NEWS....

16 February 2012

At The Cabinet Meeting tonight it was decided that the three sites: Eaves Green Lane, Meriden; School Road, Hockley Heath; The Pleck, Shadowbrook Lane should all be rejected as Potential Gypsy Traveller Sites. The site at Waste Lane, Balsall Common would have also been rejected had it not been removed.

NEWS....

30 January 2012...

Hi All,

As you know, the decision to select the preferred sites is supposed to be made at the Cabinet Meeting on 16th February. However, things have changed.The decision on the sites is all tied up with the High Court case to seek a legal order for removal of travellers from the Meriden site following the Secretary of State's dismissal of their appeal against refusal of planning permission. Because there have been several changes of date and venue for this hearing all dates are now uncertain and subject to change. So unfortunately we now don't know when the decision can be made.  The good news is that the Parish Council has agreed to fund £6595 towards our costs. Solihull Council have now received 124 emails/letters about the School Road Site. Please do still encourage anyone you know who hasn't written/emailed to Solihull Council to do so. Every one written helps us.

Regards,  Kate and Joan.                                         

NEWS....

Hi Everyone,

We hope you have all had a good Christmas and New Year!

This is just to update you with the latest about the Proposed Gypsy/Traveller Site in School Road.

The report that we commissioned from David McGrath at Meriden RAID is almost complete and will be forwarded to Solihull Council in due course.

Apart from this things have gone quiet, however letters and emails are still being sent to Solihull Council which is very encouraging. If you know of anyone who hasn’t yet emailed or written with their concerns, please could you ask them to do so. 

The Council will be deciding the shortlisted sites at a meeting of the Cabinet on the 16th of February. 

The Solihull Council Planners will complete their recommendations a week before and these will be published on their website. We will let you know as soon as the site has been updated. The Councillors then have the final say on the 16th.

Thank you again for all your support.

Best Regards,

Kate and Joan

Previous News....

As you may be aware David McGrath and his team were formally appointed to work on our behalf and we had an initial meeting with David and his colleague Doug Bacon. This was followed by an observational/fact-finding walk around the boundaries of the proposed site which proved to be very useful. Doug will be preparing a detailed report of the surrounding area which will include, among other things, details of local services, planning history etc. and he may wish to speak to some of us on a one-to-one basis to collect as much information as he can.
 
David will be making a second visit with an Ecologist, and a separate report on the Ecologist's findings will be available in due course.
 
With regard to finance, we have formally asked the Parish Council for assistance with funding but it may be some time before we receive a definite response since they wish to make some enquiries of their own prior making a decision.
 
In the meantime, we are committed to paying the fees agreed with David McGrath. To date we have managed to raise £4560, which is just over half the amount required. Anything that anyone (or perhaps your neighbour) is able to contribute would, of course, be very much appreciated. Cheques should be payable to Joan Gleadhill (and dropped off at 198 or 200 School Rd). If you wish to contribute by electronic transfer please contact us for details. Many thanks to those who have helped us so far.
 
David and his team have estimated that the whole process will take about two weeks, we would guess therefore that it's likely to be into January before everything is finalised and we can submit our strong case to the Council.
 
We'll keep you all posted.
 
Thank for all your support and involvement.  
                             

WHAT'S HAPPENED UP TO NOW....

A ‘call for sites’ exercise was undertaken by Solihull Council in July/August 2011 as part of their need to provide future accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers in Solihull. As a result of this, a piece of land on the gated site in School Road behind the two bungalows after Ashford Lane has been put forward to the Council as one of the potential Gypsy & Traveller Sites. 

The residents of Hockley Heath did not find out about this proposal until it was published in the press in October.

Following a leaflet drop, residents were asked to attend the Parish Council meeting held on 17th November. Approximately 150 people attended and 30 - 40 also came to the follow up meeting held on Sunday evening 20th November which was also attended by our three Councillors Ian Courts, Ken Meeson and Andy Mackiewicz.

It was decided that we needed to set up an Action Group to fight this proposal.

The Action Group HHC-RAID was formed from the attendees of the meeting on Sunday 20th November and our first meeting was held on Sunday 27th November 2011.

We are intending to do a further leaflet drop to all properties in Hockley Heath to ask people who have not already done so, to please email or write to Solihull Council with their concerns about The Gypsy/Traveller Site. If you know someone who has not done this, please ask them to do so.

The following are valid grounds for objection which the Council will consider. THE GREEN BELT MUST BE MENTIONED!!

Green Belt  -  the site should continue to be protected, together with inhabitant wildlife, under the terms of the Green Belt Policy. Development on adjacent land has been consistently denied by the Council because of its Green Belt status.

Safety  -  School Rd is a narrow lane with hazardous bends; there are no street lights or footpaths near the site and it is wholly inappropriate for the volume and type of additional traffic this proposal would generate.

Lack of Medical/Education services  -  there are no GP’s or other health services in the village and the school is virtually at capacity

Fuel Pipeline - a vital fuel pipe leading to the airport runs directly through the proposed site which may be at risk if the site is developed

Please note that comments concerning house prices etc. should not be included since the Council will not take them into consideration when making any planning/development decisions

Please email or write to the following:

sustainabledevelopment@solihull.gov.uk

icourts@solihull.gov.uk

kmeeson@solihull.gov.uk

amackiewicz@solihull.gov.uk

The Chief Executive
Solihull MBC
Council House
PO Box 18
Solihull B91 9QS

Letters taken to John Shepherd's office in Hockley Heath will be forwarded to Solihull Council.

You can contact us by email at HHC-RAID at:

hh-gts@hotmail.co.uk

Or by telephone:

Kate McConnell 01564 783498

Joan Gleadhill 01564 783117