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Royal Horticultural Society and Heart of England in Bloom

We have received a certificate from the Royal Horticultural Society and Heart of England in Bloom to recognise the valuable work we have put in through such hard times. We have had some beautiful floral decorations in the village, including the baskets provided by the Parish Council. We have had much appreciated assistance from residents Jayne of Beech Lane and Trevor of Waterside as well as your Councillors Doreen Wright, Alan Scholes, Maureen Holloway, Di Potter, Mike Small, Trevor Eames and Nargis Rashid who have planted out waterside island and clock island. Collected plants for the school, planted small saplings with the scouts help and been involved with the village Green tree project and been quietly weeding around the village throughout the pandemic.Thank you to everyone else who contributes to making our village the lovely place it is 🙂

Cherry Blossom Tree in Remembrance of 2020

Thank you to Solihull MBC for providing this flowering cherry – to remember 2020, those who have lost loved ones, the dedication of the keyworkers, and the unsung heroes in our community. And thank you to our contractors Fairways for planting it – this was not an easy task! The tree was originally due to be located in the village centre in front of Copperfield Court. Except that when Fairways tried to dig down into the the turf – they discovered a road there just under the surface! So a quick change of plan resulted in the tree being planted in front of the Village Hall. We look forward to seeing it blossom in the future.

New Trees for the Village Green

4 new trees have been planted on the Village Green this week. 3 diseased horse chestnut trees were removed a couple of weeks ago and Solihull MBC have provided 3 replacements (alternative specimens given that 3 of the horse chestnuts have died). Plus they have provided a flowering cherry as a Tree of Hope to remember 2020 – in remembrance of those who have lost loved ones, of the dedication of the keyworkers, and of the unsung heroes within our community.

Solihull Local Plan Review Consultation – SMBC Webinars

Solihull Local Plan – Draft Submission Plan webinars

SMBC officers are holding two webinars to help residents and businesses make final representations about Solihull’s Draft Submission Plan.

Representations can be submitted up to Monday 14 December 2020, before the Plan is submitted for independent examination. Solihull’s Local Plan will guide the development of the borough for the next decade and beyond. It is the basis for future planning decisions as it creates a ‘blueprint’ for when and where major developments should and shouldn’t take place.

The grounds for making representations can only relate to the soundness and legal compliance of this Draft Submission Plan.

Those wanting to make representations need to visit the Local Plan Review page of the Council website as at this stage there is a formal method of submitting a representation.

To offer interested parties an opportunity to discuss the Plan with Council officers, two webinars have been organised:

Thursday 12 November at 10am

Monday 16 November at 5.30pm

To take part, you need to go to the SMBC Council’s YouTube page where these webinars will be streamed. If you would like to forward a question for the team to answer as part of the webinar, you can do in advance to psp@solihull.gov.uk, please include ‘Question for Webinar’ in the subject line of your email.

The representation period will close on Monday 14 December.

For more information about Solihull’s Local Plan review, visit www.solihull.gov.uk/lpr

Highways England M42/M40 Works

We have received notification from Highways England that they will be carrying out overnight survey works on the junction M42/M40 which will ultimately be a ‘Smart Motorway’ system. Below are basic details:What are we doing?We’ll be carrying out a number of different surveys including; checking drainage systems, existing buried services locations, drilling carriageway core samples and doing ecology inspections on both carriageways. We’ll also need to carry out vegetation clearance in some isolated areas to help us access safely while we carry out the surveys. We’ll work overnight when we know the road will be at its quietest, between 9 November 2020 and April 2021.https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/…Contact us For information about the surveys, please contact our customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000 or email: info@highwaysengland.co.uk.If you would like more information about the scheme including planned closure details, please visit our webpage:http://www.highwaysengland.co.uk/…/m40-m42-interchange…/

M40/M42 interchange: smart motorway - Highways England

Solihull Local Plan Review Consultation now open – the Parish Council would like to hear Residents’ Views

Solihull’s Local Plan will guide development in the borough for the next decade, and beyond. It is the basis for future planning decisions as it creates a ‘blueprint’ for when and where major developments can take place, and where they shouldn’t take place.

Residents and businesses are being asked to make final representations about Solihull’s Draft Submission Plan during a formal six-week period, beginning on Friday 30 October, before it is submitted for independent examination.
The grounds for making a representation relate to the soundness and legal compliance of the Solihull Local Plan Draft Submission.

Interested parties should make their representations via the Local Plan Review page of the SMBC website. For this stage there is a formal way of sending in a representation, which is explained in a short video available on the same page, alongside guidance notes.

The representations received as part of this consultation will be included in the final Plan submitted for the ‘Examination in Public’ (EiP), which is the final scrutiny before a plan can be adopted. The EiP will be overseen by a nominated Inspector appointed on behalf of the Secretary of State.

Once the examination concludes, the Inspector will issue a report which will summarise the findings of their examination. If the Plan is found to be sound and legally compliant, the Council will then be allowed to adopt the Plan, or the Inspector may suggest that the Plan is modified.

The representation period will close on Monday 14 December.

A representative of SMBC stated that:
“The Plan has been five years in the making. We have had three consultations, listened to people, engaged with local communities and businesses and received over 3,000 representations, and because of that we have amended it. It is now vital that we move forward to get a Plan in place that will allow us to have control of deciding how development takes place in the future. If we don’t, we leave ourselves at risk of planning by appeal, where developers go over our heads to government or planning inspectors. We need to control our destiny.”

The six-week representation period opens on Friday 30 October 2020

The Solihull Local Plan – Draft Submission Plan and relevant guidance can be viewed at www.solihull.gov.uk/lpr from Friday 30 October.

Please forward your views to the Parish Council on dickensheathpc@hotmail.com, or via the Library letterbox.

Cancellation Of Solihull Round Table Annual Firework Display and Details of Solihull Council’s Quieter Fireworks Campaign

Solihull Round Table Annual Firework Display is cancelledSolihull Round Table is saddened to announce that this year’s Firework Display and Bonfire at Tudor Grange Park in 2020 will not be going ahead.Daniel Gibbin, the event organiser for 2020 said: “Despite detailed planning and constant communication with Solihull Council we have made the decision that this year’s event cannot go ahead because of Covid-19 and current guidelines. We know that tens of thousands of people every year enjoy the biggest display in the Borough at Tudor Grange Park and indeed as a small, local charity it is one of largest income streams but it cannot go ahead as planned this year.“Residents can still support us and purchase some of the Fireworks we use by visiting www.fireworkssolihull.co.uk using the discount code “RT10” at checkout. You will receive free delivery in Solihull postcodes B91/B92/B93 and B94 and for every purchase you make 10% will go to the Solihull Round Table to distribute to those who need it most. Pet friendly quieter fireworks are in the 8M and 15M packs. Other postcodes have a substantially reduced delivery charge of £15.“In conjunction with Solihull Council, we recognise the very real threat such a large event could pose to public health. We thank them for all of their support in the past and looking to the future, we will be back in 2021 showcasing the biggest event we have put on to raise thousands of pounds for local charities!”For more information about Solihull Council’s Quieter Fireworks campaign, please see – https://www.solihull.gov.uk/…/This-Bonfire-Night…

Remembrance Sunday

Unfortunately, due to social distancing guidelines, it will not be possible to hold the usual Remembrance Sunday Service in Dickens Heath.  The Parish Council will be marking the event by observing the silence and laying wreaths.

It would be great to see residents putting poppies in their windows – either a poster or one to colour in.  They can be downloaded from the Royal British Legion who would be grateful for any donations (but they can be downloaded without a donation). 

https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/ways-to-give/donate