What one thing would voters change about Birmingham?

Voters will go to the polls in Birmingham on Thursday to decide who they would like to run the council.

It's been a turbulent time for the city in recent years, with a bin strike, significant cuts to services to tackle an effective bankruptcy and a 17% rise in council tax.

But what is the one thing you would change about the city?

We asked six voters what is the hottest topic on their minds - and here is what they had to say.

The one thing I would change about Birmingham would be that we all become openly prouder of our great city, says Kerry Oddy.

We need to get much better at "showing off" - encouraging Brummies to become advocates for the city. The council should take the lead advertising how brilliant it is.

The city, once a small village, has been built by generations of people coming here to work hard together to build what we now all enjoy.

In the main, people live peacefully in friendship with their neighbours from across many diverse communities. We should celebrate the respect and love more.

It is a young, vibrant city with fantastic green spaces and a wide range of interesting architecture reflecting the changing styles of urban buildings.

There are loads of great places to eat and a varied affordable food scene - Michelin-starred restaurants and award-winning street food.

We have museums, galleries and seven universities. There are canals and cycleways and walks in abundance.

The arts scene is very varied and alive in every area and community.

What is not to love? We should all start bigging up Birmingham.

I'd like the city to be recognised again, to be known as a second city - I don't think it is at the moment, says Arshad Hussain, from Moseley.

We've got lots of problems and issues, not least with bin collections, road safety and just general sort of services that are being provided by the council.

We're not really known for being the vibrant second city where everything is moving and happening.

The roads would be safe, you'd be able to travel anywhere in the city through public transport, through trams, having a network of trams.

Every other major city that I've been to has got a good public transport network.

We're just about getting trains in Moseley and Kings Heath, but we need a tram system that will take you from one part of the city to the other.

So [I want] improvement in terms of transport, road safety, ensuring the roads are safe, we've got more cycle lanes... having more public spaces for young people, so they can go and engage in activities after school, those kinds of things."

I would like to see the reinvestment and expansion in the provision and care of our open spaces, parks, woods and play areas, says Rick Hill.

Birmingham was renowned for its public spaces - for example, Lickey Hillswas an outstanding asset for the community.

In recent years, these assets have become decrepit, dismal and decayed. There has been a severe lack of investment in facilities, management and community engagement.

For the past three years, I have run a local litter-picking group.

In that time, we have seen the amount of litter strewn on 'our patch' to just one bag per week, rather than the seven we collected each week at the start.

But what I have noticed is that the nature around us continues to suffer from neglect - trees need pruning, ivy needs cutting back, Himalayan balsam is rife, fences are broken and access is limited; playgrounds are run down and damages are not repaired.

The lack of investment has turned our community spaces into eyesores and further extended their decline.

This needs to stop - genuine community engagement is needed to support and regenerate these fantastic assets.

Open spaces are the lungs of the city. Without them, we perish!

If I could change one thing in Birmingham, it would be to facilitate an increase in physical activity levels, incorporating daily movement into the lives of residents of all ages, says Tonia Dunn.

Currently, the West Midlands has some of the lowest activity levels in the country, with healthy life expectancy in Birmingham falling below the national average.

As a mum of five, health coach, personal trainer and Boxercise instructor, I support adults, young people and children to enjoy movement and to increase physical activity.

There are often multiple barriers to activity created by our living and working environments, increasing the chance of sedentary living.

We know that moving more leads to improved physical and mental health, reduces the risk of developing chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, improves quality of life and lengthens lifespan.

There are already good things happening in Birmingham when it comes to health, fitness and physical activity and we need to build on these.

The council must work collaboratively with the physical activity sector, residents and employers to promote movement.

I would like to see a guarantee of the continuation of the Be Active and Be Active Plus exercise schemes, increased funding for local groups and a council commitment to keeping our green spaces well maintained, free and accessible.

For many, Sutton Park is a place we go [to] to exercise, [to] play sport and just for general wellbeing, says Elliot Winterbottom.

I, along with many others, use the park regularly, playing hockey, while others rely on it for dog walking or going for a run.

Introducing parking charges would mean staying active becomes more expensive, particularly for local sports teams who use it multiple times a week.

At a time when we are constantly asked and encouraged to stay healthy and active, it feels contradictory to place financial barriers on access to one of Birmingham's most valued public spaces.

This is especially concerning when residents do not see equal improvement in other local public services such as libraries and community facilities.

Sutton Park should remain a space for everyone, not just those who can afford to pay for it.

I would like to see a Birmingham council which scraps the proposed charges to help protect sport, wellbeing and equal access for all.

The big change I would like to see in Birmingham is who runs the council, says grandfather Ian Michael, an out-of-work semi-retired market trader who was a taxi driver and has family members working in schools.

Labour have done a terrible job over the years running Birmingham and it is time for a change locally and nationally.

Normal working-class people have had enough of this Labour/Conservative merry-go-round of corruption, scandal, ineptitude and failure.

We need more focus on things that matter to working-class people, like crime, the economic crisis, the NHS, schools, illegal immigration, the state of the roads, getting a doctors appointment, the welfare of our OAPs, the decline of our high streets, homelessness, drug addiction and so on.

• SIMPLE GUIDE: What elections are taking place in May?
• EXPLAINER: What can't you do at a polling station?
• LOOKAHEAD: When is the next general election?
• POSTCODE LOOKUP: Is there an election in your area?

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