Forshaw Heath & Earlswood BoD in Warwickshire

First of all let me apologise for the lack of newsletters this year. I will try and get back to at least four newsletters per year. It’s not as though nothing has been happening – in fact it seems to have been a very good year for wildlife and there has been a lot going on! Wildflower Meadow Tanworth-in-Arden Parish Council and the Earlswood Wildlife Partnership are working together to create a wildflower meadow at the far end of the recreation ground. We have sown a mix of native wildflower species which flower between June and September, making sure as many flowers as possible are available to the bees and butterflies at their most active time of year. In order to commemorate the outbreak of WW1 we have also sown wild poppy seeds Bat Survey An excellent year with over 20% of boxes in use and record numbers of live bats found. Survey Date 31/03/2012 08/09/2012 13/04/2013 21/09/2013 20/09/2014 No. of boxes check

Could you please share as appropiate even better buy a ticket and join in and get to know the neighbours and have some fun. There is some Great Work being done by our local ELF. Earlswood Lakes Fundraising Committee  are next working their magic on Saturday 27th September 2014 at Earlswood Village Hall and in commeration of those who took part in WW1   Earlswood Lakes Fundraising Committee are hosting a Beer and Skittles Night on Saturday 27th September,  2014, at 7.30pm at Earlswood Village Hall. Tickets are £7.50 each and include a Fish and Chip supper. There is also a bar. The event is to commemorate those who took part in WW1. Tickets are available from Pam Moore on 01564 702145

Earlswood Wildlife Partnership Contact us at:  ewp2010@btinternet.com  or on 07528 595444   BAT WALK    Why not join us for one of our late evening strolls around Earlswood Lakes and learn more about these fascinating creatures? Monday 8 th  Sept at 8:15pm Monday 22 th  Sept at 7:15pm Meet at the Engine House car park on Wood Lane (Near the Red Lion)   (£2 donation)    

Something has really captured my imagination today whilst working on the TIA NDP communications on Facebook and Twitter. Something so simple but necessary popped up and could mean the difference between living or dying  an unessential premature death . Whilst busy at work doing risk assessments and making sure  everyone knows what thy are meant to do in an emergency   How many of us actually plan a course of action should the need arise to evacuate our homes due to an emergency of some sort. I suspect we all have a plan of action in our own minds but nothing tangible My household will certainly be following the guidelines and making a plan.  I have to say it really made me stop and think.  Why not take a peak at this link Home Emergency Plan

Well OK yes I have been quiet again on my blog has been neglected, however time hasn't been wasted and I hadn't forgotten about anyone that happens to read the blog. The fact is I have been a busy BoD all for the good of the community I think! In fact I would say that since March my time has been consumed with the community. The buzz words at the moment are Tanworth Neighbourhood Plan. What is a Neighbourhood Plan well the steering group is on a very steep learning curve however the basics of it quite simply Stratford District Council has its proposed Core Strategy out and about and within the Core Strategy it is planned that the Tanworth In Arden Ward which includes Earlswood th Village of Tanworth and our new local service village Wood End will take an additional 100 houses between them. In short as a community we either can have an input as to where these additional houses go or we can leave it to our District Council to tell us where they are going. Of course the Core St

The next Tanworth Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) Steering Committee Meeting is Tuesday 19th August 2014, 7.30pm at Earlswood Garden and Landscape Centre, Forshaw Heath. See attached agenda ==>  NDP meeting agenda  (PDF document)

PLANS to build two 35-metre-high wind turbines in Hockley Heath - the first in the area - have been submitted to Solihull Council, The Observer can reveal. Urban Wind has applied to build what it describes as two 'small scale' wind turbines on land at Box Trees Craft Centre so the centre can run off the electricity and reduce its carbon footprint. Hockley Heath Parish Council has already objected to the application, listing a number of issues including the wind turbines being too close to houses, having a negative visual impact on the village and being a distraction to motorists. Despite consulting with villagers, just two letters of objection were received by the Parish Council - both listing, among other things, concerns about the damaging effect on house prices. The two turbines will stand at 35 metres high, the same as seven double-decker buses on top of each other, and will have a 12m-long rotating blade. If approved, the wind turbines would be permitted to ge

Common sense! I can't believe the lack of it being used! Here is my whinge for the month, Fulford Hall road had a rather nasty dangerous pothole on a bend which I must admit caught me out the first time I met it the and time I had no choice but to go down it due to on coming traffic and something so close behind I couldn't stop. Anyway not only was there the nasty pothole on the bend this whole lane seems to be crumbling at the sides but not in quite such a dangerous places. I couldn't believe my eyes the other day when I saw the pothole on the bend filled in and mended but the rest of the potholes left without being touched. It may just be a member of the public mended the dangerous pothole however I doubt it. Why didn't all the potholes get mended at the same time? what a waste of manpower and time. The pothole menders will only have to come back to mend the other ones in the near future. Well that's in the Solihull area there is an equally as nasty one in Forsh

Please note the Doctors link to the website has been updated.

Stratford-on-Avon District Proposed Submission Core Strategy Regulation 19, 20 and 35 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 https://www.stratford.gov.uk/planning/proposed-submission-representation-form.cfm/form/cspropsubs14/q/1  I am writing to inform you that the District Council has approved its Core Strategy for submission to the Secretary of State for independent examination. The Core Strategy sets out the vision, objectives and framework for managing development in the District up to 2031, contains policies on a wide range of specific subjects, and identifies a number of development site proposals. In accordance with the Regulations, before the Core Strategy is submitted there will be a six week period for making representations on the legal compliance and soundness of the Plan. This will commence at 4.00pm on Thursday 5 June and end at 5.00pm on Thursday 17 July. Representations received will be submitted to the Secretary of

As people who visit or read this blog know I am not politically orientated and try not to pass comment on politics. Our local elections have been and gone and Cllr Peter Oakley has retained his seat in the Tanworth In Arden Ward which includes Earlswood, Forshaw Heath, Danzey Green, Aspley Heath all of which are in the Greenbelt and most definatley close to my heart. The purpose of this post is to highlight how locally elected people represent us at District Level, I suppose this post continues on from my last post, as I for one am over the moon that Stratford District Council is web-casting many of its meetings and can now see and hear our locally elected people instead of just read afterwards. Remember do not get paid for their time but take their time to fight our corners for us at the appropriate levels. As I watched The Cabinet web-cast and discuss the Draft Core Strategy I was pleasantly surprised to hear and see our local District Councillor speak. Why not watch and listen

Sunday is my day for wandering around the web to find out what is happening in the world and locally. I knew the following was going to happen but just didn't realise it had started to happen. As you all know I am quite interested in all things Local, Greenbelt, Countryside plus of course my ICT passion. One of my constant moans many moons ago when starting this blog was, Why our local Authority, Parish Councils and other organisations didn't make use of the web and the tools it had to offer to share information to keep the web surfers among us informed and in touch. 4 years ago I was watching the progress “live streaming free  courtesy  of U-Stream” of The Dechora Eagles in America (US) whilst I was sitting at home in Warwickshire (UK). Whilst lurking around the U-Stream online application I stumbled across a Stratford Upon Avon council meeting and pondered on why they didn’t do it on a regular occurrence. Today by accident I have stumbled on Stratford Up-On Avo

Try broadband speed test Well its been quite a while since I did this and was just wondering what it was out of curiosity. Its getting there slowly but only just over half way to what I am actually paying for. No doubt one day we will enjoy the speed that those with cable have. Here's hoping

Well I am just a BoD having a think and a scribble on a Sunday morning. After the jubilation that Tidbury Green Farm and Lowbrook Farm had been returned to Greenbelt and a proposed development refused. The developers took Solihull Council to the High-Court where the Judge  found the Solihull council had acted unlawfully by not providing any objective assessment of housing need in setting a housing target of 11,000 homes by 2028. Sourced  Now don’t get me wrong I am no expert but what I find really confusing is that Solihull’s Local Development Plan had been adopted in December 2013 with Tidbury Green Farm /Lowbrook Farm returned to Green Belt Sourced or that is my understanding which raises the question. If the plan were found to be sound in December 2013 by the Governments Planning Inspector, what an earth has changed and why? And why only now is Solihull’s methology being questioned surely this should have been done when the plan was submitted and before it was adopt

The second Neighbourhood Development Plan meeting was held yesterday (Sunday, 27 April, 2014) in Tanworth Village Hall.  There were doubts about holding it then when it came to light that the centre of Tanworth was going to be closed to traffic all afternoon due to a parade.  However, the hall was bulging at the seams with just under 90 people fighting their way to the meeting.  Perhaps they were just looking for a quiet seat and a cuppa during the parade?  Not a bit of it!  The format was the same as the first meeting in Earlswood the previous Friday and the questions raised varied from heartfelt concerns for the area to technical questions on the application of the new planning powers.  Chairman, Dermot O’Brien, Tanworth Parish Council’s Chair of Planning thanked all the speakers and gave an effusive thanks to all the attendees for making it such a lively meeting.  The Chairman also mentioned that, because of the parade and the (now unfounded) anticipation of a poor turnout, it ha

Earlswood Wildlife Partnership Contact us at:  ewp2010@btinternet.com  or on 07528 595444              Newsletter 16 Dormouse Survey The dormouse survey tubes have now been installed on the south side of the wood in specific areas to maximise our chances of detecting dormice and the first survey check will be on Saturday 12 th  July.Special thanks to Hugh, John, Kate, Ken, Ron and Val for putting out the tubes. Bird Boxes We have now put up all the specialist bird boxes (which were partly funded by a donation from the Earlswood Fete Committee) around the lakes and as can be seen from these great photos by Tony Philp we already have some interest! Thanks to all who helped install the boxes and especially to those from CRT for bringing their boat! Bat Box Project Several extra bat boxes have been made by members of the EWP and installed in the wood bringing the total number of boxes up to 100 which was our original target. Surveys will continue later in t

The first in a series of 4 public meetings to discuss and assess the appetite for setting up a Neighbourhood Development Plan for the parish was held last Friday night – 25 April 2014.  The meeting took place in Earlswood Village Hall and was attended by 60 people.  Presentations were made by 2 Parish Councillors, followed by a session whereby attendees considered the implications of a number of potential planning outcomes that could result as a consequence of Stratford District Council's Core Strategy which is now in final draft and posted questions and comments as to their views on these points.  These comments will become the starting base for a new Neighbourhood Development Plan steering group if there is the appetite to undertake a Neighbourhood Development Plan.  The meeting concluded with a short presentation by a local developer who put the business perspective and the meeting then concluded with a question and answer session which was lively and covered a broad range of

Bob is the membership secretary for Earlswood Wildlife Partnership. He has kindly agreed to tell us a little bit more about EWP and his role within it. Bob is my first willing volunteer to provide editorial for my blog and for that I am extremely grateful. I have a hit list of people and organisations I would like to invite to be Guest Writers whether they will all be as willing as Bob I really don't know but I really do hope so. Some of the work our volunteers and organisations do for us in order to keep our environment and community ticking along often goes unrecognised by the wider community. My thanks goes to Bob and everyone involved with Earlswood Wildlife Partnership for helping keep our Flora and Forna protected and safe for future generations to enjoy. Without further ado please welcome A Blog by Bob of Earlswood Wildlife Partnership About Earlswood Wildlife Partnership The Earlswood Wildlife Partnership (EWP) is a partnership between local residents,  Warwickshir