This week I need to again lead with Mell Square, as we announced the start of development plans. I won’t go into the technical details in this message, you can read that here. Instead, I would just like to expand on what this will mean for our residents.
People will be worried about disruption, however the first phase of work will centre on the old House of Fraser site, which is currently unoccupied. All the way through this ambitious ten-year plan, we will be doing our utmost to ensure that our valued town centre businesses can continue operating with minimal interruption, and that residents and visitors can continue to enjoy our vibrant town centre without dodging too many construction fences.
Naturally, work on the scale we’re talking about for Mell Square will have some sort of impact on the space around it, but it will all be worth it, as we create a town centre that is fit for the future - delivering well designed public spaces for living, business, and socialising. When we took ownership of Mell Square in 2021, this was central to our thinking. To make sure that we deliver what our residents want and what our businesses need, not just be subject to the occasionally short-term whims of developers. We want high-quality shops, bars, and restaurants, in addition to good town centre housing, so people can live right in the heart of Solihull, where they work, shop, and relax.
It's an approach we’re taking across the borough, the same principle is underpinning the huge amount of investment and work we’re putting into the new village centre in Kingshurst. What we have to do is to bring about the required change to redundant spaces, whilst retaining the vitality of our centres.
Some good news for our residents – recycling just got easier if you live in Solihull. Thanks to a new high-tech facility, you no longer need to separate glass from the rest of your recycling. I welcome anything that encourages recycling to reduce our use of the planet’s resources, just as I welcome anything that makes our residents’ lives easier. You can read more about the new facility here.
Next Monday (6 November) is the start of Youth Work Week 2023. The theme this year is ‘youth work in every place and space’, highlighting the importance of making youth work accessible and available across all communities. We’ll be highlighting some of the good work going on across the borough on the Community development team’s social media channels throughout the week, so look out for that. If you want to read more about Youth Work Week in Solihull, including the thoughts of Councillor Wazma Qais, Cabinet Member for Communities & Leisure, you can do so here.
Remember remember the fifth of November, gunpowder treason and plot… I see no reason why bonfire season shouldn’t pass safely and not go to pot. It’s one of the busiest weekends of the year for our emergency services, so please to be safe, wear gloves with sparklers, go to organised displays where possible; if you are letting off fireworks at home, do stick to the safe distances specified. Please also be mindful of those who live nearby. Help for Heroes has some guidance on the impact fireworks can have on veterans with PTSD and what you can do to help, and the RSPCA have some advice for keeping your pets safe.
If you’re out in a rural area, please be particularly conscious of the impact that the fallen firework debris can have on livestock: eating it can be catastrophic for them. The weather forecast suggests many events may fizzle rather than bang this weekend, but nonetheless if you are going to a display, have a wonderful time.
Last week I attended the Innovation Awards with the team from Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership(GBSLEP). They were highly commended for their excellent work. I was able to see other work supported by GBSLEP in person recently, providing funding for retrofitting of housing over the border in Birmingham, providing considerable benefits in the form of reduced energy costs and efficiency. The complexities involved in retrofitting insulation are often underestimated. People who perhaps do not have experience in the construction trade might picture it as simply filling in wall cavities, unrolling some insulation in the attic, and maybe popping on some cladding. There are real complexities to all these things, not least where the property doesn’t have a wall cavity or an attic; You could look at a row of terraced houses and think them more or less identical, but in fact no two are likely to require exactly the same work.
More positive news for the environment and our residents, as we have begun work to plant nearly 3000 trees during this planting season (November-March). I’ve spoken about our ambitious tree planting projects before, but it was great to get spades in the ground and see the current phase get underway. You can read more about it here.
We all continue to be moved by events in the Middle East and their ramifications closer to home. I only hope for greater understanding between peoples in the search for peace.
Thanks,
Councillor Ian Courts