The Lickey Hills Society

The Re-Development of The Former Rover Site

In the last Newsletter we set out our proposals for the East Works part of the former Rover site. However, members who live within the areas surrounding the former Rover site will also have received Issue no 2 of the Future 4 Longbridge News Update from Bromsgrove DC or Birmingham City Council. This asks residents to state preferred options for the overall Rover site, which must be submitted by the 17th November 2006 using the provided questionnaire. We urge members to return their questionnaires to ensure that the voice of the community is heard. The Committee has discussed the Options at length and will forward a detailed response but basically the Committee 's preference involves aspects of Options 3 "Mixed Use Town Centre", & Option 4 "Mixed Use Residential", and the re-routing of the A38 to meet Longbridge Lane. In addition the Committee will express the view that the possible "residential land use variation", which involves the swapping of a piece of Green Belt land for a piece of restored used land, would, we believe , best safeguard the remaining Green Belt for the foreseeable future.

The views and the response of the Committee here expressed are not intended to influence residents' or members' option choices, rather their inclusion is simply to keep members informed of the decision of the Committee. Members and residents alike must decide what is best for them in their situation and circumstances.

Profile of Committee Member Brian Gould

I was born in Solihull, and there were no family links with the Lickeys. Soon after I was married in 1965 we moved to Rubery – we couldn't afford to buy a house in Solihull! On a more practical note, my wife worked in Northfield and I was at Birmingham Chamber of Commerce in Edgbaston, and so commuting was easier from this area. I had been involved with the Rubery Historical Society from the late sixties, and this merged with the Lickey Hills Local History Society about 15 years ago. After I retired in 1997, I also had more time to help various other local amenity groups' including Rubery Neighbourhood Watch and Rubery Community Art Group, also the Birmingham branch of the Royal National lifeboat Institution. I am also keen on gardening and hill walking, including of course over the Lickeys, which are a very valuable local asset, and which we should all do what we can to preserve for future generations.

No 1 Newsletter No 100

Did you notice on the Newsletter banner that this is the 100th edition of the Newsletter? We thought that you would be interested to see the first issue so we have enclosed a facsimile. It's interesting to note that Pete Harvey and Baden Carlson were then holding the same office 25 years ago as they hold now. Suffice to say that in the intervening years both have held other offices so they are not quite permanent fixtures!

Society Publications

Members may not be aware that the Society has published two booklets, details below, which are still available for purchase from the Membership Secretary either at meetings or from her address overleaf.

• A Guide to the Rocks and Scenery of the Lickey Hills Area by W.G. Hardie BSc., FGS. Price £2.00
• A Little History of the Lickey Hills by Margaret Mabey. Price £2.50