21st May – Walk in the Green Belt with CPRE

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CPRE NORTH WORCESTERSHIRE INVITES YOU to join us on

SATURDAY 21st MAY for a circular SPRING WALK in ALVECHURCH

taking in the canal and other local sites of interest in the GREEN BELT.

1.30pm: Meet at St Laurence Church for a guided walk followed by afternoon tea (small donation e.g. £2 towards cost) and talk at The Ark, St Laurence Church at approx. 3.30pm.

TALKS : Protecting Our Countryside

with Councillors ADRIAN SMITH, Chair, Alvechurch Neighbourhood Plan steering group

and PETER KING, Chair, CPRE Worcestershire

Intro by Anne Humphries

Join us for tea even if you do not wish to do the walk, which includes a stile and the tow path so stout footwear. please. For catering purposes it is essential to book your place, please, by email to  or Janet King on 0121 445 2802.

Cars can be parked free at the church,

The Green Belt has proved extremely effective in combatting urban sprawl since it was introduced in 1955. With a Green Belt review expected soon it is timely to recognise its importance.

Annual Parish Meeting, Wednesday 27th April

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The Annual Parish Meeting is the opportunity for all residents of Barnt Green civil parish to meet to discuss parish affairs.  You set the agenda!

We are hoping to hear from several contributors who have supported the parish throughout the year and the parish council’s chairman will deliver the council’s annual report outlining what we have done over the last 12 months and plans for the future.

If you would like a specific topic to be added to the agenda, please contact the parish council’s Executive Officer.

The meeting will start at 7.30pm in the Friends Meeting House, Sandhills Road – refreshments provided.

Theatre in Barnt Green, Saturday 16th April

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The parish council is hosting another Shindig event, this time it is ‘The Origin of Species’ at St Andrews Parish Centre, Sandhills Road Barnt Green B45 8NR on Saturday 16th April.

The Origin of Species is an uproarious musical-comedy solo show telling of Charles Darwin’s discovery of the secrets of evolution.

The show is packed with fascinating scientific facts, terrible puns, brilliant physical comedy and witty original songs about everything from boring barnacles to the perils of marrying your cousin.

‘Remarkably inventive, thoroughly entertaining… extraordinarily effective… science can rarely have been so much fun.’ Stage MUST SEE

‘A charming load of monkey business.’ ★★★★ Three Weeks Edinburgh

This is aimed at everyone looking for a night out of high-quality, ENTERTAINING musical-comedy with friends and family in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.  It will especially appeal to fans of interactive and storytelling theatre, fans of BBC’s QI / Infinite Monkey Cage / Dara O Briain’s Science Club and those with an interest in scientific issues.

This show is suitable for adults and older children (11+).  It lasts for 70 minutes and is performed by Tangram Theatre (www.tangramtheatre.co.uk).

The show will start at 7.30pm and tickets cost £10 (Adult) and £8.50 (senior 65+ or Junior 11 to under 18).   Family ticket for 2 Adults and 2 Junior is £34.50.

Tickets are available from the parish council office 80 Hewell Road, B45 8NF (Mon – Thurs, 10am – 1pm), by phone 0121 447 9893 or by email to .

The bar will be open from 6.45pm and during the interval.

BarntGreen/Cofton footpath

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Network Rail has provided an update on the closure of the footpath between Barnt Green and Cofton that crosses the railway line north of Barnt Green station (footpath no. 500), as attached: Cofton footpath crossing to remain closed for 2016  and below…

“Network Rail has confirmed that the footpath level crossing at Cofton will remain closed during 2016 while a safer solution for crossing the railway on this route is found and put in place.

The crossing passes over three live railway lines with a maximum speed of 90mph and 300 trains per day.  A study of the crossing in summer 2015 which formed part of the Bromsgrove to Barnt Green electrification project revealed that there was insufficient warning time of approaching trains and the crossing was closed on 9 July 2015.

Ben Parish, level crossing manager for Network Rail, said: “We have had to extend the closure of the footpath crossing at Cofton as it is not safe to cross the three railway lines with trains travelling at such fast speeds as there is simply not enough warning time of oncoming trains.

“We will continue to explore options to allow footpath users to cross the railway safely at this site and two possible options have been identified. We will be consulting with local stakeholders on these over the next few months.”

The crossing connecting Cofton Church Lane and Bittell Farm Road near Barnt Green, has been legally stopped-up by way of an Order confirmed by Worcester County Council and approved by the Department for Transport. The Order will remain in place until 31 December 2016 while Network Rail finds a solution which will allow users of the public footpath to cross the railway safely.”

Sport Relief Mile Sunday 20th March

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Barnt Green Sport Relief Mile Sunday 20 March 2016

Join in the fun and games

After the success of the event in 2012 & 2014, The Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile is back again in Barnt Green on Sunday 20th March 2016, with more participant places available than ever before.  The event has proved very popular with locals; in 2014, it was sold out and raised over £4000 for charities at home and overseas.  It is hoped that the event, which sets off from Millennium Park on Hewell Road, will attract hundreds of locals who will be running or walking, but most importantly taking part, to raise money for Sport Relief.

Mums, dads, youngsters along with road runners, joggers and those just wanting to enjoy their first fun run, can enjoy a choice of a one mile route round the village, or a three or six mile route that includes an off-road section past the Bittell Reservoirs.

Barnt Green Chuggers, the local running group based at Barnt Green Sports Club on Margesson Drive, are once again organising the event in conjunction with Barnt Green Parish Council.   Mike Dickenson, Chairman of the Chuggers said: “The club positively encourages those wanting to jog, run, get fit and enjoy the company of others doing the same – and see the Sport Relief Mile as a great way for people to ‘have a go’ and raise money for good causes”.

There will be 270 places for runners of all ages & abilities with waves of runners starting from 12pm, with each wave preceded by a fun warm-up in the park.  The runners will finish by 2pm, then there’ll be fun & entertainment continuing afterwards.  There will be something for everyone on what looks set to be a great day.  More details will follow!

Places can be booked from January 2016. Why not get sponsored and help transform the lives of people living here in the UK and in some of the world’s poorest countries, while being part of an incredible nationwide event. To register your interest NOW or book from January 2016, visit www.sportrelief.com   

 Entry fees:  Adult £7:  Children (<16) £3:  Family (2 adults, 2 children) £17

30mph speed stickers

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The parish council has a quantity of ’30mph’ stickers for wheelie bins.  The hope is that residents on roads with a 30mph limit, concerned about speeding traffic, will attach these stickers to sides of their wheelie bins to act as a reminder of the speed limit to speeding drivers on at least one day each week.

These stickers are available from the parish council office Mon – Thurs 10am – 2pm and Thurs 2pm – 4pm, or by contacting the office.  Available in packs of up to 6 per household.30mph speed sign

Anti-social parking

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The parish council has received information from our local policing team about anti-social parking.  The details are contained in the pdf here: Parking Issues policing info via PCSO STaylor, 2016-01

The police will do what they can to help and all Barnt Green residents and visitors are asked to park considerately.

CALA Homes, Fiery Hill Road junction with Kendal End Road

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The planning application submitted at the end of last year by CALA Homes to NOT re-align Fiery Hill Road as originally planned in 2013 has been approved by the planning committee at Bromsgrove District Council.

The parish council supports this decision.  Having looked at the evidence supplied by CALA it would appear that the existing road layout, by virtue of making drivers in Fiery Hill Road stop at the junction with Kendal End Road, is actually quite safe.  In contrast it was suggested that moving the junction further away from the railway bridge would encourage riskier driving.

CALA Homes have also agreed for the rail commuters’ car park, now re-located onto the west side of Fiery Hill Road, to be available free of charge to users.

Next Parish Council meeting

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The next meeting of the Parish Council will be on Wednesday 3rd February 2016, starting at 7pm at 80 Hewell Road.

A copy of the agenda will be available via this website in advance of the meeting.

A copy of the draft minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 6th January is available here: Draft minutes 2016-01-06

The Neighbourhood, Planning and Environment Committee will be meeting on Monday 18th January 2016 at 10.30am at 80 Hewell Road.  A copy of the agenda is available here: NPE summons and agenda 2016-01-18

Superfast Broadband

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News from the Superfast Broadband team at County Hall…

* Worcestershire County Council is currently working with partners in the Superfast Worcestershire programme to improve broadband speeds across the county. By autumn 2017, 94% of all premises will be able to access Superfast Broadband because of the work done by Superfast Worcestershire.

Kind regards, The Broadband Team

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