NEWSLETTER No.61 | September 2015 | lickeyandblackwellpc.org you n t e e w e m Residents & press are invited to attend our PC Meetings usually the first Monday of the month at 7.30pm with allotted public questions time Forthcoming dates: 7 September, Blackwell | 5 October, Lickey | 2 November, Blackwell | 7 December, Lickey FOREWORD COMMUNICATIONS Nick Forknell, chair Janet King, lead In spite of there being no Parish Council Meeting in BEST FRONT GARDEN COMPETITION 2015 LOOKING FORWARD August, it doesn’t mean that nothing’s been happening This year’s competition will be judged during the first TO CHRISTMAS in Lickey and Blackwell. You will see elsewhere in this two weeks in October and the prize giving will take The theme for our annual issue just what has been going on during the summer place on Sunday 1 November. There is no need to enter Christmas Competition months, and there’s more to come! because our judges will view every front garden in the this year is simply parish but it would be a good idea to do a little tidying CHRISTMAS TIME! We shall soon be judging for the Annual Best Front up perhaps. We make no apology for choosing this offering an opportunity Garden Competition, there’s going to be even more fortnight to judge because every season has its own to depict the festive re-surfacing of our roads in early September and we treasures and our policy is to give as many gardens as season through the visual are already thinking about our Children’s Christmas possible a chance to win. We shall be looking for the arts (all media) as well as Competition! WOW factor (first impressions), plantsmanship, design, creative writing (prose or We’re also looking forward to starting work on colour, fragrance and eco-friendliness. The winners will poetry). We are grateful collecting evidence which will ultimately be used The Holy Trinity Church, Lickey be announced on our public noticeboards and in our for the co-operation to form our Neighbourhood Plan. There will be an Nick Forknell holding the church roof cross before removal with the next edition. Good luck! of our local schools in evidence gathering workshop on Saturday 12 September stonemason Steve. Prize giving: Sunday 1 November 3-5pm at The Holy encouraging their pupils which will look at the historical buildings and landscape Trinity Church, Lickey to take part and look of the parish – see ‘Communications’ opposite. PLANNING forward to even more entries than last year’s Many of you keep in touch with what’s happening in Stephen Nock, lead RECORDING OUR PARISH ‘Bonfire Night’ 1st prize 2014 (U8s) the parish by means of our Facebook page and it’s an The Neighbourhood Plan group has invited Jack record number. by Zoe Selfe, Lickey Hills Primary School excellent way to keep up to date with news and events. The Planning Committee have reviewed a large Hanson, a historic environment expert, to lead us in Just log-in and search for ‘Lickey and Blackwell Parish’. number of planning applications over the summer an exercise designed to improve our understanding of ENVIRONMENT Finally, our Executive Officer, Helen Doherty, will months, mainly for extensions on residents homes. how our area has become Jo Eales, lead continue to be at the Parish Office in The Trinity Perhaps the most significant applications relate to the what it is today. We shall Centre, Old Birmingham Road on our new day every site of Wadderton, the former conference centre on be working in small groups We are delighted that the Linthurst Newtown railway Tuesday from 9.30 to 2.30. Residents always welcome! Greenhill in Blackwell. Permission has been granted recording the characteristics for three detached properties utilising the footprint of of selected streets and other bridge has re-opened and is a vast improvement on the the outbuildings and additions to the main property areas and hearing about original, both in its usability and appearance. 12 Sept – Mapping our Parish 2pm The Wheel, Blackwell which have now been demolished. The approval was the provenance of some of 3 Oct – CPRE Green Belt Celebration, Barnt Green Sailing Club, tickets required granted along with a condition that the main property our more interesting buildings. Come and join us for 11 Oct – Parish Walk, Monument Lane car park 9.30am is renovated and we very much look forward to seeing ‘Mapping our Parish’ on Saturday 12 September 2-4pm 1 Nov – Best Front Garden Awards, Holy Trinity Church this. An additional application to convert a barn into a beginning at The Wheel, Blackwell. 4 Dec – Blackwell Christmas Tree Lighting 6pm residential dwelling is currently under consideration. If you are unable to attend but have any information DIARY DATES DIARY 6 Dec – Lickey Christmas Tree Lighting 4pm on the history of your property that you are willing to Work on the extension to Blackwell First School and the provision of a staff car park is now well underway. share, please do let us know. There are some wonderful properties of significant local provenance within the parish. In Memory… Former parish councillor Coral Beavis, who died in June just months after the death of her husband Ivan, will BLACKWELL RAIL CROSSING CONSULTATION be remembered for her excellent work as a councillor, as a wise and caring nurse and a loving, patient and The parish council was represented at a recent meeting creative mother. between Network Rail, the Ramblers Association, Coral’s work (along with Cllrs. John Quine and Geoff Evans) resulted in the publication of our Village Design Blackwell Golf Club and Worcestershire County Linthurst Newtown Railway Bridge, August 2015 Statement, one of the first to be produced in Bromsgrove and one of only two to be accepted as a supplementary Council (WCC) to discuss the future of the rail crossing. – photo courtesy of Richard Auger planning guidance document by the town’s planning department. A well-researched and illustrated piece of Trains using the electrified line will be both faster and work looking at the characteristics of land, buildings and housing density in our parish it still influences planning more frequent and fears for the safety of walkers were New benches have been supplied at the Blackwell applications and decisions and is available on the district and parish websites. expressed by Network Rail. A number of options were play area to replace those somewhat past their sell by After leaving the parish council to take on more nursing at the Alexandra Hospital, Coral remained parish proposed and a public consultation has been promised. date. One is a traditional park bench to offer a level of tree warden writing several tree walks leaflets and keeping a watchful eye on local trees which had a tree comfort whilst the other, in the middle of the park, is a preservation order (TPO) to prevent felling. Members of the Lickey community are particularly grateful for her NEW BUS TIMETABLES simple bench. The annual RoSPA inspection of the play successful work in ensuring that the limes along `coffin walk’ were preserved. There will be no change to the 202 or 145 bus services area is due in September and if you do see anything out The parish council wishes to record its gratitude for her successful years as a parish councillor and a shrub will when the new timetable comes into force in September. of place, do please let us know. We have unfortunately be planted for her at the ‘pocket park’ entrance to Blackwell on Linthurst Newtown. However, Diamond has withdrawn its 145A service. We had some low level vandalism over the past months, are always interested to hear your views on local services. including graffiti and damage to the rubbish bin. cover pictures: Blackwell Festival ‘ Wild West Fest’ - June 2015 (more page 5) unless otherwise stated all photographs by Keith Woolford 2 lickey & blackwell parish council newsletter | Number 61 | September 2015 September 2015 | Number 61 | lickey & blackwell parish council newsletter 3 BLACKWELL FIRST SCHOOL BLACKWELL FESTIVAL Summer Fete, July 2015 Wild West Fest, June 2015 HIGHWAYS Nick Forknell, lead SUMMER ROAD RE-SURFACING SCHOOL CAR PARKING There seems to have been a lot of WCC activity on the As we move into autumn, we look forward to the roads in our parish lately. Top dressing of parts of Old school term starting and, no doubt, will experience the Birmingham Road and Rose Hill was welcomed by those accompanying car parking difficulties. One specific appreciating the improvement aspect of those problems may soon be dealt with as a Bill to the road surface, but preventing cars parking on footpaths received its first moaned about by many who reading in Parliament earlier this year and is having a had to contend with difficult second reading in December. access whilst the job was being It’s aimed particularly at inconsiderate motorists done and who suffered the dust who park on the footpath causing obstruction for and grit flying about. Still, at pedestrians, especially those with seeing difficulties, least for a few days, the speed those with push chairs or wheelchair users. of vehicles was reduced! Whilst the Bill and its associated future legislation will Preparatory work was carried out on Twatling Road and not be in place to help prevent problems this autumn, we St Catherine’s Road ready for re-surfacing in the not too can at least take note and try to park with consideration Best Fancy Dress winners distant future. Eleanor Moody & Lucas McConkey for others. NEWS FROM HIGHWAYS ENGLAND Your Parish Council will be considering if we can A scheme to improve the M5 between Junctions 4a take any further measures to improve the school (Bromsgrove) and 6 (Worcester) by introducing smart parking situation.