FINHAM NEWSLETTER 5Th Edition June 2020

FINHAM NEWSLETTER 5th Edition June 2020

Your joint newsletter with updates from: Finham Parish Council Finham Community Library Finham Residents Association Finham Neighbourhood Watch

Chairman’s Welcome

A lot has been said and written about Bob Fryer in recent times, whose funeral was only last month but I feel it should be stated again that Bob was a true gentleman who worked selflessly in the best interests of everyone in Finham. Serving as President of the Finham Residents Association and on the Finham Parish Council, contributing so much to help achieve the standard of living we now enjoy. He will be sorely missed.

It is unbelievable the series of events that have overtaken us all since our last newsletter. The coronavirus has altered the lives of most people but there is little I can say that has not been said many times over this short period. Stay safe and follow the guidelines for everyone’s sake.

For the March newsletter I started with the meeting with Warwick District Council and also with the Coventry City Council which was to be held in the Finham Primary School on 27th March and would have been the first time Finham has had the opportunity to discuss the need for such a huge new town on Kings Hill, on our doorstep, with the two councils proposing to carry out this development and at the same time who were most affecting our lives and yet had not jointly explained why they believed there was a need and why they were adhering to the ONS projection of a 32% population increase between the years 2014 and 2031. Does anyone really believe such a massive increase for Coventry will happen. It has not started yet and we are seven years into the period.

There is a full Kings Hill update later in this newsletter which will bring everyone up to date with the latest situation. We sincerely hope that the meeting with both WDC and CCC will take place in the near future, at the same time, in the same venue but 2020 is looking increasingly unlikely.

Also, in our March Newsletter was VE75Day event scheduled for the weekend of 8th May which has had to be cancelled and the initial plans for VJ75Day look very unlikely to happen either, due to coronavirus. VJ75Day would have fallen on the weekend of 14th – 16th August and the intention was to hold the event on the Millennium Field, Baginton in the same way as VE75Day. If anything changes and it becomes possible to hold such an event we will let everyone know as soon as possible.

It is sad if we are not able to commemorate the outstanding efforts of earlier generations in fighting off the threat to our liberties from Germany, Italy and Japan. It is less well understood that the threat from Japan was just as grave but less immediate as the fighting was being held in the Far East but nonetheless the contribution made at this time by the British, by which I mean armies, air forces and navies from the UK, India, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and the pacific islands was immense and has not been recognised to the same extent as VE75Day.

I am in awe of these men and women who risked their lives and in many cases sacrificed their lives for our freedom today. It is deeply sad that we are unlikely to recognise these feats formally, as well as the VE75Day commemorations that would have happened.

Litter The lovely lady who regularly picks up litter along Green Lane continues to do so and whilst I have not had the opportunity to speak with her again, I can see that she is still picking up a lot of litter which others have carelessly discarded. Well done to her and to others in Finham who pick up litter that in the main should not be there in the first place.

Can those in the Finham community who are responsible for this litter please be more careful and either place their litter in the many bins we have in the area or take their litter home.

We all live here. It is a much nicer place to live in if the streets are clear of litter.

Coventry City Services Many in Finham have been very critical of CCC and rightly so but the shining light for me personally is the bin collection service which is and has been superb especially through these trying times.

These men and women have continued to provide us all with a superb service for which we should applaud them and show our thanks as well as for the NHS. They and others behind the scenes have kept processes going without us all being fully aware of the contribution made.

As they say, you only notice and appreciate something when it is gone!

Zoom During the pandemic, the Finham Parish Council has tried to keep going and held its first Zoom meeting on 21st May which was attended by our CCC Councillors as well as some residents.

If anyone wants to participate in our next Zoom meeting it will be held on Thursday 18th June. Details of this meeting can be seen on the FPC website.

The FPC is always interested in the views of residents, let us know what you think about anything unwanted affecting your lives or something missing which the FPC might be able to sort out, that is what we are here for and hopefully we can resolve them.

If you would like the meeting login please email the Clerk at [email protected] 3

Potholes Some of you might have noticed that the roads in Finham are not up to standard in some places due to potholes and the only way of rectifying the situation is to report them to Coventry City Council. If you can let the FPC know where these potholes are located, we can approach CCC collectively, which would be a more effective way of resolving the problems.

Let us know where the pothole(s) is/are with a brief description of the pothole, road name and house address number nearest to the potholes and we will see how CCC react.

By doing this we are letting them know that something needs to be done now and if any vehicle is damaged as a result of a pothole which has been reported, CCC may well become liable for a damage claim to a vehicle if the situation has not been rectified in an appropriate time frame.

Councillor Paul Davies Chairman FPC

Updates from Finham Parish Council This issue of the Newsletter is only being produced and delivered electronically due to Covid-19 and the restrictions it imposes.

If you would like to receive copies of future newsletters, agendas for meetings and other updates including the Finham Festival please email the Clerk at

[email protected]

To be added to our circulation list.

Who are we? Meeting dates Task Groups & Leads Councillor Mrs Ann Bush The Parish Council meets the • Highways (Cllr James Councillor Anthony Dalton (Vice Chairman) third Thursday of the month at Morshead) Councillor Paul Davies (Chairman) Finham Park School, Green Lane • Kings Hill (Cllr Paul Davies) Councillor Mrs Angela Fryer Meetings start at 7pm and all • Police & Crime (Cllr Angela Councillor Mansoor Ahmed parishioners are welcome to Fryer) Councillor James Morshead attend • Schools (Cllr Ann Bush) Councillor Colin Salt Meetings for 2020 • NHP (Cllr Paul Davies) Councillor Ms Kate Taylor • City of Culture (Cllr Kate Taylor) th Vacancy 16 July – Via Zoom • Finham Festival (Councillor th Vacancy 17 September Anthony Dalton) th Clerk: Jane Chatterton 15 October 19th November

FPC Task Group Updates • Coventry City of Culture – Councillor Ms Taylor As you might expect events leading up to next year’s City of Culture have been cancelled or will take place online. It is hoped many activities will be running next year. The organisation is also helping to support cultural organisations in Coventry through a tough time. We hope to have a representative from the City of Culture come and talk to us when we can meet face to face. Further information can be found at https://coventry2021.co.uk/contact-us/

• Schools - -Councillor Mrs Bush The Primary School has remained open for the whole of the current lockdown situation catering for vulnerable children and children of key workers.

Not all children have been in all the time. Attendance has been dependant on parents working shift patterns and staff have been working on a rota basis teaching those children who have been in attendance.

The staff and children at school have been working incredibly well since the crisis began and those children who have not been engaging staff have contacted the parents in question to ask the reason why.

The children have been at all times given the support of teachers in assisting where necessary help with various on-line lessons.

Safety at the school is paramount not only for the children but also for the staff so the school will be following the guidelines set out by the Government regarding the re-opening of schools.

• Finham Festival The decision was taken at May’s Parish Council meeting not to hold a Finham Festival this year. This is due to the uncertainty around lockdown and Covid-19.

This is very disappointing just as the event was growing. We look forward to planning and holding a successful event in 2021.

Police & Crime – Councillor Mrs Angela Fryer During this difficult time of lock down, there has been a wonderful community spirit with residents helping and supporting each other.

From 7th – 13th June we will be celebrating Neighbourhood Watch Week. The theme this year will be Celebrate your neighbours.

During National Volunteers Week tribute was paid to two people in Finham. The first was Ruth Khan for her work with Streetwatch. Peter Sturgeon stated that Ruth had worked tirelessly to ensure that the Finham Streetwatch Scheme had gone from strength to strength.

The second was Tony Swann for organising one of the 200 Neighbourhood watch schemes in the city. They stated that Tony has worked closely over the last few years with the many officers and staff who have policed Finham. CCTV footage has played a big part in bringing criminals to justice and Tony Swann would welcome camera owners to join the Finham database register. He emphasises that there is no access to the security systems. All that is required is a name, address and email so that residents can be contacted if an incident occurs near to their home.

On behalf of us all I would like to say a very big thank you to them both for making Finham a safer place.

Sgt Darren Betts reminds us of the importance of reporting crimes that we see. The police are very busy at the moment with the added pressures of policing lockdown and they may take longer to respond so please be patient.

Remember that if it’s not a 999 call try the website where you can chat on line and get support and advice. https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/

In Finham the NHW groups continue to pass information to their members.

Vehicle crime continues to be a major problem and residents are warned to take care about leaving valuables in their cars and vans. A number of keyless car thefts are being reported. The CCTV network is proving vital in tracking the perpetrators of crimes taking place in the area.

It has been brought to our attention that cars are exceeding the speed limit on the A45 and local roads. Please drive within the speed limits before there is a serious accident. People have also been observed ignoring the traffic lights.

Even though there are fewer cars on our roads at present, this is not an excuse to ignore the law and to put other road users and pedestrians in danger.

Cycling – Councillor James Morshead Among the terrible consequences of Coronavirus, we are now starting to see a few glimmers of hope; areas where we could make permanent changes for the better.

You have probably noticed the improvements in air quality, traffic congestion and noise. You may have seen the city council taking the chance to resurface roads and fix potholes. You may also have heard of pop-up cycle lanes and pavement widening taking place in cities all over the world, to enable social distancing, while road traffic is reduced.

The hope is that some of these gains will inspire permanent change for the better. I hope that vastly improved, permanent, high quality cycling infrastructure can be built for Coventry.

Uniquely in Coventry, we invented the modern bicycle, we will be City of Culture next year, we’ve only avoided a congestion charge by promising to clear up our air quality, and we’re a relatively flat and compact city. I’ve campaigned for cycling routes for years, and I think if we blow this chance, we’ll deeply regret it. The government, NHS bosses, the city council, our Wainbody councillors, Coventry’s Bicycle Mayor Adam Tranter, all political parties, and pressure groups of every shade, such as Coventry for a Green New Deal have all campaigned, or indicated support, for new cycle routes. Never before has there been consensus or opportunity like this to build bike routes, to enable us to get around safely.

I understand the council scaled down their ambition for cycling routes in February, due to disappointing funding from government. But we must maintain a clear vision for the future,

7 so each time road works and developments are undertaken in the city, the opportunities are taken to work towards that vision, even if it takes some time.

So what would I like to see? I believe we need an inspiring, ambitious, coherent, long term vision for cycling in Coventry. This would be based around a network of cycling routes, right across the city and beyond. This will also enable many other schemes to promote cycling initiatives in the city, covering rental, secure bike parking, awareness schemes, and so on.

Coventry City Council have already planned 2 routes (city centre to UHCW and Coundon) and have proposed 2 more (to Warwick University and JLR at Whitley). Let’s now develop a clear map, city-wide and beyond, with routes named and colour coded, like the London Underground map. This will help us visualise and plan, and ultimately help us navigate the routes.

Where to? They must go to the key destinations – city centre, station, universities, student accommodation blocks, main employers, parks, sports centres etc. They must also serve schools, local hubs and services, and our homes, by coming close enough that the final stretch on local roads is easy and familiar. There is a standard that there should be a bus stop within 400m of any point in the city; we should have a similar target for bike routes – 600m? The final route to any school must be clear and safe.

There could also be more cross-country routes between towns, like that between Warwick University and Kenilworth. In new developments like Kings Hill, walking and cycling routes must be designed at the outset, linking the proposed and existing neighbourhood hubs and schools, and running along contours to minimise hills. Only then should the road layout be designed to suit.

What would they look like? We need quality and sustainability, by using the design guidelines from Government and Sustrans. Bike lanes painted onto roads have been shown to give no measurable safety improvement, and would only be useful as a navigation aid, linking sections to make a coherent route. Routes such as Kenilworth Road need tidying up, to clarify that driveways give way to the cycle route, otherwise people won’t want to use them. We need to think - where do we have footpaths which can be upgraded, or space on wide roads or verges, or roads which can be made one way? One interesting idea I’ve heard is that some residential streets could be made pedestrian & cycle priority, which would also give a safe space for kids to play out. “Low Traffic Neighbourhoods” are a similar idea already promoted by government.

Who pays? The government has made emergency funding available – over £23m for the W Midlands region. Maybe using our unique heritage and circumstances, Coventry offers to be the showcase, and argues for funding accordingly. Also, Nottingham has pioneered a workplace parking levy, and has shown this actually boosts the businesses in the areas

8 covered. Coventry could replicate this to help fund the scheme, and to help free up land currently under tarmac.

Won’t this upset drivers? No, it shouldn’t. Road building creates a phenomenon called induced demand. More road capacity forces people to drive. By offering alternatives, road capacity can be used by those who need or choose it. Taking over road space to enable cycling and walking has been shown to benefit road traffic as well, even if this may seem counter-intuitive!

Finally, what would success look like? Clearly it should be much easier and more intuitive to cycle to work, the city, parks etc. But for me, a key criterion is that our children should be able to cycle safely to school once they’re allowed to (year 5, typically). My children go to school 2 miles from home along the A45. I would love them to be able to cycle in once old enough, but there’s no safe route yet.

Think about what outcomes you would want, and help us achieve them. To find out more, put forward ideas or get involved:

Contact the council: coventry.gov.uk/cycling (with links to current consultation, maps, contact details etc) or email on [email protected]

Contact Adam Tranter, Bicycling Mayor for Coventry: adamtranter.com or email [email protected]

Contact myself, Cllr James Morshead: [email protected]

Have a look also at the Coventry Green New Deal 10-point plan, at https://coventrygnd.wordpress.com/, or email [email protected]

• Kings Hill Development – Councillor Davies Whilst the Finham Parish Council (FPC) continue to be vigilant about Kings Hill, as you would expect our senior politicians in Westminster have more immediate and urgent issues to address with the coronavirus.

Having said this, the coronavirus has not held up video conference meetings between Warwick District Council and the developers who are steaming ahead regardless. To date the S106 Agreement has yet to be signed off between Warwick District Council and the developers and at the moment Kings Hill is not appearing on the agenda of their Planning Committee.

In February, the FPC wrote a letter to The Rt. Hon. Robert Jenrick Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (SoS) requesting he exercise his power for a “call in” of the Kings Hill development. To date there has only been an official automated response. 9

In February, the FPC wrote a letter to Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands asking him for his support in fighting the unjust removal of greenbelt land at Kings Hill for the purposes of building houses based on the Office for National Statistics now discredited forecast of a 32% population increase between 2014 – 2031. Andy Street has stated many times he supports necessary developments on brownfield sites but unfortunately for Finham, as Kings Hill is in Warwickshire, he has stated he is unable to help us, even though we are his constituents and live in the area that will be most affected.

In February our three Coventry City Councillors, John Blundell, Tim Sawdon and Mattie Heaven wrote to the SoS and have received a letter in response which advises their objection is under consideration.

Following a request in April from the FPC to our MP about the need for an update since our meeting with her in February, Zarah Sultana issued an email to all those residents who had contacted her expressing their concerns. This was a very impressive and extensive email with no less than six attachments.

As a result of a meeting between representatives of the FPC in February with Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana, she also wrote to the SoS in February expressing her concerns about the Kings Hill development and followed up this letter to the SoS with a reminder in April. Zarah has received the same letter in response as our three Coventry City councillors.

Additionally, in April Zarah Sultana wrote to Sir Ian Diamond, UK National Statistician and head of the Office for National Statistics, expressing her concerns and those of many residents in Finham about the accuracy of their forecasts in 2014, asking to be briefed about the methodology used and requesting a further investigation into the population projections for Coventry.

At the same time she invited comments to this email and/or attachments to which the FPC has responded with a four page letter seeking clarity over a number of statements made by CCC which appeared to be either confused, misleading or just inaccurate. The most obvious of these inaccuracies being Kings Hill spelt incorrectly as “Kingshill” no less than seven times in the “Briefing note” they submitted. Such is the attention to detail and as such, confidence cannot be high with regard to the rest of the detail contained in this “Briefing note”.

We await the outcome of Zarah Sultana’s further discussions with CCC and hope that accuracy and clarity will prevail.

Sir Andrew Watson Chair of the CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) has been to see Jeremy Wright to enlist his support. Subsequently, Jeremy Wright, MP for this part of Warwickshire which includes Kings Hill has written a letter of objection to the Kings Hill development to the SoS.

More and more eminent people are showing their support for fairness and justice and objecting to the misleading information that has been used to remove Kings Hill from greenbelt and turn it into building land which makes a complete nonsense of what greenbelt was created to do and that was to prevent urban sprawl.

Amongst the many other topics we have challenged CCC to advise us upon is pollution in the Finham area which they have stated is within legal limits. As far as we know this statement is pure guesswork as no assessment of pollution levels has ever been made by CCC or anyone else. We await the much anticipated Coventry Air Quality Action Plan which we believe is due out this year and hope that this time Finham is included which was not the case ten years ago.

The current pandemic will alter the population figures. The school population for primary schools was dropping before the pandemic and therefore logically, it will drop again. The birth rate in Coventry is well below what was forecast and therefore it is our strong belief that no more damage should be done to greenfield sites in and around Coventry until the revised Coventry City Council Local Plan which should be published in 2021.

Finham Community Library

The library is currently closed due to Covid-19, but we are hoping to open soon. Keep up to date Our Facebook page ‘Finham Library’ gives information about current and planned events, and comments/news. Our website finhamlibrary.uk also provides an overview and a ‘Whats On’ page with a calendar. Its viewable on mobiles, tablets, PC’s and Macs. Developing the facilities – 2020

Layout We have new shelving, a newly painted interior and a new layout. This gives more moveable space and means we can accommodate more meetings in the future.

Further developments We have negotiated a new lease with Coventry Council to enable us to operate the library for the year ahead till June 2021.This means we can continue to provide vitally important services to the community of Finham and surrounding areas.

Your support Your continued support, use of the library facilities, and our amazing team of volunteers enables it to keep open and serve the community in so many ways. All financial support is welcome, especially regular donations and gift aid. Please ask us about how you can help. (see the website too!)

Above all, come see us, get involved and attend the events! Many thanks.

Keep up to date. For details of events and activities: Please see our Facebook page, and the ‘Whats On’ page on our website

We’re on and finhamlibrary.uk

Finham Green Rd, Coventry CV3 6EP. Tel. 024 7678 6974. Email: [email protected] Finham Library Action Group (FLAG). Registered in England & Wales. Charity no. 1178631

For more help or information please visit our web-site at www.finhamnw.org.uk

Do you have CCTV? If you do, we’d like you to join our hugely successful CCTV Network.

We never want access to your system, just your address and email address so that we can quickly get in touch should a crime occur near your location.

Our CCTV Network helped us to reduce Burglary and Car Crime by a huge 37% last year compared to the year before. And we’d like your help to keep it down. Please get in touch, either by emailing [email protected] - or visit our website for more information www.finhamw.org.uk

UPDATES FROM WAINBODY WARD COUNCILLORS

Who are we? John Blundell 76419794 [email protected] Mattie Heaven 07533422227 [email protected] Tim Sawdon 76415771 [email protected]

Current issues:- Kings Hill John is in constant touch with Council Officers who advise that progress on the S106 Agreement with developers has been slow and that nothing has yet been agreed.

Mattie met Jeremy Wright MP at Westminster and urged him to press our case with the Minister emphasising the flawed ONS figures. Jeremy has since asked the Minister to ‘call in’ the application pointing out the representations from Finham Parish Council and numerous other bodies as well as ourselves.

Coronavirus We hold regular weekly meetings with Council Officers (virtually of course!) to discuss Wainbody issues. John and Mattie are involved in the Finham and Styvechale buddy group (SAFE).

Facebook We continue to provide a weekly update on current issues on our Wainbody Facebook page which is shared with Pride in Finham.

In Touch All 3 of us are available to assist if needed so please contact us if you or someone you know needs help during the current crisis.

ADVERTISE YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS HERE Would you like to advertise your local business in our Quarterly Newsletter?

A small charge will be applied, and proceeds given to FLAG. Funds raised will go to support the continued development of Finham Community Library.

For further information contact [email protected]