Regular readers will be aware that a large piece of work for the Parish Council at present revolves around discussions about the Parkway Development (5,000 new homes between 2030 and 2040, with a potential further 5,000 out to 2060, as the ‘Parkway Garden Town’ on land either side of the B4084 adjacent to Worcestershire Parkway Station). Following recent meetings with developers and the other parishes that make up the Joint Parishes Committee (JPC), the developers are embarking on a one-month joint consultation/communication exercise from Mon 9 Oct 23. It will consist of the following:
- 9 Oct – All addresses in the five parishes will receive an introductory leaflet.
- 17 Oct – Live Webinar (will be recorded and loaded to the website, see below).
- 19 Oct – All-day public meeting in Norton Parish Hall.
- 4 Nov – All-day public meeting in Drakes Broughton Parish Hall
- Joint ‘Parkway Garden Town’ website launch, as a portal to individual developers’ sites.
- Launch of a Freefone telephone number.
The objective is to elicit feedback and input from residents and businesses, and though it will end on 6 Nov 23, there will be a further round of consultation in Spring 2024. St Modwen (one of the multiple developers) expect to submit an outline planning application by end-2023, with Turley (another developer) by mid-2024. However, neither will be determined until after the SWDPR is adopted by Wychavon District Council (WDC), which may not be until late 2024. I strongly encourage people to engage with this consultation, since when the first plant machinery turns up, it’s too late.
The Active Travel Corridor (ATC) running between St Peter’s and Worcestershire Parkway Station continues to cause heartache. The PC maintains that Worcester County Council (WCC), which owns the thoroughfare, has not acquitted itself well in its establishment of the ATC, the need for way-finder lighting in Brockhill Lane being one small aspect of many items that need to be addressed (off-road footpaths for the entire length, traffic lights at The Retreat railway bridge, etc…). However, in an unusual piece of good news, the long-awaited repair of the Grade 2 listed (by curtilage) wall in Brockhill Lane will commence in the week commencing 16 Oct 23. The anticipated duration for the first phase (demolition of the existing wall, construction of new foundations, and private garden croquet club reinstatement) is nine weeks, bringing it to completion in the week commencing 11 Dec 23. For various reasons, not least the original lime mortar they are required to use, the rebuild of the wall will commence in spring 24. Brockhil Lane will remain accessible throughout.
Despite the good news regarding the wall, there is still no agenda for rectification of the other ATC shortcomings. If you have an opinion regarding this, please express it to your WCC Councillor, Linda Robinson (email: lrobinson2@worcestershire.gov.uk, tel: 07563 399254).
Some more positive(ish) news…Worcester Norton Community Interest Company (WNCIC), has now received the costed tender back from the preferred bidder. The positive is that the process is moving forward and building work will hopefully commence on Nov 23. The expected duration is 23 weeks, bringing us to the week commencing 8 Apr 24 (earlier than previously expected). The ‘ish’ part is that the work is costed at £1.6M excluding VAT, and there is £1.6M available, i.e. there is currently no provision for the £336K VAT. The CIC has already been successful in securing a grant from Severn Trent for £88K, so it remains hopeful that it can plug the gap through other grant funding. Hopefully, there will be new community facilities by this time next year. Until it shuts for the rebuild, WNCIC is busy recruiting volunteers to support the running of the facility…everyone is welcome! Please get in touch with WNCIC Director, Sam Faulkner (email: sf@wncic.co.uk, tel: 07814 429847).
Being the right time to plant things, we’ve currently got a lot going on/about to commence regarding planting and landscaping. The Gazala Drive remedial work is almost complete, the flower beds around The Sentry will shortly be created, and the oak tree in the Platinum Jubilee bench will shortly be replaced (it didn’t survive the transplant from the Parish Hall). At the Parish Hall, we will also be creating a better look around the two large conifer stumps near the entrance.
Finally, a shout-out to all the volunteers doing their thing! There are quizzes, bingo nights, horse racing nights, firework displays, a panto, and all sorts of other things, not to mention those who volunteer to run and constantly improve the facilities that host these events!
As always, there’s a lot going on, and while our parish has a good volunteering ethos with volunteers running the Parish Hall, Coffee@WR5, Shop@WR5, Honey@WR5, Norton Theatre Group, community events at both the Parish Hall and Sergeants Mess (previously known as the Sports Club), and acting as Trustees, Councillors and CIC Directors, we could always do with more! Everyone is welcome, including younger members of the community seeking Work Experience or Duke of Edinburgh Award volunteers. If anything in this report makes you think that you would like to become involved, please contact us; it’s your parish and you can make a difference!
Cllr Kevin Fincher
Chairman
Norton-juxta-Kempsey Parish Council