Latest news with #SharonHarvey
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Roadshow launched to engage public in town plans
A roadshow of events has been launched to help people engage with a public consultation about a town's future development. The "issues and options" consultation began on 22 May and will run until 3 July, starting the process to make Redditch's Local Plan, which will guide development in the town up to 2043. Redditch Borough Council said planners would be present at each event to answer questions and help locals understand the issues under consultation. Its leader, councillor Sharon Harvey, said it was important for people living there to decide what the next phase of development would look like. "We need to know what people really think about the issues under consultation, so we want this process to be as open and accessible as possible. "That's why we're not just providing a new easy-to-use online platform, but also more than fifty hours of daytime, evening, and weekend support across nine locations where the people doing the work will be there to answer your questions." Friday 6 June - Kingfisher Shopping Centre, 0900 to 1600 BST Saturday 7 June - Redditch Market, 0900 to 1500 Tuesday 10 June - Feckenham Village Hall, 1000 to 1800 Wednesday 11 June - Oakenshaw Community Centre, 1500 to 2000 Thursday 12 June - Redditch Market, 0900 to 1500 Saturday 14 June - Green Fair at Arrow Country Park, 1100 to 1900 Monday 16 June - Windmill Centre in Crabbs Cross, 0900 to 1445 Wednesday 18 June - Winyates Community Centre, 1600 to 2000 Thursday 19 June - Woodrow Meeting Rooms, 1600 to 2000 Saturday 21 June - Morton Stanley Cafe, 1000 to 1500 Reference copies of the consultation document would be available at the events, the authority said. Issues include housing, economy, infrastructure, natural environment and climate change. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Cemetery plans aim to extend town burial provision Customers urge Post Office not to close branch Redditch Borough Council
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Roadshow to help people get involved in Redditch town plans
A roadshow of events has been launched to help people engage with a public consultation about a town's future "issues and options" consultation began on 22 May and will run until 3 July, starting the process to make Redditch's Local Plan, which will guide development in the town up to Borough Council said planners would be present at each event to answer questions and help locals understand the issues under leader, councillor Sharon Harvey, said it was important for people living there to decide what the next phase of development would look like. "We need to know what people really think about the issues under consultation, so we want this process to be as open and accessible as possible. "That's why we're not just providing a new easy-to-use online platform, but also more than fifty hours of daytime, evening, and weekend support across nine locations where the people doing the work will be there to answer your questions." Where will the events be? Friday 6 June - Kingfisher Shopping Centre, 0900 to 1600 BSTSaturday 7 June - Redditch Market, 0900 to 1500Tuesday 10 June - Feckenham Village Hall, 1000 to 1800Wednesday 11 June - Oakenshaw Community Centre, 1500 to 2000Thursday 12 June - Redditch Market, 0900 to 1500Saturday 14 June - Green Fair at Arrow Country Park, 1100 to 1900Monday 16 June - Windmill Centre in Crabbs Cross, 0900 to 1445Wednesday 18 June - Winyates Community Centre, 1600 to 2000Thursday 19 June - Woodrow Meeting Rooms, 1600 to 2000Saturday 21 June - Morton Stanley Cafe, 1000 to 1500Reference copies of the consultation document would be available at the events, the authority include housing, economy, infrastructure, natural environment and climate change. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
14-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Redditch council leader suspended by Labour and steps down
The Labour leader of Redditch Borough Council has resigned after being suspended by his Joe Baker, who had led the council for 11 months, stepped down on Friday, citing personal reasons.A West Midlands Labour party spokesperson confirmed he had been suspended, but would not comment further on the matter. Baker is now sitting as an independent Labour councillor, Sharon Harvey, will serve as interim council leader until Redditch's annual council meeting on 19 May. "As you can appreciate, I have no comments at this time," Baker said, after being contacted by the BBC about his elected in 2012, he is currently serving his fourth term as a borough became leader of the council in May last year, after Labour took control of Redditch in the local his suspension by Labour – which is also understood to have taken place on Friday - he is now sitting as an independent councillor for Batchley and Brockhill party would not comment on how long the suspension would an email to all councillors on Friday, the council confirmed Baker had resigned his position "due to personal circumstances". But it referred all queries to Redditch Labour Party."In the interim Sharon Harvey will be stepping into the role, as per the constitution, until a new leader is elected at the Annual Council Meeting," the email stated. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram.
BBC News
13-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Abbey Cemetery plans aim to extend Redditch's burial provision
Plans to repurpose part of a cemetery will extend burial provision in a town by 10 years, a council has Redditch Borough Council said its executive committee had decided more burials would be carried out on an open part of the Abbey Cemetery, next to Redditch said new options for longer-term burial provision in the borough would also be Conservative group leader councillor Matt Dormer said the plans were "utterly insensitive", as the site had been used for people to scatter the ashes of loved ones for many years. "Nobody's comfortable with this," he told the added people who had scattered ashes on the land believed it was council said it acknowledged the "seriousness and sensitivity" of the issue."There will be families who, over the years, have used some of that open space at the Abbey Cemetery to scatter loved ones' ashes," said councillor Sharon Harvey, the authority's portfolio holder for environmental asked anyone directly affected by the change to "come and talk to us"."We want to work with you to ensure that your needs are met, including considering new memorial features to honour those loved ones," she said. Labour councillors, who took control of the authority in May last year, cancelled a previous plan for a new cemetery on Ipsley Church Lane put forward by Conservatives when they were in said "absolutely everything" had been done, including soil testing, to prepare the site to be the next cemetery."It's a slight gradient so its not like it's a flat surface that can be used for recreational activities - it is used for dog walking, it is used for runners, that can all remain," Dormer the authority's leader, councillor Joe Baker, said many residents had opposed those plans, and other options would now be considered in the committee also agreed to commission a review of the potential for another site off Battens Drive to be used. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Fly tipping rise due to cost of living
The number of fly-tipping incidents in Herefordshire has fallen in the last year, but cases rose in Worcestershire, according to the latest figures. There were 726 reported incidents in Herefordshire in 2023/24 compared to just over 1,000 in 2022/23, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) figures showed. In Worcestershire, there was an increase of almost 2,000 to more than 6,700 over the same period of time. Sharon Harvey, deputy leader of Redditch Borough Council, said she believed the cost of living crisis was contributing to the town's problems, but the authority was taking steps to address the issue. Across England, local authorities dealt with 1.15m incidents, which was an increase of 6% in 2022/23. Up to 60% of fly-tips in England involved household waste, with the most common place to dump it was on highways, Defra said. In Worcestershire, Redditch saw a rise with 2,340 reported incidents between 2023/24, which compared to 1,555 in the previous year. Despite the increase of almost 800 incidents, there were no fixed penalty notices issued, the figures showed. Ms Harvey said: "For the last six months we've had Worcester regulatory services on board, and they're investigating when we have fly tipping and that's really difficult. "We'd really like to get to the point of some fixed penalties, but it takes time to collect the evidence, and we have to make sure that it will stand up if challenged. "You might often find a mattress, and that's something you can't often fit into a car, same with things like a sofa... and you might even have a car to transport it to the tip yourself, so I think a real big thing we need to do is education," she said. "So those people living in those areas, they need to know how to ask the council how to remove their waste and how to dispose of it properly." Other councils in Worcestershire, Wyre Forest District Council and Worcester City Council, said fly tipping was a priority, while Wychavon District Council said it planned to invest an extra £10,000 to tackle the problem in the next financial year. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Volunteer litter picker despairs of fly-tipping Landscape gardener sentenced for fly-tipping Department for Environment and Rural Affairs
