based, becomes its High Street, the café being located near its northern end, hence less than a mile from Indigo; easy walking distance for anyone able-bodied. Note that both Plant ‘n’ Plate and Indigo accept cash, another good reason to support each business. Walking up the hill from Moseley, King’s Heath proper starts at the Karma Centre. The few times that I have been to this area I’ve driven and parked either in Highbury Park, which lies close to both suburbs or a bit further away at Cannon Hill Park (a pay-and-display) towards Edgbaston. Moseley and King’s Heath can be reached easily by the number 50 bus from Birmingham City Centre. In the near future there should be rail access to both Moseley and King’s Heath as their stations will re-open on a route that leads to King’s Norton. This is an excellent project and although I am a driver myself I recognise the need for better public transport alternatives. I only wish it were possible for me to get from Warwick to this area of suburban South Brum by public transport directly, i.e. by not by having to go into the city centre and back out again.
On one of my visits in 2021, walking from Highbury Park towards King’s Heath Park, which has the School of Horticultural Training and then the High Street I noticed along the route that many houses and businesses displayed a window sign opposing an LTN, meaning a Low-Traffic Neighbourhood, but at the time I was unclear what it referred to. I understand that LTN barriers have since been put up along certain roads to the displeasure of some residents and business owners, but with the support of some cyclists, whom the barriers aren’t targeted against. This is intended to be a permanent measure, Birmingham City Council having committed to the 15-Minute City agenda linked to 5G installations and the Internet of Things. Why does such an environmentally sustainable measure have to be tied to a technocratic surveillance agenda? With Birmingham City Council having recently declared bankruptcy, resulting in spending cuts to essential services, it begs the question how this 15-Minute City agenda can be affordable, let alone justifiable. I haven’t seen the barriers myself as my walking route on a subsequent visit was a different way (from Cannon Hill Park). As far as I am aware it is not an issue that the owners of Plant ‘n’ Plate have become involved in. I’m aware that Birmingham Truthjuice, based at the E57 Social Club on Alcester Road, has hosted a meeting on the issue (Plant ‘n’ Plate being one of a few businesses listed on its website), though held at the local cricket club. It was from the owners of Plant ‘n’ Plate that I first became aware of Birmingham Truthjuice and the E57 Social Club, even though I’d driven past it on the way into King’s Heath!
As I’ve already addressed the LTN issue with regard to Oxford and Coventry, two cities in which I have lived, hence I am far more familiar with, I don’t feel the need to do so to any great degree with regard to Birmingham, which by population level is about three times the size of Coventry and six times that of Oxford. Though it does make me wonder that if Birmingham were to be divided in to separate ‘Liveable Neighbourhood’ type zones exactly how many would there be and where would be boundaries be placed? But getting back to reasons to visit the area, Highbury Park is quite pleasant to walk around, road access for the dozen or so parking spaces being from the south-western corner, just off Shutlock Lane. At the northern end, by Yew Tree Road from where there is pedestrian access, is Highbury Hall, which was the home of former mayor Joseph Chamberlain, an impressive building only accessible to the public if hired for a specific function. From Highbury Hall, the car park at Cannon Hill Park is about a mile to the north and if you don’t mind paying, currently £4.50 for the day, with cash still taken by the machines, Cannon Hill Park has some nice walking routes itself, as well as the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC).
Please note that since I started drafting this blog post, Birmingham’s most famous vegan Benjamin Zephaniah, who was from across town in Handsworth, has passed away at the age of 65. He was a nice bloke and one of the best campaigners in the vegan movement.