Serving the Local Community
Highways England is holding a public consultation for the M42 junction 6 improvement scheme from 9 December 2016 until 27 January 2017.
Visit a consultation event to meet the project team and learn more about the proposed scheme, or visit www.highways.gov.uk/m42-j6 to find out more about how you can get involved.
Contact Highways England via: m42junction6@highwaysengland.co.uk or 0300 123 5000
Hockley Heath Parish Council have today heard that they have been successful in getting a grant to cover the initial costs associated with the development of the Neighbourhood Plan.
The grant, from the Community Rights Programme (funded by the Dept for Communities and Local Government) is for £2,843 and will be used to develop and analyse the questionnaire which will go to all parish residents in the New Year.
There will be a community consultation day on Saturday 14th January in the Pavilion, which will be your chance to look at Solihulls local plan, and discuss what you would like to see happen in Hockley Heath. A leaflet will be coming round to all households over the coming weeks to explain more about the process.
Local residents and businesses are being asked to comment on Solihull’s Draft Local Plan, when a consultation begins on Monday 5 December.
This Draft Local Plan will eventually replace the current Local Plan (December 2013), which the Council decided to review following the legal challenge to the housing requirement in the current Plan.
The Local Plan Review will also take into account the housing shortfall across the wider housing market area and aim to maximise the potential economic and social benefits for Solihull of the forthcoming HS2 Interchange Station.
The consultation will last for eight weeks, closing on 30 January 2017.
The outline programme for the review is below:
1. Draft Local Plan – consultation 5 December 2016 – 30 January 2017
2. Publication of Submission Draft (in light of comments from the present consultation) for further consultation – Spring 2017
3. Local Plan submission to Secretary of State – Summer 2017, which will then trigger an official Examination in Public (Winter 2017)
Councillor Ian Courts, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Managed Growth, welcomed the new Draft Local Plan:
“The proposed consultation is not a statutory requirement. However, we want local people and businesses to get involved in preparing a robust Draft Local Plan. We can then produce a Submission Draft before finally entering into the official consultation that comes before the Examination in Public. This is why the proposals at this stage are not fixed and why we are so keen for people’s views.
“I know it is vital for the future development of Solihull that the borough has a plan in place that can support the creation of homes and jobs in a planned and sustainable manner, while retaining the essential ‘Urbs in Rure’ character of the area.
“The final plan will have to juggle many competing forces, but to be effective, it really should have the involvement of residents, businesses, developers and the many other stakeholders that are affected. The question I would pose to everyone as they read through the plan and look at various sites is, ‘if not here, then where?’
“It’s important for local people to take the time to read the Draft Local Plan Review and see how it will affect themselves, their local area and the borough as a whole.”
The consultation will open on 5 December 2016.
The Council is launching an online portal to view the Draft Local Plan Review and submit comments directly. This will streamline the consultation and allow a more robust link between comments received and particular policies or proposals within the Plan. This will also help the public to see how their comments have shaped the next stage of the Plan. Please visit the website at http://www.solihull.gov.uk/lpr or go directly to the portal http://solihull.jdi-consult.net/localplan/
People will be able to discuss the plan in person with Council officers working on the Review at the following libraries, between 11am and 3pm:
The Core – Friday 9 December
Chelmsley Wood – Saturday 10 December
Dickens Heath – Saturday 17 December (closed 1pm – 2pm)
Balsall Common – Saturday 7 January
Knowle – Saturday 14 January
The Draft Local Plan Review can be viewed at http://www.solihull.gov.uk/lpr from Monday 5 December
The current Solihull Local Plan, adopted in 2013, can be viewed here
The Solihull Together fund offers voluntary and community organisations in Solihull the opportunity to apply for grants of between £100 and £300.
Every year Solihull SUSTAiN raises funds through its Charity Ball and other events for the Solihull Together fund in order to provide extra cash for groups doing good work in Solihull.
The fund is open for applications until midday Friday 2nd December.
Find out and how to apply to the Solihull Together fund.
Father Christmas will be landing in Brueton Park for one day only on Sunday 4 December, 12.00pm – 3.00pm, where he will be making a special appearance at the Christmas in the Park event.
Children can come and meet Santa and his little helper in his grotto, where they will receive a small gift, follow the festive treasure trail around the park and take part in a Christmas craft activity at the Parkridge Centre. Time slots are pre-bookable on 0121 704 8000, with the entrance cost of £3 per child being payable at the event.
Free parking is available in Brueton Park car park, and refreshments and toilet facilities are available at the Parkridge Centre.
Featuring a carol concert led by the Leicestershire Co-operative Brass band from 1.00pm, visitors of all ages are sure to get into the Christmas spirit!
If you would like to sign up to our website, please got to the bottom of this post where it says POST COMMENT. You can then click on one of these two boxes:
If you click on the second of these, every time the parish council posts a comment, you will get an email notification.
The proposed new constituency boundaries are displayed in red on the map below. You can click on boundaries to compare them with other geographies and click data to see how many electors are in each constituency. The Boundary Commission welcome comments on their initial proposals, do this by clicking have your say.
West Midlands Initial Proposal Report
Map of the proposed boundary changes
Solihull Council have received a planning application for a new motorway services area between Gate Lane and the M42.
Planning Application PL/2016/02754/MAJFOT is for a proposed development of new Motorway Service Area, associated highway improvement works and other associated infrastructure. To have a look at the plans, please Click Here or go into SMBC planning offices. The location plan can he seen below:
The consultation expires on the 25th November.
We have received reports of a car fire at the recreation ground today. Someone test driving the car saw smoke and pulled off the road into the car park. Once the driver had left the vehicle, the car burst into flames. The fire crew attended and put out the fire and the car company have been notified and will remove the vehicle when it is safe to do so. In the meantime, please take care and keep away from the car.
Thank you
Local residents and businesses will be asked to comment on the Draft Local Plan after Solihull’s Cabinet approved an eight week consultation, from 5 December 2016 to 30 January 2017.
In July 2015 the Council decided that instead of pursuing a Local Area Plan (LAP) for potential development around the HS2 Interchange, it should review the Solihull Local Plan (SLP) which had previously been adopted in December 2013.
The other reasons for the review of the plan include the legal challenge to the housing requirement in the previous SLP and the apparent housing shortfall in the wider housing market area.
The outline programme for the review is below:
Councillor Ian Courts, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Managed Growth, welcomed the new Draft Local Plan:
“The proposed consultation is not a statutory requirement. However, we want local people and businesses to get involved in preparing a robust Draft Local Plan. We can then produce a Submission Draft before finally entering into the official consultation that comes before the Examination in Public. This is why the proposals at this stage are not fixed and why we are so keen for people’s views.
“I know it is vital for the future development of Solihull that the borough has a plan in place that can support the creation of homes and jobs in a planned and sustainable manner, while retaining the essential ‘Urbs in Rure’ character of the area.
“The final plan will have to juggle many competing forces, but to be effective, it really should have the involvement of residents, businesses, developers and the many other stakeholders that are affected. The question I would pose to everyone as they read through the plan and look at various sites is, ‘if not here, then where?’
“Cabinet has approved an eight week consultation period, to run from 5 December 2016 to 30 January 2017. It’s important for local people to take the time to read the Draft Local Plan and see how it will affect themselves, their local area and the borough as a whole.”
The consultation will open at 9am on 5 December 2016. An engagement plan is currently being finalised to offer opportunities for people to discuss the plan in person with Council officers working on the review.
To ensure a consistent approach to capturing comments, so that all views can be given due consideration, those commenting will be encouraged to use an online portal to register their views.
This will allow a more robust link between comments and particular policies or proposals within the plan and make sure respondents can see their comments were considered.
View the Cabinet papers: http://eservices.solihull.gov.uk/mgInternet/documents/s42166/Local%20Plan%20Review%20-%20Draft%20Local%20Plan.pdf
The previous Solihull Local Plan, adopted in 2013, can be viewed here
