Monday March 25 2019
Village News
Bromsgrove District Council served a temporary stop notice on lorry activity at Marlbrook Tip – just one hour before the latest, long-awaited meeting in the tip saga was due to begin.
The latest developments on the rail crossing diversion in Blackwell look “promising and optimistic”, Lickey & Blackwell parish councillors heard.
A public consultation on the joint Lickey & Blackwell and Cofton Hackett Neighbourhood Development Plan will run until March 29.
Members of the Alvechurch Neighbourhood Plan steering group, past and present, toasted the successful public approval of the plan with a gathering at The Weighbridge pub.
Following complaints over the cutting down of the village Christmas tree in November, two further festive mishaps befell Barnt Green, councillors heard.
Members of Alvechurch Border Morris presented a cheque for £208 to Redditch Nightstop.
Neil Harris, a village Conservative hopeful in May’s local elections, explains why he – and his party – should be given a chance . . .
With local election campaigning about to begin, independent hopefuls in Bromsgrove are pooling ideas and experience as they push to change the face of local government.
You really could not make it up
The latest chapter in the sorry saga of Marlbrook Tip sees laden lorries returning to the Green Belt beauty spot with full loads, yet the authorities charged with drawing it to a close appear to be nowhere near finding an ending and the story is beginning to repeat itself. We try to make sense of the latest plotlines . . .
Muskets, Morris dancing and general merriment were the order of the day at the Alvechurch wassail.
A budding author from Barnt Green has won a young writers’ competition with her short story about a case of mistaken identity.
The Oakalls & Parklands Community Events Association is to hold its Annual Litter Pick as part of the Great British Spring Clean.
Alvechurch Dramatic Society present Noël Coward’s classic comedy Blithe Spirit as their spring production.
Bromsgrove boys win BAFTA for short film
Two former Bromsgrove school pupils have won a BAFTA for their short film.
Out-going Barnt Green parish clerk Gill Lungley handed over the reins to her successor, Tracy Bodley.
By the time you read this, Severn Trent should have finished digging “trial holes” in Hewell Road, Barnt Green, in preparation for replacing the water main in the summer holidays.
After speed monitoring on Mearse Lane and Twatling Road, district councillor Kit Taylor told Lickey & Blackwell Parish Council that although residents have a perception that drivers are speeding, the average speeds recorded were “within tolerance levels” so Highways did not consider it an official problem.
Speed was also on the agenda for Alvechurch Parish Council, which heard that the A441 in Hopwood still does not meet the Safer Roads Partnership’s criteria for a fixed speed camera.
Parish councillors in Alvechurch voted to increase the precept – the part of the council tax that goes to the parish – by five per cent after a heated debate.
New “indestructible” bollards that bounce back into place if hit by a vehicle could be installed throughout Alvechurch thanks to county council cash.
Barnt Green parish councillors debated the potential risks of the balancing pond at the bottom of the Foxhills development.
A group of mums from Hopwood have received a grant of £10,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund.
Seven-year-old Reuben Mole, of Bromsgrove, was the latest winner of a Mini Vinny in our monthly competition.
Seven-year-old Barnt Green resident Jake Jeff-Johnston was a big winner at Bromsgrove Golf Club’s annual junior awards.
Our fields are not easy pickings, say villagers
Villagers gave a resounding vote of approval to the Alvechurch Neighbourhood Plan, with 97 per cent voting in favour.
Here’s a rare close-up view of the weather vane that usually sits atop Alvechurch Village Hall.
An environmental activist is at large in Lickey, daubing pavements, road signs and street furniture with the slogans “Save Our Green Belt” and “Save Our Fields”.
Blackwell residents fed up with the scourge of dog mess on the pavements have taken matters into their own hands and installed homemade poo bag dispensers on lamp posts around the village.
Alvechurch’s Knit & Natter group raised £1,050 to split between three charities through sales of their knitted goods and a raffle with prizes donated by villagers.
Young cricketers and their parents pitched in to help clean up Alvechurch Cricket Club after damage caused by a car fire outside the building.
The consultation into the future of libraries across Worcestershire has still failed to grasp the scale of the problem it faces in Alvechurch, say councillors.
Burcot Grange and The Lodge Care Home were delighted to welcome general manager Vicky Osborne back from maternity leave.
This may be the last photo of the white squirrel that was often seen around Crown Meadow in Alvechurch.
It’s only just finished and already they’re talking about the next one . . . Christmas, that is.
A rogue “parking bay” outside Alvechurch Village Hall is to be investigated.
Network Rail had still not responded – or even acknowledged – correspondence since a high-level meeting about the future of the car park at Alvechurch rail station, district councillor Kate Van Der Plank told parish councillors.
The Cofton Village Hall Trust received a boost thanks to money raised by village restaurant Goa Goa.
Villagers gathered in Alvechurch on New Year’s Day for the annual Mummers’ Play and Morris dancing.
Make some noise at the Alvechurch Wassail!
Aelfgythe Border Morris has again organised the Alvechurch Wassail, which takes place this year on Saturday February 2.
A Wassail Walk from Millennium Park in Barnt Green to Fruitfields Orchard on the outskirts of the village attracted 70 walkers and wassailers.
Village Views
MARCH 2019
If there was a Top 10 of “You Couldn’t Make It Ups”, the Marlbrook Tip debacle would surely be a chart-topper.
Create hedges to attract birds
I write in response to the letter Where are the small birds? in your January magazine.
Be thankful for hardworking bin collectors
Further to a recent letter (Village Views, February 2019) I would like to thank all our hardworking bin collectors for their faithful and efficient service.
Following on from your item in the February issue (Green graffiti protest), here is some additional work (above) by the anonymous environmental artist.
This picture was taken on a Friday morning at 9am. All this talk about air pollution, yet as I write this bonfire has been burning for more than two hours and is still going.
I took the photo above while I was out on a run in Lickey Hills.
FEBRUARY 2019
What a fine mess party politics has got us all into. After more than two years, the mist has lifted to reveal a Prime Minister more concerned with preventing her party being rent asunder than the future of the country she is supposed to be governing.
Libraries should be fully staffed
I attended the public consultation at Rubery Library for the proposed changes to our local libraries and would like to make the following points.
When will the tip farrago end?
So the saga of the Marlbrook Tip continues. Recent inspections have shown that the landowner has been importing hardcore to the site.
On December 13 at 15.20 (3.20pm in old money), as I turned on to Rose Hill, a line of us followed a heavily-overloaded tipper truck up the hill.
Richard Page wants to know where the small birds are (Village Views, January 2019).
We would personally like to thank Councillor Charles Hotham for arranging to get the grey bins collected after we had missed out before Christmas.
On Saturday January 5, I received a note through my letter box asking if I could clear an amount of dog waste from the waste ground at the side of my flat.
I recently contacted Worcestershire County Council’s Highways department about the parking situation on Fiery Hill Road.
It’s good to have a monthly recipe, but could you and your recipe writer please not describe something as a “healthy treat” and “full of good ingredients” when it is in fact full of sugar?
JANUARY 2019
With all the talk of referendums (and despite the protestations, it doesn’t look like there’s any sensible way out of the Brexit Mayhem without another one) some villagers have been left scratching their heads as polling cards for a totally different referendum, on January 10, drop through their doors.
Green belt ‘gifted’ to developers
Thank you for alerting me to the District Plan consultation timeframe recently – which, like yourselves, I found to be a challenging read.
When I was on Barnt Green Parish Council I found out they were paying £200 each year for supply and installation of a Christmas tree.
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Village Features
Kings Norton Golf Club is bucking the trend of golf clubs cutting budgets by investing more than £600,000 in its course.
Leila Loves Design is an interior design business based in Barnt Green.
Alvechurch leap back into play-off places with an unbeaten run.
Alvechurch villager Mike Rossiter-Eaglesfield tells how cooking has helped him to handle his anxiety so much that he’s currently starring on TV’s MasterChef.
The Village Archive… 10 years ago
A look back at what was happening around here in March 2009.
The Village Archive. . . 20 years ago
A look back at what was happening around here in March 1999.
This is Steve Dunn’s seventh naval history book, and with two more already in progress, you’d think there wouldn’t be many aspects of the Royal Navy’s WWI exploits the Barnt Green author hadn’t already covered.
Four very different books form the latest offering from Rednal author Jack Walsh.
Happy birthday to tax-free savings
Celebrate 20 years of the ISA by making an investment, writes Martin Pryor.
Alvechurch amateur weatherman Phil Thomas records the changes.
Here’s a health to the bird in the bush
Mary Green praises ‘good’ hedges and the birds that use them.
Hannah Genders looks forward to another busy Malvern Show.
Bromsgrove artist Richard McIlwraith encourages readers to visit a contemporary lace exhibition at Artrix.
Keen baker Jen Morris, of Rowney Green, suggests pretty ‘daisy cakes’ as a simple gift for Mothering Sunday.
Keen baker Jen Morris, of Rowney Green, creates a chocolatey treat for the most romantic day of the year . . . (contains sugar!)
Chance to look after a classic
An unusual project is enabling younger drivers to truly experience ‘classic’ motoring.
The Village Archive. . . 10 Years Ago
A look back at what was happening around here in February 2009.
The Village Archive. . . 20 Years Ago
A look back at what was happening around here in February 1999.
‘Moderate February’ live seminar
If you are doing Dry January then keep going, writes Julie Ward, alcohol specialist and managing director of ACT Alcohol Ltd.
Make plans now to fund a child’s future
Financing a child’s path to adulthood is a long-term commitment, writes Martin Pryor.
Alvechurch amateur weatherman Phil Thomas records the changes.
Mary Green looks at the hidden powers of our plants.
Dave Morgan looks ahead to garden openings across the Village area.
Bromsgrove artist Richard McIlwraith meets local poet and illustrator Penny Turner.
Village What's On