‘Nightmare’ junction strands drivers and causes chaos on Solihull side streets – claim

Problems with drivers struggling to get out of car parks and facing major delays have prompted a plea for the timing of traffic lights at the Birmingham/Solihull border to be altered. Solihull councillors have said that the sequence only allows time for a few vehicles to get through at the busy Wheatsheaf junction, causing “untenable”…

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Inside ‘drugs den’ in Chelmsley Wood as police shut it down

This is the appalling state of a drugs den in Chelmsley Wood which has been shut down. Officers raided an address on Winchester Drive where they ‘seized drugs and evicted dealers on Wednesday’. Knowle, Dorridge & Balsall Common Police tweeted a series of pictures from the bust. Two pictures showed the shocking state of a…

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Solihull switches to ‘Plan B’ for town centre’s underground heat network

A multi-million pound plan to create an underground energy network in Solihull is still on the cards, although the original proposal to draw heat from water beneath Tudor Grange Park has been shelved. Following borehole tests earlier this year, the council has confirmed that it would prove too difficult to return the water extracted from…

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Thousands paid out after more than 100 pothole compensation claims in Solihull

Solihull road users received almost £50,000 compensation in just two years, after more than 100 successful claims against the council for pothole/surface damage. In 2017/18, the local authority paid out £30,736, with a further £17,252 handed over in 2018/19. The figures, released following a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, confirmed…

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Police appeal after collision in Solihull

Police are appealing for information and dash cam footage after a collision involving a car and three mopeds in Solihull. Emergency services were called to Damson Parkway at just after 12.40pm yesterday (Tuesday 5 November). Three people on the mopeds – two men aged 20 and 18 and a 16-year-old boy – were taken to…

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Green light to pull down Shirley garages for much-needed new homes

Run-down garages in Shirley will be cleared for a new affordable housing development after the plans got unanimous backing from councillors. While Royal Mail had objected to the Halifax Road scheme, which will sit next to its local sorting office, the postal service’s concerns received a mixed response from the planning committee. Cllr Bob Grinsell…

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Morrison store in Shirley to close

Morrisons in Shirley will close its doors for the last time today. Around 1,300 local residents had recently backed a campaign to keep it open, after Shirley East councillors launched a petition urging Morrisons to abandon plans to shut the Stratford Road store. 95 staff are reportedly at risk of losing their jobs. When the…

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‘Plughole’ device set to protect flood-stricken Solihull streets

A plughole-style system, part of plans to guard against further problems in a flood-prone Solihull village, was backed by councillors this week. The planning committee had made the unusual request of having the drainage conditions, attached to a previously approving housing development in Birchy Leasowes Lane Dickens Heath, brought before them. This follows residents’ concerns…

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Public inquiry looms after care village plan for Solihull’s green belt rejected again

Plans to build a major care development on green belt land in Solihull have been dismissed for the second time in 12 months, but an appeal hearing is already on the cards for the New Year. It has emerged that council planning officers had recently thrown out revised proposals for a sprawling scheme, on land…

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Town centre businesses vote in favour of Solihull BID five-year renewal

Solihull BID has secured a new five-year term representing Solihull Town Centre following a successful renewal ballot of 457 member businesses. The confidential postal ballot conducted by UK Engage closed on 31 October 2019. For a BID ballot to be successful, the majority of those who voted must have voted in favour of the BID,…

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