BROCKHILL RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

Minutes of Meeting Thursday July 25th 2019 held at Alestones

Those Present:

Sylvia Collinson            SC

David Dallaway            DD

Lynn Dallaway            LD

Tisha Greenway            TG

Claire Ivins            CI

Stephen Siddle            SS

Julie Vincent            JV

Councillors:  RBC Pattie Hill and WCC Robin Lunn

Apologies were received from WCC Brandon Clayton (BC), Malcom Gilks (MG), RBC Gemma Monaco (GM), Ben Moseley (BM) and RBC Nyear Nazir (NN).

The Agenda:

1. Actions arising from previous meeting on 26th February 2019.
2. Quiz Night and AGM.
3. Notice board for Pointers Way.
4. Post box for Pointers Way.
5. Holyoakes Field First School – completion update & parking facilities.
6. Foxlydiate Arms.
7. Persimmon Homes:-
   (i)   Section 106 payments .
   (ii)  Completion of Pointers Way phase 1.
   (iii) New application Brockhill East – phase 3.
8. Carthorse Lane speed bumps.
9. Website hosting & GDPR statement.
10. Membership list.
11. Drug selling and suspect behaviour reports.
12. Sale of Brockhill Wood.
13. A.O.B.

• Actions arising from previous meeting:

GM had emailed Kate Tait of Persimmon Homes on 6th March regarding the Community House.

In GM’s absence we were unaware if she had contacted Claire Flanagan at RBC regarding Mainstay’s service charge increases.  JV will email GM for a progress report.

RL informed us that some of the land sale at the rear of a small section of Carthorse Lane/Longmoor Close had now gone through.  Solicitors of the remaining residents concerned are still working on this.

BC had confirmed in March that the land to the rear and side of Parklands Close/Dairy Lane was still owned by Persimmon Homes and had not been transferred over to the Council.  However this was being pursued. In BC’s absence RL and PH confirmed that ownership of the field had still not changed.  This was puzzling as BC had indicated at the February meeting that it was land that Persimmon no longer required and was to be given back to Bromsgrove District Council.

MG was waiting to know whom to address the quote for repair of the fence for the Appletree Lane side of the aforementioned field.

JV had organised the borrowing of equipment and bin bags for the Litter Pick which took place in May.

JV has booked the Batchley Community Hall for the Quiz Night and the AGM

• Quiz Night and A.G.M.

Arrangements were discussed for organising the Quiz Night to be held at Batchley Community Centre on Saturday October 12th 2019 at 7.30 p.m.  RL said that he could help with the Quiz questions if needed.  DD said that he hoped to enlist the help of a friend who is a regular Quiz Host.  We will ask members to form teams of 6 – non-members also most welcome. Committee Members will take on their usual tasks regarding food and refreshments, raffle, sponsorship, etc.

The A.G.M. will be held on Tuesday November 5th at 8pm.  We are hoping that the later start will encourage a better attendance than in previous years.

• Notice board for Pointers Way:

CI was congratulated on her success  in obtaining a £2,000 grant from Fortis Living towards the cost of manufacturing and erecting a new community notice board, similar to our existing two in Brockhill Park and Carthorse Lane.  If possible, the Fortis Living logo should be shown on the board in recognition of their support. We will now research our best sourcing options and RL said that he could assist with arranging its installation.  The most suitable siting was discussed together with the need to contact Persimmon regarding permission for its installation on their land. It was felt the best position would be on the edge of the grassland in front of Almondsbury Close just before the start of Burrington Close.  We agreed that GM would be the best person to contact Persimmon in view of her contacts. JV agreed to email GM to ask for her help in this matter.

• Post Box for Pointers Way:

DD discussed the possibility of re-contacting Royal Mail regarding the installation of a post box on Pointers Way.  When he enquired in 2016, he was told that there must be a post box within half a mile of at least 98% of all customers’ letter boxes.  It’s a moot point whether the two nearest boxes in Hewell Road and Carthorse Lane fulfil this requirement. PH pointed out that unfortunately Royal Mail appear to be reducing rather than increasing their number of post boxes.  However DD agreed to contact Royal Mail again, particularly as Pointers Way and Meadow View have developed considerably since 2016.

• Holyoakes Field First School – completion update & parking facilities:

The school’s Head Teacher retired at the end of the summer term but she was asked to perform the traditional ceremony of digging out the first soil to mark the commencement of the new building.  Originally it had been hoped she would oversee the whole relocation process, had the new building commenced a couple of years ago as originally planned. RL said that the intended completion date now, after having to re-tender, would be Christmas 2020.

RL told us that the planning permission includes parking restrictions, so that residents will not have their driveways blocked.  There will be notices restricting parking at certain times, i.e. dropping off and picking up times.

• Foxlydiate Arms:

We submitted a Community Asset Form to Bromsgrove District Borough Council in May in an attempt to prevent the demolition of the Foxlydiate Arms, owned by Whitbread.  As reported recently in The Standard, Bromsgrove District Council has received a Planning Application from Whitbread for the Foxlydiate Hotel site. The Outline Application is to establish the principle for the demolition of the existing building on site and the erection of up to 46 houses, 24 apartments and a children’s play area.  RL is calling on Whitbread to sell the pub and hotel on the open market to another pub or restaurant chain.

A Bromsgrove District Council Cabinet meeting was due to discuss the issue on Wednesday July 10th as the land in question is just over the border in Bromsgrove.  RL, DD and SS attended to support the Community Asset Application.  It was hoped that others in our Association together with members of the ‘Save The Foxlydiate Facebook Group’ would also turn up in support.  Regretfully only one other person was present shortly before the meeting’s commencement.  Fortuitously therefore in some ways , RL, DD, SS and The Facebook Group member were informed moments before the meeting’s start of the withdrawal of the issue from the agenda.  Whitbread’s lawyers had declared that same day that the Foxlydiate had legally been given hotel status and was therefore exempt from being made a Community Asset. However, objections to the plans can be made on Bromsgrove District Council’s website by going into Planning Applications and putting in the postcode – B97 6PX.

JV felt that the roads around Webheath/Brockhill are chaotic enough without even more traffic.  RL pointed out that Webheath does not need more houses, it needs infrastructure and places to socialise for the houses already there.  Members are urged to submit their objections to the proposed demolition.

• Persimmon Homes:-

(i) Section 106 payments

Despite MP Rachel Maclean’s involvement the payment by Persimmon Homes of section 106 monies and transfers of certain pieces of land have still not taken place.  RL told us that seven to eight hundred thousand pounds is owed to the Council by Persimmon Homes.

DD had been alerted by one our members that the BBC were considering covering, in a future programme, the issue of non-payment of section 106 monies by Persimmon and other property developers.

(ii) Completion of Pointers Way Phase 1

RL said that with the exception of Almondsbury Close, none of the roads on Pointers Way are anywhere near the standard to be adopted by RBC.  We will ask GM to chase this, now that she is back from maternity leave.

 (iii) New Application Brockhill East – Phase 3

A public consultation presentation was made at the Abbey Stadium on 14th May regarding Persimmon’s proposal to build 960 new dwellings.  At the presentation DD had asked Kate Tait, Persimmon’s Director Strategic Planning, to confirm that the proposed building work would not affect the historically significant cold war nuclear bunker.  She said that the farmer who leased the land had assured her it was only a disused water tank. DD and LD strongly refuted this and LD said she would send Kate information giving categorical proof of the bunker’s true origin.  Kate has been informed that the bunker was manned by the Royal Observer Corps, its number is SPO3396897, it was opened on 1/5/1963 and was closed down on the 1/10/1968. To date neither response nor comment has been made by Kate.

• Carthorse Lane speed bumps:

Installation of the speed bumps has been delayed due to a few objections from local residents and the police.  RL is insisting that they are done as he has personally witnessed drivers speeding through the chicane and treating it as a game to see how quickly they can get through!  RL & BC will be attending a meeting this week and will insist that the speed bumps are installed.

• Website hosting and GDPR Statement:

Renewal of the website hosting is due early in September.  SC has asked BM, our website administrator, to obtain a quote from the present provider.  BM has agreed to obtain other competitive quotes to ensure we get the best deal for the next 12 months.

A copy of our GDPR statement had been included with the notice to members when alerting them to the posting of the previous meeting’s minutes.  However there was no statement on our website and SC will contact BM to ask that this is added alongside the new members’ registration section on the Home page.

• Membership list:

DD asked SC if she knew why he no longer received automatic notification when a new member joined via registration on our website.  SC said this facility was no longer available with our current hosting company. CI said that the filters on Excel could be programmed to do this and that she would be able to show DD how to set this up.  DD would contact BM to request details of new and unsubscribing members at the end of every calendar month. SC had delivered membership forms to new residents of Meadow View (Phase 2) resulting in several new additions.

• Drug selling and suspect behaviour reports:

We had been contacted recently by a couple of members reporting instances of drug selling in Brockhill Park and the Nature Reserve.  PH told us that arrests had been made recently and those involved were not local people but drug dealers from outside the area. The Basketball Court in Brockhill Park is a prime meeting place for the sale of drugs.  She said it is happening in several areas around Redditch. If you witness any suspect behaviour, ring 101 to report it.

A non-member had contacted us via the website warning that a man had been seen trying the door handles of cars parked in Cookridge Close during the early hours of the morning.  The matter had been reported to the police.

• Sale of Brockhill Wood:

A member had contacted us requesting details of the proposed sale of the woodland plot at the back of Dairy lane, Goscote Close and Carthorse Lane.  Another member residing in Goscote Close kindly supplied DD with information that was duly forwarded to the enquirer. Dealings with the selling Consortium are currently being handled by those residents concerned.

• A.O.B.

A member had reported to DD that the trunk of a large oak tree, situated by the Red Ditch adjacent to Oversley Close, has been sprayed with red paint.  In addition to this vandalism, two swings had been attached to the lower branches. Aluminium ladders had been propped against the tree’s trunk to enable it to be climbed.  Considering the great height of the tree any scaling of it would constitute a considerable safety risk. DD had warned the group of children playing on the swings about the dangers of climbing the tree.  LD asked PH if RBC has a Tree Warden. PH told us that they do not.

JV asked RL why the bund had been removed from Brockhill Drive’s grassy area, near the junction of Appletree Lane, where the new crossing was constructed last year.  Before the crossing was installed the ridge of grass stopped vehicles from parking on the area. The large circle of grass is an ideal spot for travellers to camp on but now there is nothing to prevent access.  RL said that he would put in a request to have the bund put back.

Actions from this meeting:

JV to contact GM to obtain an update on her discussions with Claire Flanagan re Mainstay’s service charges.

DD to arrange compilation of questions for the Quiz Night.

SC to apply for Alcohol Licence for theQuiz Night.

JV to ask GM to contact Persimmon to obtain permission for erection of new notice board on Pointers Way.

DD to contact Royal Mail again re the installation of a post box on Pointers Way.

GM to chase Persimmon regarding the standard of roads on Pointers Way Phase 1 pre-adoption.

RL and BC to progress installation of speed bumps in Carthorse Lane.

BM to obtain competitive quote for website hosting.

SC to liaise with BM re adding GDPR statement to website.

DD to request monthly updates of new and leaving members from BM.

RL to arrange for the bund to be replaced in Appletree Lane/Brockhill Drive junction.

Meeting ended at 9.15 pm.

Download your copy here: 

July 2019 Meeting Minutes