FINHAM NEWSLETTER 7th Edition December 2020

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

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Chairman’s Welcome

So here we go again, just when we thought things were improving the area goes straight from lockdown into Tier 3 which has come as a big shock to most of us.

We have all had plenty of practice at being very careful about what we do, where we go and this needs to continue. It is no use blaming those who have been less diligent, we must hope they will all learn the lessons, pay attention to the rules and help take us out of this mess. It is too early to rely on the vaccines that might help us probably sometime early next year.

Later in this newsletter is an update on Kings Hill which paints a very bad picture of the performance of Coventry City Council, again. Rumour has it they are there to help and support all the electorate in the city, let’s hope this becomes reflected in future performances, we can only hope.

In response to many many requests from many organisations and prominent individuals, political and otherwise, our CCC has rebuffed help, advice and requests to reconsider their deeply flawed Local Plan. Their response to everyone is to delay the planned review of their Local Plan due in March 2021 until December 2022. Words cannot describe the individuals who have authorised this attempt to prevent fairness, logic and common sense, a commodity that is all too short in supply at our CCC.

At this point I would like to comment on planning applications in the Finham area in general. Before placing an application for a development to a property, can I impose on the good will of all who are intending to do so and ask them to mention such plans to their neighbours first of all. Especially the ones who will be affected most and ideally to all neighbours, not just the ones you talk to as a matter of course. Such actions could avoid ill will and formal objections to the plans.

Finally, I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, a new year that has to be better than the one that is about to finish.

Councillor Paul Davies Chairman

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Zoom Since our first Zoom meeting held on 21st May we have held one each month, except for August when we all took a break. Our next meeting is on Thursday 21st January 2021 starting at 7.00pm. Details of how you can access the meeting will be shown on the Finham Parish Council website.

Our meetings are often lively, there’s nothing dry about them and if you want to keep abreast of what is happening in Finham and maybe become an influence for what is about to happen. Login and contribute, we would love to hear from you.

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

Meeting dates for 2021 January 21st Thursday February 18th Thursday March 18th Thursday April 15th May & APMC & APCM 20th Thursday June 17th Thursday July 15th Thursday August No meeting September 16th Thursday October 21st Thursday November 18th Thursday December No meeting Thursday

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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) , 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 Ms Kate Taylor • NHP (Cllr Paul Davies) Councillor Stan McCarthy • City of Culture (Cllr Kate Taylor) Vacancy • Finham Festival (Cllr Anthony Vacancy Dalton) Clerk: Jane Chatterton

Vacancy – Parish Council Councillor We have a vacancy on the Parish Council for a new member. Do you have an interest in making Finham a better place for all to live? Do you have a passion for making a difference? Have ideas for improvements, additions, getting problems sorted?

Then we would like to hear from you.

If you would like further information or an informal chat, please contact the Clerk on [email protected] or the Chairman on [email protected]

FPC Task Group Updates • Coventry City of Culture – Councillor Ms Taylor Plans for the 2021 City of Culture continue and information about a number of events has already been released. It will officially begin on 15th May with Coventry Moves. Other events include the UK Asian film festival and the Turner Prize 2021 which will be presented at the Herbert Art Gallery.

Between 4th December and 10th January you can enjoy Coventry Glides, socially distanced ice skating in the Cathedral ruins.

Organisers are keen to involve a diverse group of Coventry residents and communities. You can find more information about events and how to be involved on https://coventry2021.co.uk.

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• Kings Hill Development – Councillor Davies Doubts over ‘botched’ population data – The Times newspaper This was the headline in The Times newspaper on Friday 4th December about the Office for National Statistics projections for Coventry. As reported in previous minutes and newsletters, this is not the first article to appear in The Times newspaper shedding doubt over their accuracy and validity.

“The overall numbers projected for Coventry appear implausible and may be leading to poor long-term planning decisions” states Andy Street Mayor of the .

The ONS is now being investigated over its ‘performance’ as confirmed by Ed Humpherson Director-General of the UK Statistics Authority. Ed Humpherson goes on to state that the investigation would “therefore be looking at what broader lessons can be learnt on how these data are used to support decision making”.

One wonders what level of diligence Coventry City Council put into assessing the projections those years ago or did it just accept the ONS were the experts without making sure it was acting in the interests of the people of Coventry.

On the 25th November, the Coventry Telegraph published an article stating there is cross- party support from both Labour and Conservative MPs representing the constituencies of the Coventry area and its surrounds, expressing their concerns over the ONS projection of a 32% population explosion for Coventry, statistics which CCC has used to create their now widely accepted, much flawed Local Plan.

Zarah Sultana MP Labour, Taiwo Owatemi MP Labour, MP Conservative, MP Conservative and Mark Pawsey MP Conservative are among numerous people and organisations to sign the Campaign for the Protection of Rural letter that has been sent to Sir David Norgrove, Chair UK Statistics Authority complaining about the algorithms used by the ONS to produce such projections which have been shown to be wildly inaccurate.

Other signatories to this letter – Allesley Parish Council, Bubbenhall PC, Burton Green PC, Corley PC, Fillongley PC, Finham PC, Keresley PC, Stoneleigh & Ashow PC as well as Allesley Green Residents Association, Nuneaton & Bedworth Residents, Westwood Heath Residents Association, the Leader of the Opposition on Coventry City Council Cllr. Gary Ridley and of course Sir Andrew Watson Chair of CPRE . 5

Andy Street Mayor of the West Midlands has written to CCC as well as to the ONS which has met with statements along the lines of there is nothing we can do; errors of the past cannot be corrected!

This truly is another example of experts and supposed democratic representatives getting it spectacularly wrong and then compounding their mistakes by doing nothing to correct their errors.

Large areas of greenbelt and greenfield in and around Coventry have been approved for building based on these fantastic ONS figures.

The evidence shown by the CPRE states the population projection for Coventry exaggerates growth by up to 60,000 over the next two decades and that the average growth across the whole of the West Midlands is just 14%. So why is Coventry 32%? Should we be expecting an invasion of population in the next ten years bearing in mind the population has grown by only 6% during this period so far.

At the time of writing the group is still awaiting a formal response.

Also, on the 25th November the Finham Parish Council sent a letter by recorded delivery to the Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP Sec of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government asking him to confirm that he had written to the ONS about the lack of accuracy in the statistics it had produced for Coventry as the FPC had been informed that Mr Jenrick had indeed done so. As you would expect, we have heard nothing to date.

Recently the FPC wrote to Cllr. Duggins, Leader of CCC pointing out the absurdity of the 32% figure, something that has been done before but support for a reassessment of the CCC Local Plan had been growing gradually over the past two years or so and therefore the FPC wanted to find out if realism had crept into the minds of CCC.

The FPC has received a letter from Cllr Duggins’s office supporting the ONS projections as being the only source of information for population projections as prescribed by central government and therefore common sense presumably should not be allowed to come into the decisions of the wholesale destruction of greenbelt, greenfield and ex-greenbelt land all around Coventry.

As advised in previous newsletters, it is the Local Plan of CCC that has been the catalyst for Kings Hill, it being in Warwickshire and it was CCC Local Plan that forced District Council to co-operate.

Since receiving this letter from Cllr Duggins, the CCC has decided to delay the review of its Local Plan that was due in March 2021 until December 2022, which will allow the areas around Coventry to begin to be “developed” and by December 2022 a lot of greenfield will 6 have been removed. No doubt when realisation of what they are doing at the moment dawns on them we will suffer the usual platitude of “we will learn the lessons” but they know it will be too late by then and it will be too late to promote the interests of their electorate. As they say, you really could not write the script!

Let us hope the UK Statistics Authority has some success in bringing realism and justice to this unholy mess the ONS has created.

Following on from The Times newspaper’s first report on Kings Hill a few weeks ago which illustrated the nonsense of the ONS figures and surprise that CCC had not investigated the figures in the first place was an article in The Guardian on 23rd November.

In this article, a spokesperson for the ONS said: “Projections are updated every two years to ensure they use the latest data and methods, new versions supersede old versions”. This spokesperson went on to say to The Guardian “all of our methods have been explained to be fully transparent and helpful”.

Helpful for whom one wonders and so far, spectacularly wrong and if updated every two years, why has CCC postponed the planned review of their Local Plan. Such behaviour makes one naturally suspicious of their motives.

In the meantime, WDC continue to steam ahead with the Section 106 Agreement, changing conditions in the agreement to suit the developer. As things stand, the “development” of Kings Hill is likely to start in 2021 unless the cacophony of complaints, criticism and advice is taken into consideration.

Two Coventry MPs have joined cross-party calls for an inquiry into ‘flawed’ population predictions that are being used as the basis for thousands of new homes on green belt land.

Labour’s Zarah Sultana and Taiwo Owatemi are among five MPs to sign a complaint to the UK Statistics Authority against the Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

As agreed in its Local Plan, Coventry City Council believes it must accommodate 42,400 homes by 2031 based on ONS figures which suggests a growth in population of 31%.

Swathes of land have been removed from the green belt in Coventry to accommodate the housing requirements, which has led to local challenges from the opposition Conservative party at the city council backed by petitions signed of almost 7,000 people.

Doubts by two of Coventry’s Labour MPs – the first senior Labour figures in Coventry to criticise the ONS numbers – as well as three Tory backbenchers in Warwickshire come ahead of a decisive few days in Coventry. On Thursday up to 2,400 homes at Eastern Green are set to be approved and on Tuesday the ruling Labour group is expected to push back a March review of the Local Plan by a year-and-a-half. 7

The MPs have signed a letter by the Warwickshire branch of the CPRE – the countryside charity – calling for an independent review into the population forecasts.

The letter to UK Statistics Authority chairman Sir David Norgrove states that “bad decisions – to irrevocably destroy historic countryside – are being made on the back of bad data”, with Coventry’s population predictions an “anomaly” when set against an average growth of 14% in the West Midlands.

Labour’s Taiwo Owatemi, Coventry North West MP, has branded it a “dodgy algorithm”.

She said: “Our green spaces in Coventry have historical and environmental significance. They’re at the heart of our local identity but are already under threat from HS2.

“It would be tragic to tear up these green spaces for, yet another dodgy algorithm decided in Westminster. I support the building of genuinely affordable and good quality homes, but not at the cost of our green spaces.”

Conservative North Warwickshire MP Craig Tracey, whose constituency is one of the many local neighbouring authorities set to take an ‘overspill’ of housing from Coventry, said a “sensible conclusion” is needed.

Councillors at Borough Council have also raised doubt in the numbers by approving a motion in July to review the number of homes planned in the controversial Borough Plan.

Mr Tracey added: “I have long argued that Coventry council’s housing projections are based on flawed data, which should have been scrutinised more thoroughly by Nuneaton & Bedworth Council before they simply accepted increased numbers for our area.”

CPRE’s evidence claims the population projection for Coventry exaggerates growth by up to 60,000 over the next two decades.

The letter – which has also been signed by and Southam MP Mark Jeremy Wright, Rugby and Bulkington MP Mark Pawsey, and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street – says the ONS has overestimated the birth rate and underestimated the death rate, and not factored in departing university students.

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Member Merle Gering, who carried out the analysis, said: “The ONS population projections for Coventry are bizarre and absurd and transparently so. The ONS has completely failed to respond to that problem

“We are saying the council should postpone any decisions on greenbelt and contentious land until the UK Statistics Authority comes back.”

The ONS says projections show the population trajectory “based on a set of plausible scenarios of what could happen to births, deaths and migration”.

“We are continuing to have conversations with residents and academics in Coventry and all of our methods have been explained to be fully transparent and helpful,” a spokesman added.

On the ONS figures, Coventry’s cabinet member for housing and communities Cllr David Welsh said: “For me this is very much about the government changing what they do as there is no other process in our Local Plan to use other figures.

Finham Parish Council

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Finham Community Library

As many of you are aware, Finham Community Library is currently closed while building work  is being carried out. We will reopen in the new year and when COVID-19 19 is finally defeated you will be able to enjoy a coffee and cake in our new cafe area while you choose your latest books from our newly updated offering.

Some of you have commented on the fact that Finham has no cafe facilities of its own and we hope that many of you will join us regularly for a cuppa ☕in the refurbished facilities.

Our aim is to make Finham Library a welcoming community facility where old and new groups can meet, and you can rendezvous with friends. The moveable shelving kindly donated by Finham Parish Council will enable more varied activities to take place so we hope that you will come and see us and make our only community building in the area a success.

Please watch this space and look out for notifications regarding reopening on our website finhamlibrary.uk, on our Facebook page and via Pride in Finham ….

If you have Coventry City Council library books that you need to return you can take them to any other library in the city or you can go online and renew them at www.coventry.gov.uk/libraries

If you have FLAG books (yellow sticker) please just hold on to these until your next visit. Please check opening times etc. if you wish to visit a library.

It just remains for us to thank you for bearing with us over the difficulties of the last few months and the trustees and volunteers wish you all warmest Seasons Greetings and a healthy and prosperous new year, We look forward to seeing you in the not-too-distant future. Best Wishes Trustees and Volunteers

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

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For more help or information please visit our website at www.finhamnw.org.uk

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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 We have been working closely with Andy Street, the West Midlands Mayor, to challenge the ONS (Office for National Statistics) figures on our anticipated population growth. In addition, through our political group, we are supporting CPRE (Countryside Charity) who are lodging a complaint against the ONS for its handling of the figures. The battle isn’t over until it’s over!

Severn Trent Tim has been given an assurance that the sewer repair work was far more extensive than they anticipated and has nothing to do with the Kings Hill proposals. The land used for their compound will be reinstated when work is completed.

Green Lane John is working with residents and Council Officers to find the best spot for a VAS (vehicle activated sign) to try and cut speeding. He also needs names to volunteer for a community speed watch.

A46 Link Road Although outside the city boundary it may well impact on Finham. Mattie has pointed out that consultation has begun and will finish on January 22nd. For more information go to https://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk

Facebook We continue to provide a weekly update on current issues on our Wainbody Facebook page which is shared with Pride in Finham. https://www.facebook.com/wainbodytory

In Touch We are always available to assist if needed so please contact us if you or someone you know needs help during the current Coronavirus crisis.

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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]

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