Village July2019

Village News
Right-of-way battle looms
barnt green parish councillors
have vowed to keep up the pressure
on CALA Homes to give all residents
access to a public right of way.
The path that leads from Butterwick
Close through to Cherry Hill
Road was created as a condition of
planning permission for the Foxhills
development, but it is currently
blocked by gates that separate five
houses from the rest of the estate.
“Apparently this is due to safety
concerns about people being able to
go straight on to a road, but Bromsgrove’s
planning officer has confirmed
that it is a right of way so the
path should be accessible to all,” said
district councillor Charlie Hotham.
“I suspect there will now be
months of argument between CALA,
Worcestershire Highways and myself
– CALA will probably say it’s too much
trouble to change it.”
Coun Phil Perry, who lives on the
estate, said that he had got through
the gates by using the “trade” buzzer,
but could not get out again as there
was no keypad on the other side.
Parish ‘quirks’
prompt review
Lickey & Blackwell parish council
discussed the idea of adding a new
area to the parish after an enquiry from
a resident of Staple Flat.
Coun Stephen Nock told colleagues
that although the road is actually in
Lickey End, which does not have a
parish council, residents consider themselves
part of Lickey & Blackwell.
“There have been some dodgy planning
decisions affecting Lickey End, and
people have written to us for help but
we’ve had to point out that they are not
part of our parish.”
Chairman Nick Forknell said it would
be unusual to adopt just one road, and
that at least a third of the residents
would need to support the change.
Meanwhile, Barnt Green is also considering
expanding its parish. District
councillor Charlie Hotham said that
the idea had been mooted before, but
Bromsgrove hadn’t wanted to change
boundaries in the run-up to elections.
“There are some strange quirks with
the boundary – one side of Cherry Hill
Road comes under Blackwell, and the
sailing club is officially within Barnt
Green but the reservoir isn’t.”
Coun Hotham requested a discussion
on the subject for a future meeting.
8 The Village July 2019