Birmingham’s plans for a village green move forward, facing opposition from a cash-strapped council aiming to sell the land for funds
Birmingham: So, there’s this plan to turn a playing field into a village green right in the middle of a Birmingham neighborhood. Councillor Barbara Dring has been pushing for this for a while now, and it’s finally on the council’s agenda for next week.
But here’s the catch: the landowner, which is the education department of Birmingham City Council, isn’t on board. They want to sell the land instead to help with their financial issues. A recent report mentioned that there are some legal hoops to jump through for Coun Dring’s proposal to go through.
Basically, they need to prove that locals have been using the land for things like dog walking, jogging, and playing football. The good news is that the legal team thinks Coun Dring’s application meets the necessary criteria for a village green.
Once the land is registered as a village green, it can only be used for that purpose. This is part of a broader plan to protect the Glenmead playing field, which is something the Oscott ward has been aiming for.
Despite the council’s objections, they haven’t provided any solid evidence to back up their claims. So, it looks like their objections might not hold much weight. The licensing committee is set to recommend that the application for the village green gets approved, and they’ll be discussing it on January 15.
