‘Help the community’
FOR those at Redditch Borough Council, I’m hoping that your planning committee will take into consideration social housing with decent size gardens for the replacement of the old police station.
If not, how about a community centre?
The location is bang in the middle of Redditch and would bring together young and old people of the town.
Paul Webster
Abbeydale
‘Standing in solidarity’
I AM writing in solidarity with the ‘Brockhill resident’ who wrote in last week (Standard, March 8) regarding the councillor who defected to the Liberal Democrats.
I feel as a Labour supporter she has let down the voters who voted for her as a Labour councillor in Brockhill and Batchley.
Unfortunately the Liberal Democrats are only there to ‘prop up’ the Conservatives.
I would also like to commend Councillor Joseph Baker and the Labour Group’s alternative budget.
I just hope they take control of Redditch Borough Council after May 2 because Labour is the only party that will give Redditch the fresh start it desperately needs.
Anonymous
Headless Cross
‘No respect’
WHAT a pity the disrespectful bloke standing to Alan’s left (as we look) couldn’t see fit to taking his hands-out of his pockets in the brief time it took to take the photo’.
Jeff H
Crabbs Cross
‘Consultation pointless’
BRANDON Clayton’s letter seemed to be a cut and paste job for everything the Conservatives have said for years which can be summarised as ‘there’s nowhere else, you were consulted’.
No ‘accusations’ were made against him beyond stating his claim residents had been involved, in any meaningful way which was unbelievable, an assertion I consider the evidence amply supports.
Consultation, of which he promises yet more, just to ignore people’s views is, at best, pointless, at worst insulting.
Part of the reason for scepticism concerning the investigation into the suitability of various sites is that they settled on such a remarkably unsuitable site.
The loss of much-used and valued parkland on the edge of densely populated Matchborough is an appalling decision and a tribute to this administration’s collective failure.
The intention at the outset may, possibly, be not to have walls or buildings on the site but time will tell as to whether that is practical.
Brandon Clayton asserts there will be no intrusive gravestones but what happens if people want traditional grave markers?
Are they going to be told to go elsewhere or forced to have something they do not want?
No tarmac roads will be built he claims – that, of course, does not mean there will be no roads and car parking areas.
The issue is not what they are made of but their existence in one-time recreational green space.
Are we really expected to believe that both Ipsley meadow and the library are being rushed through just before the election because all the Conservative councillors think both plans are so well thought through and manifestly sensible?
Rather, it is to ensure their foolish projects cannot be rescinded by a subsequent administration.
The loss of both Ipsley meadow and a bespoke library will inflict lasting damage on the town.
Admittedly a suitable legacy for this Conservative council, but a great shame nonetheless.
K Wass
‘Finances are in a mess’
I HAD a meeting (many times postponed from October 2023) with several council officers this week .
The results were illuminating and disturbing.
1. The site swap with the county council gives the county a site in the town hall worth £5million, on which, Redditch will have spent £7.6million.
The redevelopment site that Redditch gets in return will have a value of less than £2million even after we have spent around £5million on the development (£4.2m government money). Redditch therefore loses £10million on the deal.
2. The council does not agree that it should carry out a climate impact study, despite the Commons Environmental Audit Committee saying no building should be demolished unless essential and impossible to refurbish and despite our council having a climate policy that states climate will be considered in all policies and actions.
In other words, the policy is an ineffective set of empty words and the council does not care about our young people’s future.
3. Equally worrying, the full development plans scheduled for completion by December 2023 have been rescheduled for Summer 2024, meaning costs will have increased even further with continuing inflation and it turns out no one has a clue what will be built, what it will cost and how much it will affect pedestrian flow – I asked if the restaurants would produce a higher footfall than the library.
This will be determined by the development team I am told and will depend on the exhibitions and events held (which of course do not need the library demolishing to take place). It seems Mr Dormer’s trumpeting is a sham. The video of the new look is just a pipe dream which may bear no resemblance to the finished project.
His assertion that the Labour Party’s alternative must be ignored because it was not costed is laughable.
It is no wonder the Labour members have consistently voted against this idiocy. I was gobsmacked to say the least.
Margot Bish
Abbeydale
EDITORS COMMENT
REDDITCH Nightstop plays such an important role in the borough, providing accommodation for young people at risk of sleeping rough.
As the charity says: ‘its trained and vetted volunteers are the life-blood’ and without them, the service cannot operate.
We have highlighted the desperate need for volunteers in the hope that anyone who can help Nightstop help others will come forward.
Please, if you can assist the organisation, do get in touch.
The support you provide has the potential to help transform lives.
We welcome your letters….
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