Skip to content Skip to left sidebar Skip to footer

Author: FVCA

Flood Management Meeting

Invitation for landowners and farmers – Natural Flood Management in Bournheath and Fairfield

Wednesday 11th December 2024, 09:30—11:30, Bournheath Community Centre, Claypit Lane.

If you own land within the Elmbridge Brook catchment (Bournheath and Fairfield areas), please join us for a meeting to discuss how Natural Flood Management (NFM) techniques could be used locally to reduce flood risk.

Officers from Worcestershire County Council & North Worcestershire Water Management will share experiences of NFM projects elsewhere in the County, and will ask you to annotate maps with areas known to flood or where water often flows off land, and if you know of areas where you think water could be stored for short periods of time.

Also present will be Philippa, a Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer from Natural England. CSF offers free, confidential advice to help manage land productively and sustainably including measures to look after soils – a precious and valuable resource. Taking steps to increase sustainable management practises to prevent both soil erosion and nutrient losses from fields is also key in protecting natural ecosystems. CSF works with farmers and partners across England to produce food in a way that protects water, air and soil, using schemes such as Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 11th December.

On behalf of:

– Bournheath Parish Council,

– Worcestershire County Council

– North Worcestershire Water Management

– Catchment Sensitive Farming

Planning Application – 32 Parish Hill

The following planning application is available to view and comment on. Please use this
link to take you to the home page of Public Access
https://publicaccess.bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk/online-applications/ which is the tool for
viewing applications and making comment electronically.

  • Click on the link above
  • Type in the application number and click, this will take you to the summary page of Public
    Access.
  • When at the summary page
  • To view the documents you will need to click on the tab, then
    the .
  • To make a comment click on the tab,
  • Fill out your details and make your comment and press submit, this will go straight to the
    relevant planning officer and be immediately viewable in the comments tab.
  • If you have provided an email you can request a confirmation email.
APPLICATION REFERENCE :24/01197/CPE
APPLICATION TYPE:Certificate Existing Lawful Use/Dev
DATE ACCEPTED:18.11.2024
LOCATION:32 Parish Hill, Bournheath Worcestershire B61 9JQ 
PROPOSAL:Creation of a new access and hardstanding
APPLICANTS NAME:
PARISH COUNCIL:Belbroughton Parish
WARD:Belbroughton And Romsley Ward
CASE OFFICER:Laura Russ
TELEPHONE:01527 534122
EMAILl.russ@bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk

Planning Application – 52 Bournheath Road

The following planning application is available to view and comment on. Please use this
link to take you to the home page of Public Access
https://publicaccess.bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk/online-applications/ which is the tool for
viewing applications and making comment electronically.

  • Click on the link above
  • Type in the application number and click, this will take you to the summary page of Public
    Access.
  • When at the summary page
  • To view the documents you will need to click on the tab, then
    the .
  • To make a comment click on the tab,
  • Fill out your details and make your comment and press submit, this will go straight to the
    relevant planning officer and be immediately viewable in the comments tab.
  • If you have provided an email you can request a confirmation email.
APPLICATION REFERENCE :24/00707/FUL
APPLICATION TYPE:Full Application
DATE ACCEPTED:04.11.2024
LOCATION:52 Bournheath Road, Fairfield Worcestershire B61 9HN 
PROPOSAL:Rebuilding of outbuilding to form one dwelling.
APPLICANTS NAME:
PARISH COUNCIL:Belbroughton Parish
WARD:Belbroughton And Romsley Ward
CASE OFFICER:Emily Darby
TELEPHONE:01527 881657
EMAILemily.darby@bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk

Rural Crime Alert – Trailer Thefts

West Mercia Police are currently seeing a spate of rural thefts across North Worcestershire and beyond.  The target for these criminals appears to be trailers, in particular Ifor Williams.  A recent theft took place on 23/10/24 in the Belbroughton area and the offending vehicle was thought to be a silver Nissan X-Trail.  It is suspected that this vehicle may have been using false number plates.

Please take a moment to consider the security of your own trailers and property and be vigilant. Please report any suspicious activity. Further crime prevention advice can be found here: Secured by Design – Crime Prevention & Security Advice

Planning Application – 2 Yew Tree Lane

The following planning application is available to view and comment on. Please use this
link to take you to the home page of Public Access
https://publicaccess.bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk/online-applications/ which is the tool for
viewing applications and making comment electronically.

  • Click on the link above
  • Type in the application number and click, this will take you to the summary page of Public
    Access.
  • When at the summary page
  • To view the documents you will need to click on the tab, then
    the .
  • To make a comment click on the tab,
  • Fill out your details and make your comment and press submit, this will go straight to the
    relevant planning officer and be immediately viewable in the comments tab.
  • If you have provided an email you can request a confirmation email.
APPLICATION REFERENCE :24/01006/FUL
APPLICATION TYPE:Full Application
DATE ACCEPTED:03.10.2024
LOCATION:2 Yew Tree Lane, Fairfield Worcestershire B61 9LT 
PROPOSAL:Proposed detached timber-framed garage.
APPLICANTS NAME:
PARISH COUNCIL:Belbroughton Parish
WARD:Belbroughton And Romsley Ward
CASE OFFICER:Jane Fray
TELEPHONE:01527 881263
EMAILjane.fray@bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk

Should Fairfield, Wildmoor & Stoneybridge be a Parish?

Changes to the makeup of Belbroughton & Fairfield Parish Council could further disadvantage the residents of our community. 

Currently we are a Ward within the Parish of Belbroughton & Fairfield, which currently is made up of 8 councillors elected to represent the Belbroughton Ward and 6 councillors elected to represent the Fairfield [Wildmoor & Stoneybridge] Ward.

But all this will soon change, due to a slight redrawing of our internal Parish boundary, and the forecasted electoral numbers in 5 years’ time.

From the Parish Council elections in 2027, the make up of the Council will be 9 Councillors elected to represent Belbroughton and 5 councillors elected to represent Fairfield [Wildmoor & Stoneybridge].

Some residents feel that the reduction in numbers of elected to represent Fairfield [Wildmoor & Stoneybridge] will further disadvantage our community and have asked if it is possible if we could become a Parish on our own, with local decisions being made by our community; there are other communities with similar or smaller populations to ours that are Parish Councils and operate effectively.

Residents have expressed concern that a future redrawing of the Parish or internal Ward boundaries could further disadvantage us, with the forecast population of Belbroughton increasing with future proposed development, and our community not increasing by the same rate due to no/minimal development.

The option for residents is to request a Community Governance Review, which needs to be requested by at least 200 electors living in the Parish.

If a Community Governance Review is requested, and agreed, Bromsgrove District Council will consider several options:

  • Splitting the Parish and creating a new Parish of Fairfield (or whatever name is agreed).  Do we have a population that could sustain a Parish of Fairfield?  The Census 2021 population dataset at Parish level has yet to be made public by the ONS, so we can only go by 2011 census data; the population for Fairfield was 942, our neighbours in Bournheath had a population of 465 and Dodford with Grafton 758.  The nearby Parish of Frankley had a population of 122

Or

  • A revised overall number of Parish Councillors, the overall number proposed could be less than at present (the current number is disproportionately high compared to other Councils).  The Ward allocation would be based – as present – on number of electors.  If the overall Council was reduced to, for example, 8, the allocation may be 5 for Belbroughton, 3 for Fairfield, the difference of 2 would be far better than the proposed difference of 4, or more.

Comparison with other Parish/Town Councils

Currently Belbroughton & Fairfield Parish Council is made up of 14 Councillors (if all seats are taken).  The Parish has 2,582 usual residents as at Census day 2011. 

In comparison, the number of councillors currently on (if all seats filled) and their respective populations for:

  • Evesham Town Council is 24 councillors and 23,428 usual residents as at Census day 2011.
  • Droitwich Spa Town Council is 18 councillors and 23,504 usual residents as at Census day 2011.
  • Pershore Town Council is 15 and 7,065 usual residents as at Census day 2011.
  • Malvern Town Council is 20 and 29,626 usual residents as at Census day 2011.
  • Catshill and North Marlbrook Parish Council is 10 and 6,858 usual residents as at Census day 2011.
  • Kidderminster Town Council is 18.  The population for the Kidderminster Built-up area (Census 2011) was 57,059.

It has been suggested that in comparison with other larger population Parish/Town Councils, the makeup of Belbroughton & Fairfield Parish Council is disproportionately high. Councils with populations similar to ours often have 6 to 8 Councillors.

What can YOU do?

The Community Association has agreed to collate the requests and forward them on to Bromsgrove District Council, you can hand in your Community Governance Review request at any of our events or pop it in the Village Hall post-box.  NOTE:  The Governance Review Request can only be signed by those people on the electoral register.

If the Association has received 200 signatures by the deadline of 31st January 2025, we will forward all requests for a Community Governance Review to Bromsgrove District Council.  If the number of required signatures has not been achieved by the deadline date, request forms received will be shredded.

Celebrating Harvest 2024

Community Celebrates Food & Farming

A wonderful village Harvest Festival service was held on Sunday 13th October; our thanks to residents & farmers for attending, to the Clent Bell Ringers for the entertainment & to our guest Jill Jinman Addington Fund.

The Harvest displays in the church looked wonderful, and our celebratory service raised £152.50 for the Addington Fund/Forage Aid plus food donated shared between Dodford Children’s Farm & The Basement Project.

New Village Bench

Thanks to the support of County Councillor Shirley Webb & Worcestershire County Council , the Community Association have been able to install a new bench in Wood Lane. Thanks also to volunteers Nick & Paul for their assistance.

A consultation on ward boundaries for Bromsgrove has begun

Today is the start of a ten-week public consultation, by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, inviting proposals for new council wards and ward boundaries for Bromsgrove District Council.

The consultation will close on 2 December 2024.

After the Commission have considered all representations made to them during this consultation, they intend to publish draft recommendations in May 2025.

The Commission will then hold a further period of consultation on their draft recommendations. The final recommendations are expected to be published in November 2025.

The new electoral arrangements will come into effect at the local elections in 2027.

What is an electoral review?

The electoral review will recommend new electoral arrangements for Bromsgrove District Council. They will propose:

  • the total number of councillors elected to the council in the future;
  • the number of wards;
  • the number of councillors representing each ward;
  • ward boundaries; and
  • the names of wards.

How to get involved

This is a public consultation and the Commission welcomes views from individuals and organisations across Bromsgrove on where they think new ward boundaries should be drawn.

The Commission are minded to recommend that 31 councillors should be elected to Bromsgrove District Council in the future.

This is no change from the current number of councillors.

The Commission are now inviting proposals to help us draw up a pattern of wards to accommodate 31 councillors.

In drawing up new electoral wards, the Commission must balance three legal criteria, namely:

  • to deliver electoral equality: where each councillor represents roughly the same number of electors as others across the district;
  • that the pattern of wards should, as far as possible, reflect the interests and identities of local communities;
  • that the electoral arrangements should provide for effective and convenient local government.

The Commission will treat all submissions equally, and judge each case on its merits and against the legal criteria.

If you wish to put forward a view, the Commission would also urge you to ensure that evidence supports your submission.

For example, if you wish to argue that two areas should be included in the same electoral ward, make sure you tell the Commission why they should be together, providing evidence about community facilities, ties, organisations, and amenities, rather than simply asserting that they belong together.

There is more advice on the Commission’s website about how you can get involved in the consultation.

The Commission’s website features technical guidance that explains the process and their policies, as well as guidance on how to take part in each part of the process.

They have also set up a webpage dedicated to the review of Bromsgrove, where you can find all the relevant information, access interactive maps of the current ward boundaries, and give your views.