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Village Christmas Tree

You may have noticed that the village Christmas tree is now up and decorated. It is in a new location on the Village Green with a new low volt mains power supply, new lights and with decorations made by children at Dickens Heath School.The tree has been provided by the Parish Council, and we would like to thank all the volunteers who helped to get the tree in place, to the Village Hall committee and to the Community Church group for their support this year. Thank you also to the Tickner family who added the children’s decorations on Saturday.Appreciation also goes to the LAYCA Community Association for lending us the scaffolding tower and working on the tree, plus Barrie the truck owner who provided the transport. And not forgetting Parish Councillor Trevor Eames who has worked so hard co-ordinating everything.We will miss the usual official switch on this year, along with the carol service in the Village Hall, mince pies and refreshments. Hopefully our usual festivities will all be back in 2021.

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