At the Harborne Ward meeting on Monday, a Conservation officer from Birmingham Council’s Planning Department stated that he expected planning applications from Graingers, for the Moorpool Estate, to be submitted before Christmas.
Putting in a planning application over the summer holidays or Christmas is an old trick. It always gives me the impression that the developer hopes objectors will be too busy doing other things to submit their objections in time. I alerted residents to the information given at the Ward Meeting, however I am delighted to report I have now been told that Graingers – contrary to what was said by the officer at the Ward Meeting – will NOT be putting in their application this side of Christmas.
It was also said at the Ward Meeting that the plans would be “scaled down” compared with what was previously proposed. The crucial questions will be how much scaled down (in terms of numbers of dwellings and plots which might be developed) and whether or not the unpopular designs previously submitted will be changed to take account of the large amount of criticism they attracted (they were described “rabbit hutches”).
But the points above are of course only details. There still remains the fundamental question of whether or not there should be any building on the estate at all, and what will happen if/when the communal areas (such as the hall) are handed over to the estate. Properly maintaining public areas such as those which are on the Moorpool estate costs a considerable amount of cash. Residents would have to be sure the amenities came with enough money attached to them to ensure they could be be properly looked after in the future.
Deirdre Alden 