Serving the Local Community
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
On Wednesday 9 November, volunteers came out in Hockley Heath to clean up and promote the local area as part of the Love Solihull campaign organised by Solihull Council and Hockley Heath Parish Council.
The day involved litter picking around the village, trimming back overgrown vegetation surrounding the war memorial and bus stops, bulb planting, cleaning signage and planting up new low level planters in an attempt to stop parking on pavements.
Love Solihull is an initiative that works alongside local residents to improve areas of the borough and to make greener, cleaner and more sustainable environments.
While many Hockley Heath residents do regularly carry out environmental work in their local neighbourhood, it is the first time they were joined and supported by Love Solihull.
Bulb planting was undertaken by pupils from Hockley Heath Primary Academy. Local businesses also mucked in to show their support, with the Wharf Tavern and Miller & Carter providing refreshments and somewhere to go to warm up. Employees from Tesco Extra in Solihull also came along to lend a helping hand.
Councillor Ken Hawkins, Cabinet Member for Environment Housing and Regeneration said: “The day was a positive success and it’s fantastic to be able to partner up with the Parish Council to enable local, good-hearted volunteers to do great work in the area.
“Not only is it good for the environment but the work done also has other benefits including increasing visibility of signage for visitors, reducing anti-social parking on pavements and engaging with young people.”
Councillor Assunta Maria Vernon of Hockley Heath Parish Council said: “On behalf of the Hockley Heath Parish Council I would like to thank the many volunteers and the Tesco Community Campaign team who turned out on such a miserable day.
“To Miller and Carter and the Wharf who provided much needed sustenance and hot drinks and lastly to the young members of our community from Hockley Heath Academy who planted bulbs in the recreation ground. Their work will be visible in the spring for us all to enjoy. I would describe the day as a great success; our first joint venture with the Love Solihull initiative.”
If residents would like to organise or get involved with any Love Solihull clear up events call 0121 704 6673 or email lovesolihull@solihull.gov.uk. For more information about Love Solihull visit www.solihull.gov.uk/lovesolihull.
You may have seen in the recent newsletter, that a Neighbourhood Plan meeting is to be held at 7pm on Thursday 24th November 2016 in the Pavilion, Hockley Heath Recreation Ground. If you have experience or expertise in this field, please come along and see how you can be involved in the future of your community. For more information go to the Neighbourhood Plan tab at the top of the page.
M42 – Junction 3a Link to M40 to M42, West Midlands. Off Network Works
The Northbound carriageway will be closed overnight for one night from 9pm 10th November until 6am the following morning (11th November). A diversion route will be clearly signposted
Many thanks to James and the team at Miller and Carter for offering to serve complimentary tea and coffee between 11am and 2pm for those volunteering in the community clean up day. For all those wanting to volunteer even just half an hour of their time, please come along to the Pavilion in the Recreation Ground at 10am or email the Clerk: hhpc2009@hotmail.com to say what time you can come and what you would be happy to help with.
See you there!
The Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire (CSW) Broadband team is looking to extend superfast broadband coverage even further across the area during the Contract 3 phase of the Project.
To achieve this, Warwickshire County Council (as lead authority for the Project) intends to procure further coverage of NGA broadband infrastructure (capable of delivering download speeds of at least 30 Mbps) to areas in Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire where such broadband is currently unavailable, by the end of 2017.
We have already asked suppliers where they plan to roll out their superfast broadband networks over the next 3 years and we have now opened the public consultation, which gives suppliers and residents an opportunity to comment on the areas that, it is claimed, will be covered during this time.
For more information and for your chance to have your say simply visit our public consultation webpage.
The consultation runs from 31st October to 30th November 2016.
NEIGHBOURHOOD ACTIVITY PROGRAMME – 9th NOVEMBER, 10am – 3pm
We are delighted to confirm that the school have joined in this activity and a group of children will be going to the park to plant bulbs.
There will be a litter pick on the day and hope parents will us join in this activity. In fact I am relying on the children to come up with a catch phrase that will identify Hockley Heath as aiming to be a litter free village
There will be a book voucher for the winning phrase
‘Come on children thinking hats on’
We will use this to create a litter picking initiative where residents can adopt a Road, Avenue, Grove or Street, in fact anywhere that litter collates
PLEASE BRING YOUR SUGGESTED CATCH PHRASE INTO SCHOOL – do not attend Hockley Heath Academy? No problem send your idea to hhpc2009@hotmail.com
Please give your name address and school you attend
GOOD LUCK
Thank you on behalf of Hockley Heath Parish Council and SMBC
