Thursday January 28 2021
Village News
County, district and parish councillors are urging residents to have their say on the planned A38 improvements before the deadline for March 20.
A joint choirs concert in Alvechurch has been postponed due to concerns over coronavirus.
The fate of village artefacts collected over 70 years is uncertain after a local church submitted plans to develop the site of a dilapidated museum.
‘Call for sites’ housing fears
Village councillors are calling for more information after Bromsgrove District Council released maps showing potential sites for housing development in the area.
Barnt Green parish councillors are increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress on the long-promised lifts at the village station.
Alvechurch parish councillors are to seek more information on proposals by Worcestershire County Council for a 20mph speed limit through the village centre.
Readers may remember that in November 2019, we reported on the unveiling of a memorial to the crew of a Wellington bomber that crashed in Wythall in 1942.
The presence of large numbers of cormorants on Bittell Reservoir in Barnt Green has sparked fears of a “cormorant crisis”, district councillor Charlie Hotham told Barnt Green Parish Council.
Alvechurch Picnic in the Park now has its official logo, chosen from entries into the annual competition.
Members of Alvechurch Border Morris presented a cheque for £228 to Sarah James, manager of The Lounge café and community project in Alvechurch, at the annual village Wassail.
The traditional Snowdrop Weekend at St Leonard’s Church in Beoley was definitely one of two halves.
Cala Homes has been told by Bromsgrove planners that it must allow access to the public footpath linking Barnt Green’s Foxhills estate with Cherry Hill Road, Coun Charlie Hotham told the parish council.
Is it Beoley or Bearley? The chair of Bearley Parish Council in Stratford is to meet with Beoley councillors to share his experience of producing a Neighbourhood Plan.
The “brown river of Bordesley” is still flowing, while new street lighting is yet to be installed.
Barnt Green’s policing area will change this month, Coun Charlie Hotham told the parish council.
A new clerk, Jayne Smailes, has been appointed by Alvechurch Parish Council.
Music lovers take note: this year’s GlastonBeoley Music Festival is on June 6 and 7 and has a new venue at Birmingham Rugby Club in Portway.
Parish councils have been setting their precepts – the part of the council tax that goes to the parish.
Monthly parish meetings in Beoley could alternate between Beoley Village Hall and other venues in the parish, in a proposal being considered by the parish council.
New parish clerk Jayne Smailes told Alvechurch councillors they should be prepared for “Operation London Bridge” – the protocol for the death of a major royal figure.
Barnt Green Parish Council is looking at buying an “aesthetically pleasing yet secure” steel storage shed in which to keep parish equipment, possibly on Parker’s Piece or in Millennium Park.
Concerns around safe and sustainable access by visitors led Beoley parish councillors to oppose a planning application for the change of use of Seafield Farm into a Rural Education Centre.
Beoley parish councillors have asked Post Office Counters if they will provide a mobile post office for residents of Hillcrest Home Park in Portway.
Cofton resident Terry Harrington was the latest winners of a Mini Vinny in our monthly competition.
Aelfgythe Border Morris’ Squire, Pam Morley, reports on their wassail.
Sarah Rees reports from the Oakalls and Parklands.
VACANCY: Clerk at Beoley Parish Council
Beoley Parish Council seeks an experienced, self-motivated individual to join us as Parish Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer.
A visit from a group of French school students has been postponed until September due to coronavirus concerns – but organisers are still asking for host families to sign up at the ready.
Proposals for street parking restrictions close to a village railway station should be put to residents at a public meeting, say parish councillors.
Bring back ‘Rose’, says councillor
District and county councillor Peter McDonald is hoping to reinstate the child-shaped bollard outside Lickey Hills Primary School after it was removed by the county.
Barnt Green Parish Council is to increase its efforts to prevent vehicles damaging the grass verges on the corner of Greenbank and Hewell Road.
The reinstatement of the chimneys at the former post office building in Alvechurch, as recommended by Bromsgrove’s Conservation Officer, has been delayed due to amendments to the planning application.
The annual Mummers Play and Morris dancing extravaganza in Alvechurch kept villagers entertained.
High spirits at Lickey Wassail
Revellers enjoyed music, poetry, dancing and a topical Mummers Play.
Music & merriment in the orchard
Barnt Green Parish Council held their annual Wassail Walk between Christmas and New Year, with around 130 people walking from Millennium Park to Fruitfields Orchard on the outskirts of the village.
Alvechurch Parish Council is to ask the county council for its gulley-cleaning schedule following concerns over drainage and flooding.
Electric vehicle charging points should soon be installed in the commuter car park in Barnt Green, which has been selected by Bromsgrove District Council.
Lickey & Blackwell parish councillor Bakul Kumar suggested to colleagues that the parish should increase its efforts to keep tidy, perhaps with an “Adopt a Street” litter picking scheme.
Barnt Green’s controversial tiered planters in the village centre are to be planted with ‘Surfinia’ petunias to give a trailing display, councillors heard.
Concerns over speeding traffic in Weatheroak came to a head after a recent crash on Weatheroak Hill.
Village Views
MARCH 2020
Predictably, there are now around 300 sites, mostly in our Green Belt, jostling for the jackpot: an “APPROVED” stamp on an application to turn the fields they outline into yet another housing estate.
‘Hostile’ plans for Green Belt
Early last year the substantial Bromsgrove District Plan document was marketed depicting benign agency models alongside an almost impenetrably extensive questionnaire (think developer site hoarding only as part of an exam).
Month on month your pages reflect the gradual decline of our so-called democracy. Our elected representatives at local and national level are abrogating their responsibilities to the legal establishment and the general public.
Spend our money on Cofton, please
Can I say how appalled I was to read that some undisclosed amount left over from Cofton’s section 106 money would be spent on the Lickey toposcope (News in Brief, February 2020).
Too many people on the planet?
Last month’s letters and Village View reflected the current media emphasis on ecological issues, but avoided referring to a major contributor – human beings.
I have seen first-hand how much effort, expertise and thought has been put into planning and the legal side of the new Cofton Village Hall by the Trustees.
People think I am a bit mad when I say that I think the downstairs committee room of Alvechurch Village Hall would make an ideal post office for the village.
‘Cowardly’ note left on carer’s car
To the individual who left a typed/printed note on a car outside Malvern Grange Flats on Greenhurst Drive in Barnt Green: this obscene and abusive note left on a carer’s car, parked while on duty, is not being taken lightly.
The wording was very unpleasant and contained various swear words, all of which was intended to intimidate, and the note has been photographed by the carer.
I have spoken to the neighbours near to Malvern Grange, who were horrified at the note.
Windmill Hill Care would like to say that although carers can make mistakes parking while on duty, it is not intentional or done with malice. On this occasion the carer had not parked incorrectly or blocked any drive or bend on this road.
This was a coward’s way of dealing with a situation. If the author had the decency to leave a polite note with contact details, it would of course be dealt with.
What a shame that individuals like this live in our village.
Jackie Grant RN, Windmill Hill Care
In reference to the letter in February titled: You just can’t get the staff. . . is this individual for real?
FEBRUARY 2020
Climate change has rarely, if ever, been the focus of this column over the past 20 or so years – perhaps because it always seemed a global crisis rather than one that could be tackled at village level.
Elections can bring out the best and worse in people, not just politicians, and throw up a whole caboodle of surprises.
Praise for village illuminations
Barnt Green village after dark is usually fairly gloomy – the street lighting being far from satisfactory – especially compared with the adjacent rail station.
Farming methods have to change
In her otherwise excellent analysis “What can we do for wildlife?” (The Village, January 2020), Mary Green reinforces the idea that it’s still OK to eat meat.
You just can’t get the staff. . .
I was interested to read a letter in December’s Village which rightly recommended “paying your gardener to do a proper job” of clearing up leaves.
Disgust at dog poo in graveyard
I want to voice my utter disgust at what my family experienced on Christmas Day.
I drive along the Old Birmingham Road in Lickey frequently and have noticed the disappearance of the creepy child bollard.
This illustration by Simon Woolford, for the Lickey Community Group newsletter, reflects the apparent confusion of some residents when voting in the Lickey & Blackwell and Cofton Neighbourhood Plan.
JANUARY 2020
Well, that’s a bit of a surprise: the planners at Bromsgrove District Council are standing up to the developers who have gated off a planned public right of way through Barnt Green.
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Village Features
The start of spring is the perfect time to treat yourself to a bit of pampering, and Burcot’s beauty salon Bellissimo offers the perfect relaxing atmosphere.
Since BeautyBox successfully relocated from Barnt Green to Catshill, the salon has gone from strength to strength.
The Village Archive. . . 20 years ago
A look back at what was happening around here in March 2000.
The Village Archive. . . 10 years ago
A look back at what was happening around here in March 2010.
Reversal of fortune: value versus income
Martin Pryor explains where you can find value in today’s investment markets.
Alvechurch FC hope for silverware against Bromsgrove Sporting.
Alvechurch amateur weatherman Phil Thomas records the changes.
Amateur astronomer Brian Watkiss peers into the Village night sky.
Mary Green looks at the way our diets have changed over the years.
Hannah Genders offers some tips for getting your garden spring-ready.
Bromsgrove artist Richard McIlwraith discovers some passionate, uplifting local art.
Unmissable! A word which well sums up any recital by world-famous guitarist Craig Ogden, who will be paying a visit to Alvechurch in March.
Keen baker Jen Morris, of Rowney Green, bakes something special for Mother’s Day.
It’s that time of year when thoughts turn to planning a holiday – but the amount of choice can be overwhelming, and not everyone has the time or the skills to organise the perfect trip themselves.
Meet your dentist: Dr Dipesh Parmar
Dr Dipesh Parmar of Acorn Dental is an internationally-renowned cosmetic and reconstructive dentist and dental educator.
Cleaner Greener Alvechurch offers tips on how to go green in the bathroom.
Village Archive. . . 20 years ago
A look back at what was going on in February/March 2000.
Village Archive. . . 10 years ago
A look back at what was happening around here in February 2010.
There’s a new location and a new look for Alfredo’s, the traditional barbershop in the centre of Barnt Green.
Lickey Wills specialist Sue Jenden offers advice on making the right Will to protect your loved ones.
It won’t happen to me. . . protecting your income
Guard your money against redundancy or ill health, says Martin Pryor.
Alvechurch amateur weatherman Phil Thomas records the changes.
Alvechurch FC have the bragging rights over Redditch United.
What can I do for biodiversity?
Mary Green provides 10 ways to ‘think global, act local’.
Village What's On