Latest problem - Staffs. County Council are proposing to dispose of many of their County Farms which consist mainly of smallholdings scattered around the community which provide starter units for people wishing to take up farming as a career.  Penkridge has several situated in our parish, in Water Eaton Lane and in the Levedale Road area.  Current tenants are very concerned as are neighbours.  More details can be obtained from your County Councillor, Veronica Downes, or from Paul Geoghegan (713419), one of Penkridge Parish Councillors.

The Conservative group called-in the decision to start the consultation process after the Cabinet Meeting in August.  A cross party Corporate Policy Scrutiny Meeting was held on 13 September.  Because of the call-in the whole of the meeting was devoted to County Farms. There were 4 policy options A-D.  A would reduce the 123 existing farms down to 87, B would reduce the number to 60, C would leave 20, and D would involve sale of all farms when current tenancies come to an end. The tenants who attended the meeting in August had handouts of these policy options. There was to be a meeting at the County Showground a week or so later, but it had to be cancelled due to the Foot and Mouth outbreak.  A proposition was agreed at the Council meeting and that will now be returned to the Cabinet so that more options can be fully explored and a working group of Elected Members is to be formed to look at alternative ways forward.  Mr. Graham Clay attended as the representative of the tenants.  He is the Chairman of the Tenants' Liaison Group, and will be keeping the tenants informed throughout this process.   Cllr. Veronica Downes has provided this information and has promised to keep me informed of developments so I can update on this website.
2 November 2007 - An announcement by Staffs. County Council is to be made on the 5 November 2007, basically asking the general public to pronounce on two options - sell half and keep the other half OR sell them ALL - all 121 holdings covering 8,000 acres. 

                                                              .......................

Silverdene Care Home, Penkridge - threatened with closure.  Click here for more details.

                                                                                .....................

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - The biggest problem facing all communities today is the major one of "how do we become sustainable?".   This needs to be on not only Penkridge Parish Council's agenda but also on the agenda of every organisation, group, and individual that makes up our Parish of Penkridge. 

DO SOMETHING BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.  It is our children and their children we should be thinking of and ACTING NOW.

For more information on this very big subject, go to http://www.penkridge.org.uk/seechange.htm  OR simply ask your children as it is now being discussed in all our schools.

=============================================

Latest News on New Medical Centre -

The new Health Centre was eventually opened but with the major Gas Main work being undertaken throughout the village, it meant disruption to many roads, including the closure of Pinfold Lane for many weeks.  This entailed all visitors to the Centre having going to the Centre by car having to go via Bungham Lane and over the narrow railway bridge and along the very narrow lane down to Cuttlestone Bridge and approaching the centre past the Monckton Recreation Centre.  By September 2007 access was eventually restored from the centre of the village via Pinfold Lane.  There are still some worries over the pedestrian controlled traffic lights under the railway bridge as it would appear that pedestrians are not waiting for a clear road before walking through.  With no raised footpath there is a concern that large vehicles and pedestrians could collide.  Pedestrians are urged to WAIT FOR THE GREEN LIGHT BEFORE WALKING UNDER THE BRIDGE.

As at January 2007, the new Centre is nearing completion.  Traffic Lights have been erected either side of the Railway Bridge which are working but there is still problems with them.   There are still several issues of safety that need to be addressed before this long-awaited facility is opened. 

=============================================

The Appeal was upheld by the Inspector even though there were many many major objections from Organisations, groups and individuals in the community.

A Press Release has been published by the Parish Council after their meeting on the 8 July 2004.  They agreed to support the decision by District Planners to refuse the application for the new Centre on land in Pinfold Lane.

6 July 2004 - An Appeal has been lodged.  Brackley's arguments and the District Council's can be seen at the District Council Offices at Codsall.  They may be available at Haling Dene in the near future.  Anyone else can send in their comments which must be forwarded by the 16 July.   Penkridge Parish Council will be making representations.  Contact the Parish Administrator for further information.
-------------------------
At the meeting held on 21 May 2004, the public were told that the Practice was lodging an appeal against the refusal of permission.  The Appeal would probably be heard in approx. 6 months.  They may submit a second application for the same site.  

================

After a site visit by South Staffordshire District Council members, the Planning Application was turned down.  In the meantime, Penkridge Medical Practice and the South West Staffordshire Primary Care Trust are holding a Consultation Exercise to give the community an opportunity to comment on their proposals for the relocation and building of a New Medical Centre to serve the community of Penkridge and the rest of their catchment area.

Two PUBLIC MEETINGS ARE BEING ORGANISED - one on Monday 10 May 2004, at 1.30pm and the other on Friday 21 May 2004, at 7pm.   Both these meetings will be held at the Haling Dene Centre, Cannock Road, Penkridge.   Anyone wishing to attend should inform the Penkridge Practice Manager at the Health Centre, St. Michaels Road, Penkridge, ST19 5AJ by letter or by phone (01785 712300).  

At the first meeting the Practice handed out some background information which you can read if you click here.

================

Planning Application for a New Medical Centre in Penkridge - For some time now our General Practice Doctors have been searching for a site for a new and enlarged Centre where they can house more Doctors and expand the services they offer.  Their agents, Brackleys, have recently submitted a Planning Application to South Staffs. District Council for a site on Pinfold Lane, to the west of the Railway Line, opposite the new Burial Ground.  Part of the area would be on the site of the existing car park that is used for the Market.

The Parish Council has voted a resounding no to this site, as:

1.  The site is too far from the vast majority of the people of Penkridge.
2.  Access is via a narrow lane under a dangerous arch of the Railway line which can only hold single line traffic.
3.  There is no safe access for pedestrians.

The Parish Council believe that there are other sites available which are much more central and safer to access which have not been fully explored.   They also believe that the community should be properly consulted on such an important issue as this and have called for a Public Meeting.   The Parish Council are trying to meet the applicants to discuss this matter fully so that a solution can be found as it is in everybody's interest in Penkridge that we have a new Medical Centre as soon as possible. 

Anti-Social Behaviour; Theft;  Vandalism;  Speeding, etc.   -  Problems all communities unfortunately get and Penkridge is no exception.   A new community initiative targeting Safety & Security (Penkridge Local Action Team) is being set up and you are invited to participate.  You can do this either by getting very much involved in the nitty gritty of running the group or simply by letting the team know of incidents so that they can get an accurate picture of the problems we all experience in our community.  This will enable them to prioritise their action programme.   Click here for more details including an Incident Report Form.   (Posted on 16 July 2003)

===========================================================================
Latest:  this application has received Planning Permission from South Staffordshire District Council and you will see that work has already started on clearing the site (summer 2003) - click here for more details and pictures.

Development on the back land (shop gardens) between Market Street and the A449 and New Road and the Centre of the village -

If you looked down on Penkridge from the air, (which you can from the picture below), you would discover that it is perhaps the last large area of undeveloped land in the centre of Penkridge.   It is bordered by the shops down the west side of Market Street and by the Otherton Brook which flows under New Road and past Jaspers Bakery.   The land is currently overgrown gardens with lots of trees and shrubs, now incidentally full of wildlife.  The land can be seen by driving into the car park past the Chapel off the A449.  It is the land on the east side of the Otherton Brook and is the green land covered in trees in the bottom left quarter of the photograph below.

Image Source: www.webbaviation.co.uk

An application has been submitted for 24 self contained luxury flats on land off New Road, Market Street & Clay Street, Penkridge, by Anne Lees Heritage Homes Ltd. A Public Meeting has been called by the Parish Council so that the community of Penkridge can have a say and respond to the South Staffordshire District Council Planning Committee, who will be deciding the fate of this land very shortly.  A copy of the Planning Application and drawings can be seen at the Haling Dene Centre and at the District Council offices at Codsall. 

To fill you in on the history of the Planning Policy on this land, I asked the District Council Planning Department for information, and I reproduce their response below:

The land at the rear of Market Street and New Road, Penkridge lies within a Special Policy Area as defined in the adopted South Staffordshire Local Plan (Policy VC2). The policy states that:

'The area bounded by Market Street, Crown Bridge, the Otherton Brook and New Road, Penkridge, will be a Special Policy Area. Within this area the development of a mixture of uses including offices, shopping, residential and car parking will be permitted, provided the development accords with comprehensive overall proposals for the area and is of a high standard of design'.

A Planning and Design Brief for the Special Policy Area was approved by the Council on 1 December 1998. The Brief was prepared following full consultation with the Parish Council, local residents, businesses and other interested parties including the Civic Society, Business Association, Penkridge Medical Practice, and various housing associations. Parish, District and County Councillors and Local MPs were also consulted on the Brief.

A total of 120 individuals and organisations were consulted on the Brief and an exhibition/ 'drop-in day' was held at Haling Dene Centre on 17 September 1998 which was attended by over 70 people including David Kidney MP. Posters advertising the exhibition and drop-in day were displayed in the village centre and an article was published in the Staffordshire Newsletter.

The approved Brief sets out a number of options for the potential development of the land and concludes that the Council's   preferred option would be for a combination of land uses including housing, car parking, and community facilities such as the development of a new health centre and library.

The Parish Council has previously been sent two copies of the approved Brief should you wish to refer to it.

I hope that the above information will be of assistance to you.

Signed   Paul Collings
Senior Local Plans Officer
Strategic Development Services - South Staffordshire District Council

The Public Meeting will be held at Haling Dene on the 18 July 2002 at 7.30pm. Everyone is welcome to attend who lives in Penkridge Parish and put their views and questions.  The meeting will be chaired by the Chairman of the Parish Council. 

Bearing in mind what has been said above by the District Council, the following points may wish to be considered:

1.  It is nearly 4 years since this community was last consulted on the future of this land and there have since been important changes in Penkridge.   Perhaps these changes mean that policies have also to change.

2.  This is without question, a most important piece of land in our community and what happens to it or on it, should have the overall support of the community.  Penkridge is at a watershed regarding development.  Westbury Homes have acquired a large amount of land north of the village, the M6 widening has reared its ugly head again, and the West Orbital Route around the Black Country is still being considered.  All of these will have a tremendous impact on our community.

3.  Are luxury flats the right development for this land?
    
4.  There is a proven need for a new and enlarged Clinic and General Medical Practice.  So far, the General Practice has not been able to find anywhere suitable or affordable.  Should this land be used for that?

5.  Some people are demanding more car parking in or near the centre of the village.  But is that the answer we really need if we want to keep the centre of Penkridge safe and quiet?   By providing more car parking right in the centre of the village, could we not be encouraging more traffic to use our roads in the centre of the village, with dangerous access out on to the A449 and exacerbating the traffic problems we already have to endure.

6.  A real community need which has become very apparent since the last consultation, is that as more and more of us in Penkridge reach old age and are unable, for whatever reason, to look after ourselves, we often have to resort to a Residential Home for care.  But we still want to be close to where our friends and families are and not miles away, nowhere near a bus route.   Is not this land in just the right place for a Home for our elderly, where friends and family can visit easily.

7.  Since the last consultation, the County Council has decided to consult the community on new Library facilities in Penkridge.  That consultation is at present taking place.  Is not this land again an ideal site where new facilities could be centrally situated?

8.  And don't forget, this land is situated in the middle of our Penkridge Conservation Area, the historical centre of Penkridge.  We must not let any development destroy what we now cherish.  And if there is to be any further development within the Conservation Area, then it must ENHANCE the area.  Will 24 flats do that?

9.  With Government now pressing all local Planning Authorities to resist development which increases travel by private car and to encourage walking, biking and public transport, shouldn't that be one of the main considerations of any discussions and decisions on development within Penkridge?  

If you have any comments or statements to make to add to the above to inform the community, then these can be posted on the Bulletin Board and Forum which you can link to by clicking here.

EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY OF PENKRIDGE IS URGED TO COME ALONG TO HALING DENE ON THE 18 JULY AT 7.30pm AND MAKE THEIR VIEWS KNOWN TO THE PARISH COUNCIL.