In the last few weeks following the destruction of trees and habitat on land off Temple Way a number of developments have taken place, which this post will summarise.
The backlash towards the disgraceful statement made by Sandwell council on behalf of a private land investment outfit who could not lie straight in bed has not gone down well at all with local residents. They have shared their stories and photos with us and we have also spoken to many who remember the atrocities which took place in the 1990;s with regard to the foundry sand dumping, as well as the ignorance of Sandwell council in taking concerns seriously.
The Friends of Sheepwash and local residents made contact with The Express and Star and myself and Lesley met a photographer on site and explained what had happened. The scale of the destruction was evident. Unfortunately, due to the time of day and it being a Saturday, residents were not able to join us on that occasion, and some wished to remain anonymous.
The story got across the main issues fairly well and the council’s statement was rehashed as they appear to be flustered into adding anything else. The thing to add on this is that the journalist contacted Elias Topping- agents for the landowners according to the statement by SMBC for comment. BUT THEY DID NOT RESPOND.
My FOI request to Sandwell council regards the phantom ecology report has been booted down the road by the council who claim it is “complex”. The time extension they are seeking will no doubt give the liars time to write a report that never existed, or the council will try to concoct a reason for refusing my request to hide their shame at having been lied to, or being complicit in the lie themselves.
I have in the last month walked the site with two local renowned experts in butterflies and botany, in addition to the site walkover with Darrell Harrison , another boff in these fields where we saw the small blue and associated plant in full bloom last year.
Small blue on kidney vetch at land off Macdonald Close. Darrell Harrison
It is now apparent that this rare species was well established on this site, having been independently noted since at least 2016 as a colony, and one of only two sites known in the West Midlands County for this protected species. This has been communicated to Sandwell council via the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife trust, who have also asked to see the claimed ecology report. There is no doubt that any survey should have noted the presence of this butterfly, and have been conducted BEFORE the destruction of habitat with little regard for what the purpose was in that endeavour. This is no doubt another reason why SMBC have delayed- only “complex” because they have to find their way out of a hole they have created for themselves with the bullshit that they have spouted to date.
We have also met on site with MP for West Bromwich Sarah Coombes. Local residents were able to pass on their concerns and show her pictures of the before and after views from their gardens and their concerns about what will happen in the future. I could rattle on forever about the history of the site, and explained to Sarah about the issues of the lagoon and the connecting land and Sheepwash. I made the point that in the early 1980’s, Sandwell council were pioneers in developing former tips for wildlife habitats- Sheepwash and Forge Mill in particular- if only we could get back to that vision instead of building houses on toxic land.
Following this , an impromptu demonstration took place outside the council house in Oldbury where we engaged with a number of councillors on this issue and of The Sandwell Plan. All but one notable exception were willing to stop and listen to concerns.
More will be planned so watch this space. It is to coin a phrase, “starting to pick up speed now”.