Member of Staffordshire County Council representing Lichfield Rural East – Cabinet Member for Adults and Wellbeing

HS2, the national project supported by the previous and coallition government, would devastate our local area…

And not just in Staffordshire. It would also cut a swathe through the green and pleasant land of England across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.

Drayton Bassett, Hints, Weeford, skirting Whittington and onto Lichfield

Up and down those counties people affected are organising themselves into campaigning groups against the proposals and the three County Councils are organising public meetings to inform communities of the details and to provide advice.

In Staffordshire, the County Council is currently doing the same and public meeting(s) will take place in the Lichfield and Tamworth area sometime over the next month.

Details will be publicised in southern Staffordshire media and I’ll also notify everyone registered for my HS2 email update ring.

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This is remarkably similar to the situation that kicked off the amazing Elford Walled Gardens restoration…

You may recall the efforts that went into persuading Birmingham City Council to grant a lease to a community group so they could restore and make sustainable use of the historic gardens at Elford.

Early days at Elford Hall Gardens with an enthusiastic community group

BCC hold, in trust, a very significant estate around parts of Lichfield and Tamworth. The situation regarding Woodhouse Farm is extraordinarily similar to that which I found at Elford.

It’s an unbelievable four and a half years ago since I started in earnest as a newly elected County Councillor to assist the group at Elford with their Birmingham issue. The Elford Hall Estate had fallen into serious disrepair under their trusteeship and there appeared to me to be a viable way forward in reversing that decline and making the Gardens sustainable as a community asset.

Community support at Woodhouse Farm could lead to something great

And it was some time before the City agreed with that point of view and allowed the community group in Elford to take on the project and grant a lease. The latter only happened in the last few months. The group had barely been able to get Birmingham to speak to them for the first eighteen months.

That said,  Birmingham City Council have more recently been exceptionally enthusiastic and helpful to the Elford group including granting substantial funding towards the restoration work. So a huge turnaround!

Woodhouse Community Farm, near to Fisherwick Lakes, is a longstanding family home which is also held in Trust by Birmingham along the same lines as Elford was.

About eighteen months ago the death of the principle tenant resulted in the City Council serving an eviction notice on the remaining family members. Just like the Elford Hall estate, Birmingham were keen to sell off the property to put cash into the Trust and were less than willing to speak about it.

A lovely setting which could be educational and recreational for everyone

But the Stone family at Woodhouse Farm fought back and over the last year or so have received massive support from local people in their efforts to encourage the City to take a more pragmatic stance.

To be honest, whilst lending moral support to the efforts at Woodhouse  Farm, I’ve been conscious not to jeopardise the progress at Elford. But that progress is now irreversible and solid so I’m very happy and willing to throw any influence I have behind the similar community efforts at Fisherwick.

I’ll be writing to Birmingham and assisting the group in a more proactive way to see if we can together replicate the sensational and motivational outcomes enjoyed at Elford.

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Harlaston, Haunton, Clifton and Thorpe have been waiting for news on windfarm proposals…

The wait is now over because German company ProWind have finally submitted the full application for four massive 420 ft wind turbines just outside Haunton village.

The 420ft turbines will be seen from miles away in surrounding parishes  

It’s very unwelcome news but most people thought it would eventually come. Most local people are firmly against the development and villagers have attended several public meetings to discuss the application and make plans to fight it.

And that fight is about to go up a gear with the company’s application lodged and a decision due by Lichfield District Council in around 14 weeks.

So it’s time for people in the Mease and Tame area to submit their views on the plans. In fact it’s pretty urgent and although those views will be taken into account right up to the day before the planning hearing I strongly advise it is best to make your views known by mid July.

And those views should be based on planning grounds:

Are the structures overbearing? Is there visual intrusion or harm to the character of the local landscape?

Would the structures be overbearing or dominate buildings and people living ‘close’ to the site?

Would they impact on property and outlook or mean a loss of amenity? Are you concerned about noise or light flicker?

Does the scale and size of this proposal damage the heritage and character of St Andrew’s Church as the countryside is so flat?

Are issues above outweighed by the benefit of renewable energy?

You can submit your views here. Alternatively you can do so in writing to Lichfield District Council.

Soon as possible.

Read what people have said about this issue here

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At least I think so. It’s been a very odd chain of events but I think common sense has finally prevailed…

A few weeks ago people started to contact my office over a sudden ban on pets being able to travel on Heartlands Travel buses which are the only public transport company in parts of rural Lichfield and Tamworth.

A £25 taxi fare each time to go anywhere with Lucy the Chihauha

The company are funded by tax payers via Staffordshire County’s public transport unit and the ban meant that many older people with pets in rural areas who couldn’t drive were being placed in hardship because a taxi to the vets or even just out and about was costing a fortune.

It’s been a bit of an oddity sorting this one out because there’s been some ’toing and frowing’ by Heartlands as to whether they will lift the ban and if they do whether they will charge for pets.

Anyway, my view remains that if the public are paying for the transport via taxes it has to meet their needs as far as possible. The company has the right, as they should, to refuse to carry unruly pets or ones that could cause problems to other passengers but the blanket ban was wrong.

I’m pleased to say the County are now going to strengthen their public transport contracts to ensure strange things like this won’t happen under the new arrangements.

As for charging for pets, I don’t agree with that in normal circumstances. I guess if a dog is the size that will take up a place then that’s down to the common sense of the driver. But I don’t support it.

I don’t know if Heartlands have abandoned that aspect too… I hope so. But I’m sure customers will have a view as will the County when assessing which operations get new public transport contracts and under the new County administration the quality of service will play a bigger part in contracts than before.

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