We have changed MGOOD'S name to reflect the wider issues we are opposing in the village, for example we are fighting to retain the Green Belt land on Coleshill Heath Road which Solihull MBC have in their future plans (Emerging Core Strategy) highlighted for Industrial use. The old name Marston Green Opposing Over Development, does not give the impression that there are issues other than overdevelopment which we want to fight. The new name is Marston Green Optimising Our Development.
27/06/11 - Silent Vigil Please show your support
The Planning bus is due to visit on Saturday 2nd July. We won't know until much nearer the time - possibly Friday 1st or even the Saturday morning - when it will arrive and so we need some careful planning and we hope it will go something like this. As soon as we hear an approximate time, I will send an email to all of you and ask that you tell any interested friends and neighbours, who are not on this distribution list. If we know on the Friday, in addition to the email, we will endeavour to phone those on the contact list who don't receive the emails. As time will be our enemy, we could do with some help with this - perhaps people who have not helped before with deliveries etc, and would like to be involved. It would be very helpful if half a dozen or so offered to call about 6/7 people each. We would of course let you have the relevant info.
On the day itself we hope to have enough people turn up to spread out in a single line, along the whole of Elmdon Road and the roads next to Moat House Farm. This might be optimistic but it would be good if we could do this. We will have 50 A3 laminated posters for people to hold, in addition to the placards which we have used before. We will give these out on the day and see how it goes. It's very much a 'see what happens on the day' job, so we would ask for your help and patience if things seem a little chaotic. This will be a Silent Demonstration, which doesn't mean you can't talk to your friends of course, but it does mean that no-one must ask questions of, or talk to, any of the Planning Committee. If this were to happen it could harm our case.
We are hoping to flood Elmdon Road, the adjoining estate, and Bickenhill Road with posters which we suggest are put in bedroom windows. There will be some left over for others in the village to display and these can be collected after this weekend from Margret Wilden's porch at 76 Station Road. Alternatively, if you need a quantity just let me know and I will drop them off to you. We will be asking the usual people to deliver fliers this weekend so hopefully those of you who have helped before will be happy to do this again.
05/04/11 - We need your support!
The latest news we have regarding the Planning Committee hearing for Moat House Farm is that it has been postponed until sometime in May and of course we will let you know when we have a date. This means we have a few more weeks to be able to gear up to what we hope will be a well supported continuation of our campaign.
Talking of support - You might recall that in the last email message we asked people to let us know if they would put posters in their windows for when the Planning Committee Bus visits to look at the site. Unfortunately the response has been totally underwhelming! We have had offers from various locations around the village but surprisingly none at all from the area which will be most affected - the estate adjoining Moat House Farm. Elmdon Road will also suffer more than most if this development goes ahead but the response from there is also disappointing, with just one offer to display a poster. To be effective we need blanket coverage - every house on the route should have a poster on display. Failure to show our objection will surely be viewed by interested parties (i.e. developers/planning depts.) as us not being particularly interested in the welfare and future of the village.
The MGOOD committee is putting many hours of work into this campaign - but we need your help and support if we are to send out a strong message that this is an application which must be refused.
Thanks to those who have already responded to the poster request and it would be good to hear from others who would be happy to help.
14/03/11 - Bickenhill Parish Council Response Letter to Moat House Farm
Because of the need for an urgent response to the MHF application - the deadline for letters of objection is 24th February - we have arranged a Public Meeting for Wednesday 16th February in the Village Hall to start at 7.30. This does not give MGOOD much time for publicity and so we need to get the word around as quickly as possible. We will be sending out fliers and putting up posters, and Pam will be contacting previous leaflet distributors later in the week.
At the meeting Cllr Bob Sleigh will be talking to us and also there will be Richard Cobb, a Chartered Town Planner, who we have employed to help us.
Click here to see the plans for the site. (Adobe PDF reader required, see link further down page)
If you have any photo's which you think might help to demonstrate the unsuitability of this application then please send them to Paul B at MGood Spotter mgood.spotter@gmail.com
05/02/11 - THE CAMPAIGN STARTS HERE
An application has been submitted to Solihull MBC for the Moat House Farm site - to build 125 houses. We don't know further details yet as they are not on the website - we expect more info to be added tomorrow. We will keep you informed anyway of any new information, when we have it. If you want to look at the application yourself the number you will need is 2011/154.
Needless to say we will need all those who are against this development to man the barricades (not literally we hope) as we start our campaign. We will need all the support and help we can get and so hope you are all on board with this.
08/11/10 - Bickenhill Parish Council Survey - Download
If you have not received a copy of the Bickenhill Parish Council survey, you can download a PDF copy here
29/10/10 -Newspaper Articles
Some of the issues affecting Marston Green are making headlines in some of the local papers.
There was an excellent turnout for the meeting at the village hall on Monday 18th October. For those of you who were unable to attend, the summary sheet that was handed out can be downloaded here.
(Adobe PDF Reader required )
13/10/10 -Public Meeting Monday 18th October
Plans are taking shape for the public meeting and once again if you can, we need your help . We will be showing the video of the Silent Vigil, which most of you will already have seen but those who are not on the email distribution list might not. We also plan to have a slide show from around 7.00 ish showing areas of particular concern or interest. For example: pictures of parking problems, traffic in the village, the 3 sites which are of particular concern at the moment.
A central email 'mailbox' has been created for us, MGood Spotter (mgood.spotter@gmail.com) for residents to post photos and videos illustrating the issues that continued overdevelopment will only serve to exacerbate. Going forward, it could serve as a repository for any photo/video evidence we might need to corroborate our claims. If someone 'spots' a great example of the plight we currently face, snap it and send it to the MGOOD Spotter mailbox. If you have any pictures which we can use for Monday will you please let us have them asap. Can you ensure that they are in JPEG format (they most likely will be anyway) - that will make things easier for us.
One last thought about Monday's meeting; we hope to have standing room only - this hall holds more a few more people than the previous one - and I know that those of you who can be there will be, so let's hope it is a really well attended meeting, to show again that we want our voices and views heard.
The traffic problems are only going to get worse as further development take place
The Clinic car park overflowing
09/10/10 -Public Meeting Monday 18th October
We are holding a Public Meeting, this time in the Village Hall, on Monday 18th October. This week Solihull MBC has published the Emerging Core Strategy document (part of the Local Development Framework) which gives their plans for future development in the Borough. I am sorry to report that as far as the village goes, the plans are bad news. The three areas we are currently challenging i.e. the Coleshill Heath Road Green Belt land, Moat House Farm and Chelmsley Lane, are in the plans and more details will be discussed at the Public Meeting. Along with the Core Strategy document, which can be found at here. There is a questionnaire included for your views, but again more of that at the Public Meeting. We are suggesting that these are not filled in and an alternative method of response will also be discussed at the meeting.
14/09/10 - Silent Vigil
Video footage of the protest, with comments from Marton Green residents.
Over 400 people attended the protest which shows the depth of feeling in the village.
02/09/10 - Silent Vigil VILLAGE HALL 6.00 pm on WEDNESDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER
Pegasus Planning Group are proposing to build 134 houses on ancient farmland on Elmdon Road and will be holding a consultation at the Village Hall from 4.00 pm until 8.00 pm on Wednesday 8th September.
We will be holding a Silent Vigil to protest against this development. To make this effective, and to make sure both the developers and Solihull MBC are left in no doubt about our opposition to these proposals, we need as many people as possible to be at the Village Hall in Elmdon Road at 6.00 pm. The press will be there at that time and it should only take around 15 minutes or so of your time.
We need to send a clear message to Solihull MBC that we want to be involved in any decisions made on the future of our village. We cannot cope with any more large housing estates. Please join us, as the impact on all of us, if this development goes ahead will be huge, and more of our green spaces lost forever.
‘Local decisions for local people’
31/08/10 - Bob Sleigh - Press Release
If we are going to have development it needs to be sustainable. Marston Green can’t take the numbers proposed. Putting in hundreds more houses will add to an already difficult situation. The Schools are full, ,Doctors surgeries are stretched and the parking and traffic problems are legendary. If we are to take development it shouldn’t just be about numbers but about the communities need.
The Government has made it clear that local people should make local decisions about development in their area and has told local authorities to abandon top down housing targets and start again in genuine consultation with communities prior to plans coming forward.
This developer seems to be jumping the gun in advance of that process and is seeking to build what they want, in numbers which this village cannot absorb.
Cllr Bob Sleigh – 0121 779 4760. Mob 07815471785.
09/08/10 -Latest MGOOD News Thanks to everyone who signed the petition to help save the Green Belt land on Coleshill Heath Road. There was a magnificent total of 1,500 names and many thanks must go to Rick Smallwood who spent a lot of time and effort to achieve this successful number.
Solihull Councils' Overview and scrutiny Management Board met last Tuesday and the outcome for us was a positive one. This is an important board as it is the principle scrutiny board of the council, and although is not in itself a decision making body on council policy, it can make recommendations to the Cabinet and in turn to the full council. Fortunately for us Bob Sleigh is a member of that board and made a convincing case for saving the Green Belt land on Coleshill Heath Road. He also recommended the withdrawal of the proposed development sites and the need to have an open consultation with the local community. The committee voted to take these recommendations forward to the Cabinet. This is a major step forward and the first hurdle over, but there is much work to be done to ensure that as residents we can have our voice heard and our views known. There might be an opportunity for us as individuals to become consultees in the consultation process but more of that in the next post..
Bickenhill Parish Council are keen to be involved and will be issuing an invitation to MGood and Marston Green Residents Association to join forces, to form a community partnership, so that we can all work as a group for the ongoing benefit of the village. Again more of that in the next message.
More thanks.............
- to all of you who have offered help in so many ways - rest assured you will be needed. Perhaps we should have as a logo a picture of General Kitchener saying 'Your Village Needs You! ' Apologies to those of you who are too young to remember Lord Kitchener!
- to David Baker for his information on the historical importance of the farm land off Elmdon Road. This might be very useful in the future.
MGOOD is hoping to issue a newsletter within the next couple of weeks, to all residents, but members of the email distribution list, currently standing at 130, will be the first the hear the news. If you woukld like to be added to the list then please email mgood1@talktalk.net One other note relating to MGOOD - we will shortly be changing our name to reflect our wider interest in village matters. Any suggestions for a new name will be considered but please make them printable! No prizes will be given I'm sorry to say............
Many thanks for your continued interest and support..
From the MGOOD team
09/08/10 -Petition Presented to Mayor of Solihull The Mayor of Solihull receiving a petition of 1,500 signatures on 2nd August, which asks for the specific prososal to release Green Belt land on Coleshill Road for commercial development, to be removed from the core strategy.
The Mayor of Solihull along with members of the MGOOD team who were accompanied by a number of residents.
30/07/10 -Public Meeting - Thank You Thanks to all those who were able to be at the public meeting last week and welcome to the new people who have been added to the email distribution list. Emailing news and updates is by far the easiest, quickest and of course cheapest way to get information around the village and so if you have friends or neighbours who would like to join the list please ask them to contact me with their details. The more the merrier and with the possibility of a major fight in the near future, we will need all the support we can get..
Solihull News is running an article this week about the meeting and also mentioning the great historic importance of the land on Elmdon Road which is one of the sites in the proposed plan. (Little known fact, and nothing to do with the meeting, but Boudica, the Celtic Queen who died around AD 60, is reputed to be buried in Marston Green - possibly on land now owned by the airport. Not many people know that!)
Media and communications
Linda Poulson mgood@talktalk.net (From 1st August)
23/07/10 -Public Meeting 21st July Thanks to all of you who attended this important meeting. Everyone who left email addresses on the registration forms will be recieving an email towards the end of next week, with further information and details of any progress made.
15/07/10 - We Are Back! We have been waiting to see if the developers were going to challenge the decision taken by the Government Inspector to reject their appeals regarding the Elmdon We said MGOOD would be back and here we are! Once again we need your help and support.. If I tell you our new motto is 'The future of your village is in your hands' it might give you a flavour of what the Public Meeting is about. Solihull MBC has published its plans for the future development of the village and next Wednesday evening at 7.30 in the Parish Hall, Cllr Bob Sleigh and hopefully Cllr Jim Ryan, will be telling us what it will mean for the village, if these proposals are implemented. The councillors will also be taking questions.
There are two proposed sites earmarked for housing - one on farmland at the top of Elmdon Road, just before the railway bridge, where 120 houses are planned, and the other is on the farmland at the rear of Chelmsley Lane, adjoining the Wavers Marston estate, where there would be a further 150 houses.
The other major concern is the Green Belt land at Coleshill Heath Road. You might remember we fought for this site a couple of years ago when Arlington wanted to build a hotel and offices etc on that buffer zone. The Planning Inspector turned down the appeal by Arlington, on the grounds that it was Green Belt land. Solihull MBC wants to remove the Green Belt designation and allow the land to be used for what effectively would be a further extension of the Business Park.
If you think these plans would harm the village, and clearly we do, then please spread the word and lets get as many of the villagers to go to the meeting as possible. We want people to be fully informed about the plans and to understand the implications if these were to go ahead.
Hope to see you all then. We need all the support we can get if once again we are going to put up a strong fight to save our village.
15/12/08 - Solihull News Item - Sandstone Elmdon Lane Application
A number of people are concerned about the planning application listed in this weeks Solihull News which appears to be identical to an application previously submitted by Sandstone for Elmdon Lane. To the best of our knowledge, and the knowledge of people who have access to more recent information than we have, this is relating to an old application and, as you will have discovered if you have checked out the Solihull Planning website, no mention is made of a current application. Why this should be listed in this weeks applications we don't know but it would seem, for the time being, we can consider this to be an error and not a cause for concern. That said, we might be unwise to be complacent about Sandstone's future plans; you will recall their comments in the press saying they are still interested in the site and they "will do what it takes" to obtain permission to develop this land. From the amount of interest this (possibly) erroneous item has caused, we can be confident, should the need arise, that we will have the support and encouragement of the vast majority of villagers. If we do hear any further news we will of course let you all know immediately.
Linda Poulson
Press Officer Marston Green Opposing Over Development
19/09/08 - Sandstone to Appeal To High Court We have been waiting to see if the developers were going to challenge the decision taken by the Government Inspector to reject their appeals regarding the Elmdon Lane site and we are sorry to tell you, but not surprised, that they have now done this, and so the waiting continues.
Any challenge can only be on a point of law and the Inspectorate will take advice to decide if there is a legal case to answer. If they are happy that the appeal hearings were carried out properly then they will defend their decision in the High Court. If this does prove to be the case then it will be well into next year, possibly in the summer we have been told by the Inspectorate, before the case is heard.
06/08/08 Latest New Residents relief at Inspectors decisions
Villagers were surprised but very relieved to hear that the Government Inspector, Robert Luck, had decided to dismiss the appeals by the Sandstone Group to build an estate of 70+ homes in the rear gardens of Elmdon Lane. Click here for more
23/06/08 Latest News – MGOOD Group - Cream Tea held on 22 June Thank you to Pauline and Jim Campbell for all their hard work and opening their garden to host a fundraising ’Cream Tea’ event for ‘Marston Green Opposing Over Development Group’ on Sunday, 22 June. Marston Green enjoys a wonderful community spirit and tribute must be given to all those residents, their families and friends, who not only contributed home-made scones, cakes, plants for sale, and tombola prizes, but also came along on the day to help out, spend their money and enjoy a lovely neighbourly afternoon in the garden. The event raised over £500. A very big thank you to everyone for their support.
21/06/08 Latest News – ELMDON LANE PLANNING APPEAL The venue for the appeal into the proposed development in Elmdon Lane has been moved to the Civic Suite in Solihull. Those of you who were able to attend the Coleshill Heath Road/Arlington Appeal will be aware that the Institute of Medical Training, the planned venue for the Elmdon Lane appeal, will only accommodate around 15 people in anything like comfort. As a registered group, MGOOD has official status at this appeal and Richard Cobb, who as you know is the Planning Consultant acting on our behalf, requested a larger venue to be able to seat the number of people we hope to get once again for this appeal. The date will remain the same, that is 10th and 11th July.
FURTHER FUNDRAISING EVENTS Cream Tea – 22 June from 3.00 pm at 120 Elmdon Lane There is a ‘Cream Tea’ fundraising event planned for Sunday 22 June, from 3.00 pm, to be held in the garden of 120 Elmdon Lane. If you can cook and are prepared to provide scones or cakes for the sale please contact Pam or Linda (see above for contact telephone numbers). If you are a gardener, do you have any plants/cuttings you can donate which can be sold at the ‘Cream Tea’ event? Otherwise, please just come along to 120 Elmdon Lane on 22 June at 3.00 pm to enjoy a traditional cream tea, buy cakes and plants, chat with your neighbours and enjoy a Sunday afternoon in the garden. (Hopefully in the sun!) If the weather is unsuitable, the event will take place in St Leonards Parish Hall
Garage Sale – 12 July at 10 am at 105 Elmdon Lane There will be a ‘garage sale’ on 12 July. If you have any household items (in good condition please) which might be worth a few pounds, please contact Pam or Linda (see above for telephone numbers).
30/05/08 - MGOOD Table Top Sale on the 17 May
Thank you to everyone who contributed their ‘worldly goods’, helped out on the day, and those who spent their money at the table top sale. It was a tremendous effort and the sale raised £265 towards campaign funds. We are still someway off enough money in the kitty to pay the bill for the planning consultant we are using to help fight the Elmdon Lane Planning Appeal. So, if anyone wishes to make a contribution, however small, to help meet the expenditure, for example: professional advice/representation, stationery, printing, hire of hall, etc, then please contact Linda Poulson (Tel : 779 4787) or Pam Butler (779 2220).
19/03/08 - Marston Green mentioned in Parliament
The proposed Elmdon Lane development was highlighted by our MP Caroline Spelman in the Commons yesterday, during the second stage of her Ten Minute Rule Bill on 'garden grabbing'. She said "Just think about the impact of that development. This is a narrow, tree lined lane with a humpback bridge, where there is potential for traffic levels to increase by 3,400 per cent as a result of garden grabbing." The Bill, which has attracted cross party support, now moves to a second reading in a few weeks time.
The bill, which has cross party support now moves to a second reading in a few weeks time. Lots of press interest both local and national, so many thanks must go to Caroline Spelman for keeping this issue alive.
17/03/08
The Sandstone Group have appealed against decisions made by the Planning Committee of Solihull MBC to reject their latest applications. A major factor for these rejections was the projected noise from Birmingham airport. At the planning hearing, evidence was submitted by Councillor Bob Sleigh and Councillor Jim Ryan, taken from the airports Masterplan, Towards 2030. This shows that the part of the site proposed by Sandstone will, fall into Category C of the noise contours. No housing development should take place on Category C land if other sites are available, and as there are other site designated for housing, the Planning Committee unanimously decided that rejection of the applications was appropriate.
28/02/08
Arlington Business Parks Partnership Ltd are appealing against a planning application which was refused in 2006, to expand the Birmingham Business Park.
21/02/08 - Elmdon Lane Planning Application Rejected
The application for Elmdon Lane by Sandstone Group was rejected at the planning meeting held on 20/02/08. Special thanks must go to Bob Sleigh, Jim Ryan and Jim Campbell who all spoke out loud and clear against this proposed development. Thank to everyone who attended the meeting and have helped to fight this unsuitable application.
