Overrun by affordable homes
Posted on February 20 2012 at 1:12:37

You may say Lickey End is nowhere near Barnt Green, but I believe anyone who currently lives in Barnt Green has worked hard to afford nice houses in a good area and wants their children to go to good schools, so why can you allow a company to build affordable housing her

Where will we park?
Posted on February 19 2012 at 3:53:59

I read with interest that the local council is to put double yellow lines outside Crown Meadow School in Alvechurch. Can they tell us old grandparents where we should park our cars?

A bit of a bells up!
Posted on February 19 2012 at 1:14:37

Regarding “Ringers’ show of strength” (The Village, February 2012), it’s nice to have fame at last but we’re not quite as strong as we’re made out to be.

Lawton’s View
Posted on February 19 2012 at 12:22:22

MARCH 2012

Turbine a symptom of ‘green malaise’
Posted on February 19 2012 at 12:33:23

How joyfully the “Barnt Greenistas” must have breathed a collective sigh of relief, when you reported in the last edition that the proposed wind turbine for electricity, the size of Big Ben, had been stymied for now.

Country path delight
Posted on February 18 2012 at 1:17:37

Worcestershire County Council countryside services has improved the footpath at the back of The Meadows, Alvechurch, now and made a superb job of it.

It’s all your fault
Posted on February 17 2012 at 3:54:59

I have followed the reports and articles concerning Marlbrook Tip and local housing planning applications with great interest.

Hopwood needs dog bins
Posted on February 17 2012 at 3:49:59

Hopwood Residents’ Association has received a large number of complaints with regards to dog owners not clearing up after their dogs on the footpath that runs off Ash Lane between Woodpecker Close and the Rugby field, and actually on the playing field.

Lawton’s View
Posted on January 23 2012 at 9:37:22

FEBRUARY 2012

THE VILLAGE VIEW
Posted on January 22 2012 at 11:46:05

FEBRUARY 2012

It might seem that this space has become the “knock Bromsgrove District Council” column. We don’t mean to, of course, but there seems to be such a disconnect between what we, the people who pay for the council’s services, want and what we get.

32 homes is a minimum
Posted on January 17 2012 at 11:43:22

Regarding “Village homes surprise” (The Village December 2011/January 2012), perhaps this now allows Bromsgrove District Council to pass any plan that comes along for site at the corner of Old Rectory Lane on the other side of the Birmingham Road, Alvechurch.

Thank you - and a plea . . .
Posted on January 16 2012 at 11:45:22

I am writing to congratulate and thank you for such a wonderful magazine. We are so fortunate to receive such an excellent publication – and for free, too!

Pinch-point calming winds up motorists
Posted on January 16 2012 at 11:42:22

Dare I speak the truth about the traffic pinch-points in Alvechurch?

Who says The Oakalls doesn’t want a shop?
Posted on December 07 2011 at 5:16:17

Sir – I am writing in response to the letter in October’s Village magazine entitles “Who says The Oakalls wants a shop”?

Double yellow the solution
Posted on December 07 2011 at 5:14:17

Sir – I was pleased to read in November’s Village that another local resident has raised concerns about the proposed car park opposite Tesco in Marlbrook.

Cyclists have rights, too
Posted on December 07 2011 at 5:13:17

Sir – This morning my father, who is 79, was almost barged off his bike on a cycle track through the Oakalls on his morning journey to the newsagent to fetch his paper.

Missing link
Posted on December 07 2011 at 5:11:17

Sir – What a pity that Alvechurch residents so keen to be linked to Bromsgrove do not shop there.

Thank you . . .
Posted on December 07 2011 at 5:10:17

Sir – Thank you for including the Barnt Green Winter Art Exhibition in your What’s On section.

. . . and thank you
Posted on December 07 2011 at 5:09:17

Sir – I would just like to say what a great edition of The Village I have just read. I’ve picked it up several times and find it so interesting; you have covered everything.

Lounge lament
Posted on December 07 2011 at 5:07:17

Sir – I am a young member of the Alvechurch community and until now I have been attending the youth club, ever since it first started at the Social Club (where I preferred it).

Ignoring the people
Posted on December 07 2011 at 5:05:17

Sir – On November 8, Bromsgrove District Council’s Planning Committee, with minimal debate, and not a single reference to the objections of those who so recently elected them, voted to sacrifice yet more of Alvechurch to developers.

Caring for the parish paths
Posted on December 07 2011 at 5:01:17

Sir – I was quite concerned on reading about the poor lady who slipped and in doing so cut her hand on barbed wire while using the country footpath from the Meadows to Old Rectory Lane, Alvechurch (Village Views, November 2011).

THE VILLAGE VIEW
Posted on December 06 2011 at 10:03:17

DECEMBER 2011

What should we expect from our county councillors? We ask because the member representing Alvechurch at Worcester recently felt the need to defend her limited appearances at Alvechurch Parish Council’s monthly meetings.

Lawton’s View
Posted on November 28 2011 at 10:12:51

DECEMBER 2011

THE VILLAGE VIEW
Posted on October 23 2011 at 2:36:25

NOVEMBER 2011

At last the menace of motorists speeding through our villages appears to have come to the notice of those who can do something about it.

Barbed wire danger to walkers
Posted on October 22 2011 at 11:16:28

As a resident of Old Rectory Lane, Alvechurch, and a bed and breakfast proprietor, I am writing to express my serious concerns over the footpath that runs from Old Rectory Lane into The Meadows. 

Well, we did ask…
Posted on October 21 2011 at 11:14:46

In answer to your questions:
Should Alvechurch become part of Redditch? NO

The Uplands’ downside
Posted on October 19 2011 at 12:19:28

In the October edition of The Village you give an upbeat account of plans to restore The Uplands. According to your source “many people welcomed the proposals”.

Lawton’s View
Posted on October 18 2011 at 1:25:55

NOVEMBER 2011

Snobbery on a piffling matter
Posted on October 16 2011 at 2:36:00

Before we came to live here 30 years ago I had never come across such parochial snobbery as exists in this area, so well illustrated in the last issue of The Village.

Shoppers won’t use car park
Posted on October 16 2011 at 11:20:28

Your report that using a piece of land to provide parking in Linehouse Lane, Marlbrook, to ease the dangerous parking outside Tesco is, I regret, a waste of money, whether it be council tax payers or Tesco who pay for the work.

THE VILLAGE VIEW
Posted on September 26 2011 at 2:08:37

OCTOBER 2011

Crime has dropped to remarkably low levels across Alvechurch parish, according to police reports. And this is at a time when we might expect to see more trouble as economic conditions deteriorate. So what’s going on?

Lawton’s View
Posted on September 22 2011 at 2:24:18

OCTOBER 2011

Conservatives are still failing to conserve
Posted on September 15 2011 at 2:06:12

The current controversy and confusion caused by this Government’s proposals to give free rein to the less principled elements of the construction industry is highly undemocratic, and grossly unfair to those currently involved with planning issues.

This will make trains reliable
Posted on September 15 2011 at 1:59:12

Regarding the letter in the September issue of The Village, “Reliable trains the priority”,  the problem with the Redditch branch is that it is a siding without passing opportunities between Barnt Green and Redditch and as it takes more than 20 minutes to do this trip, delays are common on a 30-minute interval service.

Thank you, Mary!
Posted on September 14 2011 at 2:05:12

I just wanted to say a big thank you to Mary and The Village magazine.

It isn’t all so rosy
Posted on September 14 2011 at 2:01:12

I was reading Sarah Rees`s article titled “Oakalls’ Park-Land” (The Village, September 2011) which was extremely glowing in regards to this park. I was wondering if she visited this same park after dark?

Who says The Oakalls wants a shop?
Posted on September 13 2011 at 2:03:12

I am writing in response to your article entitled “People 3000: Shops 0” (The Village July/August 2011).

Lawton’s View
Posted on August 24 2011 at 4:32:34

SEPTEMBER 2011

THE VILLAGE VIEW
Posted on August 24 2011 at 3:19:13

SEPTEMBER 2011

It must sometimes seem this column is devoted to criticism of Bromsgrove District Council, from fears that it will allow developers to eat into our green belt to a woeful lack of response to residents’ warnings of overtipping in the Lickey Hills.

Council must put things right
Posted on August 23 2011 at 3:47:48

I must comment on Coun Kit Taylor’s remarks implying that the residents’ concerns have been addressed through the Marlbrook Tip Monitoring Group. 

City’s expansion
Posted on August 22 2011 at 3:40:48

So, Birmingham is building a “town centre” on the Bromsgrove border. That, and they are building, I believe, 1,400 homes – most, if not all, of which will be inside the Bromsgrove boundary and yet count against Birmingham’s housing targets.

Happy to be a Parklandian
Posted on August 21 2011 at 3:35:48

I have lived on Parklands for nearly 20 years. In the time since Oakalls has been built I have seen it degenerate considerably.

Reliable trains the priority
Posted on August 20 2011 at 3:33:48

I am writing in response to the article “Extra trains for village” in the last issue of The Village.

Thanks for a laugh
Posted on August 19 2011 at 12:33:48

I am writing in response to a letter that appeared in the last issue of the village. I just wanted to thank J Rowan of Barnt Green for giving me the biggest laugh I’ve had in a long time!

District’s mess
Posted on August 18 2011 at 3:44:48

I’ll tell Coun Kit Taylor what I want the district council to do about Marlbrook Tip (Page 5, The Village July/August 2011): the council should apologise for their appalling lack of monitoring and the treatment of the residents who complained.

Build in their backyard!
Posted on August 18 2011 at 3:39:48

According to its latest newsletter, Alvechurch Parish Council is supporting the local authority plan to provide 42 houses over the next ten years on various sites within Alvechurch.

Roundabout confusion
Posted on August 18 2011 at 3:37:48

The entry to the Oakalls at the notorious roundabout from the town is indeed hazardous, but from the A38 north is also risky.

The wrong hill
Posted on August 17 2011 at 3:49:48

Having lived on Cobley Hill for many years, I was surprised to see a photograph on page 56 of the July/August Village showing Cobley Hill Farm and the derelict windmill under the caption “Interesting skies over Scarfield Hill”.

THE VILLAGE VIEW
Posted on July 02 2011 at 10:49:07

JULY/AUGUST 2011

It is no wonder residents have mixed feelings over the latest events surrounding Marlbrook Tip. On the one hand, a near-ten-year “nightmare” is probably over; but as they awake from it, they are rubbing their eyes in disbelief at a council that appears to be sweeping more than a million cubic metres of dirt under the carpet.

A messy business
Posted on June 30 2011 at 10:43:39

May I through your columns express my gratitude and appreciation to the person who allowed their dog to leave its droppings on the Barnt Green recreation field today, not far from the big oak tree. 

Whose grass is it, anyway?
Posted on June 28 2011 at 10:44:58

I am writing to see if The Village readers would be able to help me ascertain the ownership of the piece of grassland near Kingfisher Court in Alvechurch.

Residents were ignored
Posted on June 28 2011 at 10:28:06

I have just read with disbelief in another publication an article: “Tip developer broke the rules”.

Lawton’s View
Posted on June 28 2011 at 10:52:34

JULY/AUGUST 2011

Special day at The Lounge
Posted on June 27 2011 at 10:46:57

I had a wonderful birthday afternoon tea at the Community Cafe/Lounge, Alvechurch, last month with 30 of my friends. 

Planning strife here to stay
Posted on June 26 2011 at 10:47:57

No subject engenders more acrimony and mistrust between community and council than schemes to build houses on green fields; indeed the subject is guaranteed to polarise and divide opinion in this (Bromsgrove) constituency.

Cofton speed plea
Posted on June 25 2011 at 10:39:54

Our lives are now governed by rules of ‘Ealth and Safety. Some are petty, some laughable and just a few of value, but generally our ancestors would commit them to the Music Hall Joke Book.

Who are the houses for?
Posted on June 23 2011 at 10:19:37

I was shocked to read in the June issue of The Village a fellow villager from Alvechurch trying to that Barnt Green has never had any houses built in its boundary.

Level of building is absurd
Posted on June 22 2011 at 10:23:45

I feel the level of housebuilding is quite absurd and destruction of the green belt is quite simply appalling.

Where is the infrastructure?
Posted on June 22 2011 at 10:15:52

I refer to your June issue and the letter from Mrs Leek, of Alvechurch, titled “Barnt Green can’t escape”. One key word epitomises the whole Barnt Green planning saga – “infrastructure”.

Marlbrook Tip: The residents’ view
Posted on June 21 2011 at 10:25:45

Concerning the Bromsgrove District Council press release regarding the Marlbrook Tip Monitoring Group meeting on June 15, the residents’ representatives listed below were at that meeting and consider it important to clarify some of the statements.

Was justice done?
Posted on June 20 2011 at 10:41:16

Regarding “One tragic punch” (The Village, June 2011),  I have no affiliation with the deceased or his family, I only have an unbiased villager view which concludes this was a miscarriage of justice for the crime committed.

THE VILLAGE VIEW
Posted on May 23 2011 at 2:35:37

JUNE 2011

It is 100 years this month since Birmingham took a giant leap south and annexed a large chunk of Worcestershire.

One of the best
Posted on May 22 2011 at 11:12:30

As a colleague of Jean Luck on Bromsgrove District Council for more than 20 years and as a friend for nearly all of that time I would like to pay tribute to her. 

Lapwing hope
Posted on May 22 2011 at 11:07:54

A great time was had during the Royal Wedding gathering at The Meadows in Alvechurch – and it was during this event I noticed the field between The Meadows and Old Rectory Lane has been recently fenced off and notices advising on the farmer’s intent to support ground nesting birds, especially lapwings.

Lawton’s View
Posted on May 22 2011 at 11:28:37

JUNE 2011

Don’t lose it
Posted on May 21 2011 at 11:16:27

Countless Village readers will, at some time or other, have entered Alvechurch Village Hall, for any one of a host of reasons: concerts, birthday parties, Christmas parties, quiz nights, amateur dramatics extravaganzas, dance classes, pre-school sessions, and meetings of every description, official, social, political . . . the list is endless.

Re-classify land as green belt
Posted on May 19 2011 at 11:02:53

The planning application aimed at imposing an unwanted 92-unit housing estate on Barnt Green, has more than touched the area’s collective nerve, it seems.

Shanty frowns
Posted on May 17 2011 at 11:06:53

Please forgive me, but this is the first of three gripes I have about why Hopwood is turning into a “shanty town” – and it is because Bromsgrove councillors continue to turn it into one.

Time to say “enough”
Posted on May 16 2011 at 10:46:22

Barnt Green and, particularly, the Lickey Hills are areas of beauty. For years now the rate of infill in Barnt Green has been astonishing. The village is overcrowded with traffic and parked cars.

The house next-door
Posted on May 16 2011 at 10:48:53

When you start getting into such details as the names of houses in Bittell Road, Barnt Green, 60 years ago it’s no wonder memories become hazy.

Barnt Green can’t escape
Posted on May 14 2011 at 10:43:52

After reading your May issue, I was left feeling slightly angry and somewhat bemused at some people’s attitude in Barnt Green

Of course there is a need
Posted on May 08 2011 at 10:23:49

I am rather annoyed at the comment in The Village magazine made by the Barnt Green Parish Council ... “is it need or demand?’ .

Tree-mendous!
Posted on May 08 2011 at 10:32:10

Really enoyed this article. Nice to see that these Giant Redwood trees are being acknowledged for their impact on the local environment

We must fight for our village
Posted on May 08 2011 at 10:27:47

I live in Barnt Green and am both amazed and disappointed that yet again we have to fight for the preservation of our village.

Blooming lovely
Posted on April 20 2011 at 9:19:08

I just had to write to say how beautiful Alvechurch village looks this spring with all the daffodils in bloom.

THE VILLAGE VIEW
Posted on April 19 2011 at 3:22:27

MAY 2011

We have been puzzling for some weeks now over the rush to transform into building sites the Green Belt fields protecting our villages from urbanisation.

Our own Big Soc?
Posted on April 19 2011 at 9:20:08

Would it be possible for Alvechurch to have its own “Big Society”?

Lawton’s View
Posted on April 18 2011 at 3:30:39

MAY 2011

We’d pay to save our green fields
Posted on April 18 2011 at 9:22:08

The Barnt Green plans are drawing the worst out of me. This is the situation: we are the youngest couple (early 30s) on Kendal End Road. To get here cost just shy of £50,000 for our deposit.

We’ve signed away our monarchy
Posted on April 18 2011 at 8:16:51

Forgive me if I missed it, but in all the press/media hype over the forthcoming royal wedding, has anyone thought to mention to William and Kate, that the Treaty of Rome, signed by Edward Heath in 1972, and the Lisbon Treaty, signed by Gordon Brown in 2009, removed our Head of State and the Royal Family from any official position that they once held under our evolved constitution.

Despair over Green Belt plans
Posted on April 17 2011 at 9:29:08

The Village View, April 2011, could well become the primary reference document for those opposed to the proposed development in Barnt Green.