UPDATE – We have heard from Borough Councillor Ken Hawkins that the reduction in opening hours will be deferred until after the May Elections. So we have a little more time to make our feelings known!

Some of you may already know that Solihull MBC will be cutting our Library’s opening hours as of April – in a 6 month pilot.  This definite date has come as a massive shock to the Parish Council – we had thought that this proposal had been deferred, as a result of the Parish Council’s move to co-locate in the Library.  Indeed we had been hoping to extend the Library’s opening hours, but now face the closure of the Library on Tuesdays and on Saturday afternoons.  No one from the SMBC Senior Library team had the courtesy to inform us – we found out from our wonderful librarians, who have been working so hard to extend community activities in our Library.Alison McGrory and Kate Bunting of SMBC Libraries will be attending the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday February 11th 2020 at 7.15pm in the Library.  If you feel that the Library should keep its current opening hours (or even extend them) then please come along to the Parish Council meeting to show your support.

The Parish Council are embarking on a tree-planting project. With increasing awareness of the impact of global warming on the environment, we have given some consideration to what we could do, as a local community, to try and make a difference. Clearly, anything we do will be a small contribution to a huge problem but we believe this is a case where every little counts. We are planning to source a wide range of sapling trees from the Woodlands Trust and will be offering free trees to residents of Dickens Heath to plant in their gardens in the Spring of 2020. We will also be planting additional trees around the village including on the perimeter of the village green. Mike Small, our newest Parish Councillor, who is coordinating the project, has already gained the support of the local Scout group and has a approached the Head Teacher of the school. If you are interested in this project and would like to get involved please contact us at the Library, by emailing dickensheathpc@hotmail.com or ringing 07772 469271 and Mike will be in touch.