So the latest phase of this farce comes to a close with the “consultation” now over- 11th November.
Comments have been made regards several policies within the document as well as the housing allocations SH35 and SH36 on their unsoundness in the plan. I would like to thank all those who signed a new petition supporting this and hope that it will help to go some way into kicking this longstanding nonsense into touch once and for all.
At the heart of this scheme is the desire to move large amounts of over tipped foundry sand from one tip into another, dumped for profit at that time, into a vacant hole filled with toxic waste. The nature of the chemical within the lagoon make this impossible for safe development, but those behind the scheme only want that hole to serve as a cheap means of decanting the over tipped foundry sand into another pile so they can build on the waste that was moved off the former sewage works. It is a carousel FRAUD of “reclamation” that has been ongoing since the late 1980’s , and there are some people who remember what went on then and fear what could happen again when the dusts of time have settled and memories are a little faded. SO LEST WE FORGET.
1994 The blackened foundry sand hill should not be tipped into the toxic lagoon so houses can be built by conmen and liars
Claims that were made to attempt to link the two tips in 2011 at the site allocations examination have not materialised in the last 13 years, and yet, we just appear to be at the same drawing board stage as then expected to believe that something will be different by 2034- half way into the Sandwell plan period.
I have spoken to many people who do remember and are concerned about-
- The flooding in Law Close which would occur again if the mountain was moved around
- The dusts blowing into their properties and onto their cars
- The statutory nuisance of vibrations when machinery shook their houses
- The lack of interest from Sandwell council environmental health to the issues
- The health impacts of breathing in foundry sand and other wastes blowing in the wind
- The “two years” of operations on site that morphed into at least ten
- The same bogus timescale being used again with a raft of excuses as to why extra time is needed- as per the section 73 applications that replaced another failed planning application condition- like a street whore dropping their drawers when a new car comes into view.
- The lack of political interest in tackling the issues
- The difficulties now in getting off the Temple Way estate by car
- How that would be even more difficult when as now finding yourself in Gladstone Drive and Macdonald Close on the edge of the estate you suddenly find yourself in the new middle of it.
- The loss of valued green space, especially as a means of escape during the fascistic “lockdown”
On the political note, I emailed 10 councillors in four different wards around the site and which if a new housing scheme went ahead of 500 plus extra houses would impact all of the wards of Great Bridge, Oldbury, Tividale and Tipton Green.
I got one decent response from Will Gill, above and thank him publicly for supporting local residents. Do remember that silence is support for the other side, and not for the people who will be impacted and also that all of these councillors will be up for election in 2026, and please do vote out the silent ones when the opportunity arises- they are not on your side.
Sandwell council live in fantasy land with their statements in the sustainability report mentioning these two sites.
Good luck trying to “resolve” the constraints.
Oh there are “some issues” with ground conditions LOL
All of this will go to a public examination next year in a process framed under planning presumption in favour of development and to a supposedly “independent” planning inspector. Whatever happens then, I say this to those who are proposing this scheme.
I will be coming out swinging. Never before will you have encountered scrutiny and criticism like that you will be facing from me, and I will call out your bullshit phoney consultants and their “pre-loading” fucking shite to their face, reminding the inspector of the previous mounds of foundry sand they claimed could be reclaimed in the same way at Coneygree and Shidas Lane, (and this same not materialised hair brained scheme they proposed in 2011 that could be achieved by 2021), and just ended up as costs to the public purse down the line.
