• Good turnout for the Chief Constable’s visit last month, thanks to all that came to the hall

• Fairfield Dining Group – next lunch 21^st Feb. at the Swan, Fairfield, then at The Fox, Chaddesley, on 21^st March – different venues to previously published.  Arrive 12.15pm onwards for a 12.30pm lunch.  If you are coming, contact Pat.

• Next litter pick – 12^th Feb, 10.30am, meet outside hall.

• Swan Lane – work will soon commence to clear ditches and repair gullies.

• Volunteer needed for southern planter.

• Volunteer needed to coordinate Platinum Jubilee party on Sunday 5^th June.

• England V Ireland Six Nations Rugby Match at the village hall on 12th March 3pm onwards.

• Fairfield Flicks doing well, now doing Event Cinema & live music.  Next film: The Courier, 13^th March 7.30pm.

• Overview presentation proposed Wildmoor Quarry extension

On Thursday 2nd June, a chain of beacons cross the United Kingdom and Commonwealth will be lit to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and her 70 years of service as our monarch.

It has been suggested that a beacon is lit in our community is part of this historic occassion.

Are there any craftsmen/women who can build a Jubilee Beacon Brazier for the village?

At this stage we are after a volunteer and costings.

A location for the brazier has to be greed, and there will be fundraising to cover the cost.

If you can help, get in touch admin@fvca.org.uk

A huge thanks to all our Wombles, fighting Grot & keeping our community tidy, whether volunteering at our monthly litter picks or at other times of the month. Unfortunately littering in our community is an issue, with some grot hotspots where litter is always found, and the same stretches of footpath & verge where dog mess can also be found. Please:

· If you are unable to take part in the monthly litter pick, help fight Grot by litter picking outside your driveway and along the road & hedgerow near where you live.

· If you are a dog walker, please pick up, bag and put in the bin dog waste. There are plenty of dog waste bins in the village, so there is no excuse. And don’t leave the dog pooh bag for someone else to clear up.

And if you are free, the next Community Litter will be on Saturday 12th March. The more people that volunteer, the more we can do to tackle the litter along our village lanes. Meet outside the Village Hall 10.30am, wear suitable clothing & footwear, litter picking equipment will be provided.

To mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, events are being planned to mark this historic occasion including:

Asking residents to help turn our community Red, White & Blue and waving the flag over the four day bank holiday weekend, 2nd-5th June.

Saturday 4th June – Live stream of the Jubilee Concert at the Village Hall. Free admittance & there will be a licenced bar.

Sunday 5th June – The Jubilee Lunch at the Village Hall. A volunteer is needed to help organise this event. Email admin@fvca.org.uk

Do you have an idea to help mark this occasion? Email admin@fvca.org.uk or pop along to our Social Saturday Community Gatherings.

Wildmoor Quarry seeks to expand its operations by quarrying adjacent land. FVCA will give a presentation at the community gathering on Saturday 5th February, 10am, Village Hall.

St. Mark’s have agreed, in principle, for the use of the church’s porch, with shelving on the one side. This location will mean the books, and people visiting the Book Bank, are in the dry.

We need someone to kindly design, for agreement, the shelves and then build them.

There is no budget, so we will be asking for donations.

If you can help, please email admin@fvca.org.uk

Fireworks near the countryside can be a concern for farmers and pet owners.

Loud noises can scare animals and the waste from fireworks can harm wildlife. Last months fireworks killed one cow in Fairfield and traumatised others.

When bringing in the New Year, remember to Respect, Protect & Enjoy nature.

Fairfield Cafe will at 12 noon on Christmas Eve, reopening Monday 3rd January.

Due to the increased Covid transmission rates and as a precautionary measure, January’s Dining Group lunch has been cancelled. All being well, the next lunch will be on 21st February at The Gate at Bournheath

Mr. Kevin Nind, proprietor of Kev’s Coaches, has contacted the Community Association say that one of his drivers, Justin, has told been told by some passengers that they have been informed that the 318 bus service is ceasing after Christmas. Mr. Nind says that there is no truth in this rumour.

Earlier this year, Openreach announced that (almost) all of Bromsgrove will be cabled with Fibre To The Premises (FTTP), as part of the national plan to phase out copper wiring for landline telephones and internet connectivity. 

Fibre brings substantially higher speeds, better reliability, and future-proofs the properties.  (Apparently, the second most popular question that house buyers ask is – how fast is the internet).

As part of the roll-out, most of Fairfield village has been cabled.  Catshill is also being connected, including the properties immediately past the motorway bridge on Wildmoor Lane. 

Sadly, most of Wildmoor was NOT included in the Openreach plan for Bromsgrove.   

At the Sandy Lane end of Wildmoor, a Community Fibre Project (CFP) proposal was put forward last year, in conjunction with Superfast Worcestershire (part of the county council).   This proposal, which was successful, means that grants are being made available from central government and the county council, to fund the costs for Openreach to install FTTP to the properties connected to the Rubery telephone exchange. 

This leaves approximately 70 premises – a mix of commercial and residential – in Third Road, Mill Lane, Swan Lane and Wildmoor Lane, excluded from any scheme.  A CFP proposal for these ‘forgotten’ premises was submitted to Openreach in March, supported by Superfast Worcestershire and by Councillor Shirley Webb. 

The outline costing has now been received from Openreach, and it is now down to the occupiers of the premises to decide if they want FTTP.  This requires a simple commitment to take an FTTP Internet package from ANY Internet Service Provider which offers FTTP, for a 12 month period.  The additional costs (i.e. for FTTP rather than copper-based internet) could be as little as £10 per month.

To obtain the grants, and therefore incur no individual installation costs, requires a certain level of uptake to succeed.  This is the best opportunity for Wildmoor to avoid being left behind as technology evolves!

If you are one of the residents in this group, or have a commercial unit in Wildmoor Farm business park, or on Wildmoor Lane, please contact Peter Hunt (peterhunt988@outlook.com, or 07970745487) for more information.

Fairfield Post Office closes at the end of this week, Friday 22nd October.

Fairfield Cafe remains OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Relaxed, social gathering on Saturday 2nd October, residents were joined by PC Stone from Bromsgrove Police – our local police officer.

Whilst enjoying cake and coffee/tea, residents highlighted parking issues, were updated on community works, and agreed activities to mark Halloween and Christmas. Thanks to all who attended.

You are invited to a coffee morning at Bournheath Village Community Centre (Claypit Lane) between 10.30 and 12 on Wednesday 15th September. Catch up on news with the neighbours, enjoy coffee/tea and home-made cakes, or borrow a book from the Book Bank. Just drop in or stay for the whole time.

This is our first coffee morning since March 2020 so it would be great to see people developing a sense of a real community again. If you haven’t been before, please come along to say hello.

Also, between 7.30 and 8.30 on Wednesday 15th September, social table tennis will take place at the Community Centre. It’s free and all are welcome, regardless of standard. (We’re playing singles at the moment to help with social distancing).

Recently two more gully grids along Swan Lane have been unblocked, leaving one grid and one gully to go. A reminder has been sent to Worcestershire County Council.

After chasing, an update has been provided regarding the gully grid on Wood lane that has been blocked for far too many years, “have made a site visit and raised a 4 week work order to clear it.”

Are You Busy?  Do you get distracted?  If answered yes to one or both questions, then you are like many other people.  We live a rush, rush life.

Despite being in a hurry trying to get some where on time and juggling many things at the same time, can you take a few minutes to be:

• Considerate when parking your vehicle.  Please do not block driveways, park on a junction or double park.  
  • For school traffic, PLEASE utilise the Swan Inn carpark, it is only a few minutes’ walk away. 
  • For non-school event traffic, PLEASE consider parking remotely and walking into the village or use public transport. 
  • Our village is on main road, used by local people, commuters, agricultural vehicles, lorries etc.  Inconsiderate parking leads to increased congestion & pollution levels, restricts legitimate vehicle movements and irritates others.  Considerate parking helps alleviate these issues and provides a stretch of the legs, which is good for physical & mental health well-being, plus the likelihood of damage to your vehicle (e.g. wing mirror gets knocked off) is reduced. 

• Don’t drop litter.  We live in a village that many people like visiting because it is clean & tidy.  Often litter is dropped by accident or by a child that for a few moments was not thing of their consequences.  PLEASE think about the potential litter that you or your child could be creating.  If you give your child a bag of crisps, ask them to bring the empty bag to you.  If you see a bin that is full, take your rubbish home or to an empty bin.  Easy solutions that keep’s Fairfield a great place for you and others to visit.

Enough interest has been received, so Fairfield Dining Group (OPEN TO EVERYONE) will resume next month, 18th October, with a lunchtime meal at the Swan, 12 noon. A different pub for November (TBC) and a full schedule for 2022 will be included in the Association’s Winter newsletter and online.

If you would like to join us on the 18th October please contact Pat on 01527 832360, or email patricia@steward7.plus.com

On Wednesday (1st September) our new Interim Priest (Belbroughton with Fairfield) the Revd Canon Wyn Beynon was licenced at a service that was held at Holy Trinity, Belbroughton, led by Rt Revd Bishop Martin Gorick, Bishop of Dudley.

Pictured, Revd Canon Wyn Jones with the Bishop of Dudley and the Archdeacon of Dudley, Venerable Nikki Groarke.

The Autumn 2021 Edition of the Community Newsletter has arrived from the printers, volunteers will be delivering copies to properties across Fairfield, Wildmoor & Stoneybridge over the coming weeks. Copies will also be available from The Fairfield Cafe, Fairfield Village Hall and other establishments. If you can’t wait for your hard copy magazine you can download from http://fvca.org.uk/documents/fvca-newsletters/

The new 40 mph buffer zone has been marked up as you approach the Village from Stoneybridge Island, and the order has now come into effect. http://fvca.org.uk/notices/40mph-buffer-zone-approved/

The broken Swan Lane gully grid has (finally) been replaced. Fingers crossed work to unblock the other grids plus the ditch at the bottom of the lane will follow.

Part-Time Job Opportunity – Fairfield Post Office is looking for someone to join the team.

For further information pop into the Post Office and speak to Sunny or Kam.

Worcestershire County Council have issued a public notice approving the reduction in the speed limit between Stoneybridge Island and the current start of the 30 mph at the north planter. The Order will come into operation on 12 August 2021.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (as amended) Worcestershire County Council The County of Hereford and Worcester (Restricted Roads) (No.4) Order 1981 (Variation), Worcestershire County Council Various Roads, Bournheath, Restricted Roads Order 2002 (Revocation) and Various Roads Fairfield, Belbroughton and Bournheath, 30 and 40mph Speed Limit Order 2021

On 22 July 2021 Worcestershire County Council made an Order the effect of which will be to IMPOSE a 40 MPH on the following length of road in Fairfield:-

B4091 Stourbridge Road from a point 81.5 metres south of its roundabout junction with A491 Sandy Lane to a point 298 metres north of its junction with Swan Lane.

The Order will come into operation on 12 August 2021.

Documents in relation to this Order can be downloaded at http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/bromsgrovepn; or copies supplied by emailing roadtrafficregs@worcestershire.gov.uk; or writing to me at County Hall.

Thomas Pollock, Head of Commercial Law, Legal and Governance, County Hall, Spetchley Road, Worcester WR5 2NP

4 August 2021

Paul Jarczewski, Woodland Trust Site Manger (Central England) has provided the Community Association with the following update:

The online consultation was very successful.  We had 79 responses, which indicated very obvious support for our plans to establish the new wood.  I’m sure this interest was in no small part due to the Community Association championing the project locally, so many thanks for that.

We are just about to submit our final design plans to The Forestry Commission for their approval.  The consultation response is an important appendix to this, as it provides evidence to the Commission that the new wood is something that local people will value.

One of the things we wish to do is set up some monitoring as the new land develops (hoping of course that our fundraising is successful and we acquire the land).  The monitoring will look at how well trees establish on different areas of the site, but also look at how the biodiversity changes/improves with time.  It is very interesting to know we already have some potentially rare species.

We are still fundraising to buy the land, so any opportunity you have to let people know would be greatly appreciated.

If you would like to know more about the proposed Pepper Wood Expansion visit http://fvca.org.uk/directory/pepper-wood/

Another balloon found next to pasture land, near Pepper Wood. This balloon, in the shape of a bottle with the word ‘Cheers’ on it, was made out of plastic. In addition to being unsightly, spoiling our beautiful countryside, balloons can kill livestock – cattle have been known to eat balloons that end up stuck in their throat, choking them to death.

The Woodland Trust have released the design plans for the proposed Pepper Wood extension and they would like to hear your views. The proposed design plan is below.

To have your say, please complete a 5-minute survey, to access CLICK HERE

At last we have contractors due to carry out works to improve the drainage at the footpath end of the Recreation Ground.

The work by Kelbec Civils Ltd is due to commence Monday 17th May with initial marking out of the areas. The works will take circa 5 to 7 days.

The access will be via the carpark and with no traffic using the lane to the school. 2 bays will be out of commission on the car park for the duration.

All works will be suitably ‘Harass fenced’ off.