Minutes of the May meeting of Brierley Hill Civic Society

Minutes of the meeting of Brierley Hill Civic Society held on Monday 18th May 2015 at St Michael’s Church commencing at 6pm.

Present

Joy Cooper, Stephen Dunn, John James, Betsy Lafferty, Tim Lee, Lorna Morrison, Maggie Norton, Jenny Sunter, Tim Sunter, Dennis Whittaker, Norma Whittaker.

Apologies

Pat Cobern, Rachel Harris, Zafar Islam, John Martin

Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting had been circulated and were agreed as a true record.

Correspondence

JS gave informed the meeting of the correspondence received:
* NCVO general election briefing on the impact of the recent election on voluntary organisations
* Civic Voice weekly newsletter including details of the work on war memorials
* Information on the Community Rights pilot
* Details of NCVO workshops for volunteers

SD asked about whether Civic Voice had a website that he and other members could refer to. JS confirmed that this was the case.

Treasurer’s Report

DW gave the treasurer’s report:
* Cash in hand £53.46
* Bank account £1323.97
* Less money held on behalf of SNOW -£985.75
* Total £391.68

Organisation Sub

It had been agreed at the last meeting that an ‘organisation sub’ should meet to plan the future direction and activities of the Society. SD, TL, LM, TS, and DW had subsequently met at the Bull & Bladder (venue purely to support local industry).

Key points from the meeting were:

  • Need to have a balance in the Society’s activites between celebrating the past, action in the present and influencing the future.
  • Potential speakers with a historic perspective could be on the topics of Round Oak, Marsh & Baxter, the history of brickmaking in the area. To determine what actions the Society could take to improve Brierley Hill engagement with Dudley MBC cabinet members would be a positive step.
  • Partnership working with the public, private and voluntary/community sectors has the potential to achieve shared goals in the town.

Key actions to follow up were:
* To extend the Brierley Hill in Bloom meeting on 3rd June to involve the organisation sub and Christmas Festival team would be a good forum to start to pull partners together.
* Brierley Hill Civic Society to consider its priorities for action at its next meeting (i.e. tonight)
* Establish relationship with BHCF as there did seem to be overlapping objectives
* The chase Dudley Archives re a visit to the new facility with a chance to view materials in the Brierley Hill collection.
* To establish a programme of speakers.
* To consider whether the Society can offer any help to make the council’s forums more effective.

TS reported that following this meeting he had made contact with the archives. The Society’s meeting on Monday 20th July would now take place at the archives and we would receive a tour and then the opportunity to look at Brierley Hill materials. There would be a pass through charge from the archives of £4 and a minimum total charge of £40. It was agreed that this should be publicised as far and wide as possible to ensure maximum attendance.

Future activities

Following on from the organisation sub meeting the Society had been asked to bring ideas for future activities for the Society. The following ideas were suggested:
* Continued engagement with NHR and DMBC to try and get some regeneration activity moving in the area.
* Presentation of a replica of the Gibbons/Jordan painting for display in the town centre. Andy Gray of DCVS had indicated an interest for it to be hung in the Civic Centre.
* Restoration of the Brierley Hill war memorials
* Resolution of the difficulties with access to and use of Lawyers Field (Friends of Marsh Park are leading on this). There was talk of whether the plaque commemorating the opening was still in the park.
* Litter picking events together with anti-graffitti activities. Questions arose about the best way to go about this and advice from DMBC should be sought. The litter strewn state of canals in the area was also highlighted.
* The introduction of weight limits on roads which are being used inappropriately by heavy vehicles, North Street for example.
* Replacement trees for those that once flourished in the High Street
* The renaming of Venture Way to something more appropriately reflecting the history of the town
* A ‘blue plaque’ scheme celebrating some of the achiements of the town
* A cultural regeneration programme to attract more visitors to the town centre. A brass band playing in Marsh Park was one suggestion put forward.
* Getting the publicly visible clocks in the town working – St Michael’s and The Moor Centre were mentioned.
It was suggested that the organisation sub on 3rd June could pick up some of these ideas and put meat on the bones (thought: is there a vegetarian equivalent for this phrase?)

Brierley Hill in Bloom

TS reported than the planters were now fixed on Venture Way; lamp post baskets were suggested for along the High Street and it was aimed to have these in place for the winter planting; the plants for the summer had been grown and it was planned to put them out early in June.

Brierley Hill Christmas Festival

TS had met with AG from DCVS. AG was keen to get involved as it was a potential project for the Civic Hall. He would be attending the meeting on 3rd June.

DMBC review of criteria for locally listed buildings

A spokesperson from the planning department had now agreed to come to the next meeting to talk through the implications of this. There were some concerns that the changing of the criteria might weaken the ability to protect historic buildings in the town.

Regeneration update including planning matters

DW updated the meeting on progress.
A date for further engagement with NHR and DMBC was awaited. At the previous meeting priorities of making a pedestrian link between the High Street and Merry Hill together with environmental improvements in the High Street had been identified. Indications had been given that funding may be available for the link but it was doubtful whether funds might be there for the High Street.
Intu were interested in development of the Daniels Land site for residential purposes whilst Rachel Harris had put forward the idea for a white water centre.
DW was also creating a planning database to keep track of proposed developments in the town. He gave an exhaustive list of live applications:
* Two applications for residential and offices adjacent to Red Peppers including the former Doug Holmes Taylors.
* The Dock and Iron in Delph Road was saved following objections to its demolition by the council as the building is on the Heritage Assetts Register. Instead the proposal has been amended to keep the pub and to use the car park as a van hire centre.
* 81 Church Street – the former Radio Shack building – application to demolish and build one dwelling.
* Housing proposals for the former RDF site. The environment agency has no objections subject to safeguards being put in place. They had also expressed they concern with respect to the site being suitable for a waste site.
* ASDA car park for a self service filling station. Members expressed their concern that this ran counter to the AAP for the area, would undermine the pedestrian link to the area and would not be appropriate to front on to the proposed public square.
* Arc Alloys building on Moor Street adjacent to Foxdale drive. Two applications had been submitted for residential but problems remained about access to the site due to the hump backed bridge.
* The Plough has a residential planning permission and was sold at auction for £57,000. Work is presently taking place on the site.
* The former Alma Pub has an application for five flats upstairs, three on the first floor and two on the second floor.
* The Cottage Spring in Mill Street has had an application to turn it into a vets passed.
* The former Black Country Stoves shop on High Street has been approved for a launderette.
* HVC supplies in Bull Street has had an application for five homes agreed. An earlier application for six homes had been rejected because of lack of parking facilities.
* The former Round Oak Pub had been approved for a home improvements store on the ground floor and one flat upstairs.
* Harts Hill bus station – adjacent to hazardous chemical plants had had an application for a supermakret withdrawn as well and an application for 45 homes withdrawn.

DW is creating a 3 year database of applications to enable further close monitoring.

Any Other Urgent Business

There was no other urgent business.

The meeting closed at 7.30pm.

RDF waste mountain: rumours of ceased trading may be due to new waste ban

The SayNoToCleanPowerEnergyCentreInBrierleyHill Facebook site this morning reported speculation that Refuse Derived Fuel Ltd (RDF) may have ceased trading. The Environment Agency haven’t heard anything to this effect, the on moving new waste to the site from 10th July might be root of rumours.

£362,000 bid to improve walking and cycling in Brierley Hill meets success!

In case you don't know what a cyclist looks like

A £362,000 bid to the governments Local Sustainable Transport fund aimed at improving and encouraging walking and cycling in Brierley Hill has been successfully submitted by Dudley Council.  A working party including Dudley Council, Dudley Primary Care Trust, Sustrans (the cycling organisation), Brierley Hill Town Centre Partnership and Living Sreets has been set up to engage local views.  A copy of the bid can be viewed below.

A website is being prepared under the strap line ‘I Get Around’.  Marketing materials highlighting walking and cycling opportunities is being prepared for distribution to businesses, schools and community groups.

Feasibility work on new and improved walking & cycling routes connecting the surrounding residential catchment areas to Brierley Hill Centre is underway. Work is planned to commence next financial year.  Locations for new cycle parking in Brierley Hill are also being looked at.

The team will be attending events during the coming year to encourage further cycling.

£10 million Brierley Hill bus improvement scheme…new bus lanes coming on the Boulevard and to Pedmore Road

The March meeting of Brierley Hill Town Centre Partnership heard of the £5 million funding bid towards a £10 million scheme deliver a step-change in bus user experience at Merry Hill Bus Station and on the wider Brierley Hill bus network.

The government has now announced that they have approved the bid as covered in the Express and Star (merry-hill-bus-station-to-get-10m-overhaul/).

It will address congestion that causes unreliability by focusing on pinch points. The key elements of the proposal are:

  • Brand new state of the art bus station, with 25% increase in capacity, full DDA compliance and high quality passenger information and facilities
  • Significant highway measures to remove delays and increase reliability for buses in the Brierley Hill area, including a dedicated bus only link and two bus lanes with bus gates.  The work will include establish bus only lanes on the Boulevard and opening a bus only link from Merry Hill bus station to the Pedmore Road.
  • Segregation of buses from general traffic without loss of highway capacity
  • New bus stop infrastructure and RTI at key locations along strategic routes
  • New commercial multi-operator Smartcard (e-purse and bus)
  • Bespoke marketing and communications campaign
  • Workwise support to help 1,090 people into employment
  • £2.2.m investment in brand new euro 5 buses
  • On Vehicle Displays (Talking Buses) on strategic routes

The bid can be read below:

Brierley Hill Bus Network Transformation BBA Bid Submission

Russells Hall parking: new controls to ease problems for residents

From Brierley Hill Area Committee: Concerns have been raised about the amount of both patients and hospital staff members choosing to park on the carriageway and footway in streets around Russells Hall Hospital. This parking obstructs the movement of both motorists and pedestrians, and prevents vehicle access to driveways. It also causes great difficulties for bus services in the area.

The following Traffic Regulations Orders (TROs) have been publicly advertised to seek observation: (plans shown in Appendix A). Continue reading Russells Hall parking: new controls to ease problems for residents

Planning inspector’s report on Brierley Hill published

The report of the planning inspector, Vincent Maher, has been published and is overwhelmingly supportive of the Brierley Hill Area Action Plan, but deletes references to ‘strategic wildlife corridors’ to replace them with ‘wildlife corridors’ in order to make the policy easier to understand and adds in a paragraph that developers must take account of the possible potential of coal extraction as part of their plans.

Key tasks prior to major development remain the introduction of a car park charging regime at Merry Hill and the introduction of improvements in public transport and surely the focus will now shift to moving ahead on these initiatives now.

You can read the inspectors report below. Continue reading Planning inspector’s report on Brierley Hill published

Car Parking update: Bell Street and High Street

The February meeting of the Brierley Hill Town Centre Partnership received an update on parking issues in the town centre.

Concern had been expressed that parking on both sides of Bell Street South was making the road difficult to navigate.  Engineers from the council pointed out that parking limits had been planned for the street as part of the new Venture Way proposals.  However, local councillors had opposed the Bell Street proposal as they felt workers needed somewhere to park.  The restrictions were therefore not advanced.

Concern about parking of private hire cars at the upper end of the High Street (near Concord Market) had also been expressed, with a view that this was damaging the economic health of that part of the town as passing custom had no space to pull in.  It was confirmed that this area was not a taxi rank.  Private hire vehicles had to be treated in the same way as any other vehicle and subject to the same enforcement.

Area Action Plan nearing completion

Brierley Hill Area Action Plan – a key planning document which will guide future developments in the area – is reaching its final run in to adoption following an ‘Examination in Public’ held at Dudley Council House in December.  Planners are now looking to formally adopt the plan this summer.

The proposed plan which will guide the creation of over 10,000 new jobs, a significant expansion of the Merry Hill Centre, the building of over 3,000 new homes in the area, and the introduction of more leisure and community facilities, was subject to questioning by Inspector Vincent Maher during a week of meetings and visits.

Community groups, council officials, traders, environmentalists, developers and landlords all attended the examination.

Overall the process was very positive – not a surprise given the amount of consultation that has taken place over the last decade.

Points of debate centred around how to improve public transport to the town, how to enhance the High Street, the impact of the introduction of car park charging at Merry Hill, how best to protect and enhance wildlife in the area and  the role of manufacturing within the plan.

Mr Maher is now considering his report on whether the plan conforms to national requirements and is realistic in its delivery prospects.  His report should be available at the end of this month, February.

All being well the plan should be ready for adoption this summer and the hard work of implementing it will gain a further boost.

Community Forum open meeting discusses car parking and transport

Tuesday saw local residents being given their chance to have a say on parking issues in Brierley Hill town centre when the Community Forum’s open meeting met at Bank Street Methodist Church.  Those attending the meeting heard that the introduction of car park charging at Merry Hill was, for legal reasons, some time off.  But there are exisiting parking problems in the town which needed to be tackled. Continue reading Community Forum open meeting discusses car parking and transport

Brierley Hill Community Forum – next Tuesday, 9th February 4.30pm

The starting time of next meeting of Brierley Hill Community Forum has been brought forward to 4.30 pm to accommodate visiting speakers.

The main item of businesss on the agenda is car parking in the area.  Dudley’s engineer with responsibility for car parking, Martyn Holloway, will be in attendace to listen to residents concerns.