We all love the common, but its management has proven controversial. Why not pop along to the meeting and discuss the issues with the experts and other users?

Here’s one for people interested in the issues surrounding Brownhills Common – theres a meeting at 7:00pm on Monday evening, 17th March 2014 of the Freinds of Brownhills Common group at the Environmental Depot, 200 Pelsall Road, Brownhills – WS8 7EN – please meet in the reception.

If you can make time, do pop along. Brownhills Common will benefit hugely from an active friends group, and considering the manufactured outrage last year, I’d have thought plenty would be ready to join and add their voice. It’s important that we recognise what a valuable, fragile and important habitat Brownhills Common is, and why it requires careful and measured stewardship.

If you’ve only heard the alarmists, it’s a good opportunity to go out and meet, talk and listen to people who understand the issues and love the wildlife, and to help shape the future of something we all love.

Please go if you can.

The proceedings of the last (fourth) meeting are available by clicking this link, so you can get an idea of what kind of stuff is going on.

Yet again, this material has come to me third hand, and the poor communications issue with anything greenspaces in Walsall seems to persist. If you actually search for ‘Friends of Brownhills Common’ in Google, apart from a November press release, most of the top hits are for mentions on this blog, which has only ever had such information passed on externally. This is pretty rubbish.

Thanks are due greatly to the person who’s keeping me, and by extension you readers, informed.

Two conifer plantations were remover earlier this year, and this has opened out the common wonderfully – and as Morgan Bower’s video at the foot of this post shows, the deer haven’t been deterred.

Helen Sanger, Head Ranger, has sent out the following material:

The next Friends of Brownhills Common group meeting will be held at 7.00pm on Monday 17th March 2014 at the Environmental Depot. 200, Pelsall Road, Brownhills, Walsall. WS8 7EN.

If you are able to attend the meeting please sign in at the main reception at the front of the building on your arrival; you will be collected and taken to the meeting room by a member of staff shortly before the meeting starts.

Gareth Perrins-Seedhouse has provided an update regarding the queries made at the last meeting, please see the information bellow that I have passed on his behalf.

A vehicle drove across the corner of the footpath pitch and caused some rutting to the path. Reinstatement was duly undertaken within days of the damage. A site visit undertaken by Gareth on the 19.2.14 to confirms this.

Users /residents can expect on average to see the bins emptied daily between Monday and Friday (excluding Bank Holidays)

All bins within the fenced park and the extension will be emptied on the same frequency; there won’t be primary and secondary bins.

Not all areas of the park and the extension will be litter picked on the same frequency, there will be primary and secondary areas of the park and the extension for litter picking collection purposes.

On average users/residents should expect to see the park play area to be litter picked daily Monday to Friday excluding Bank Holidays whereas the extension will be litter picked once per fortnight.

Users / residents should expect to see the grass cut approximately once per fortnight from mid-March to late September. All areas of the park and the extension will be cut on the same frequency.

As for the recent improvement works, they are all now complete with the exception of

• Seeding (which the contractor will return to in March / once the weather has improved). Gareth noted during his site visit of 19.2.14 that affected areas require further attention (i.e. removal of stones above 5mm and raking over, to create an adequate seed bed) before seeding can take place
• Resurfacing of the drive and first part of the car park off the Parade (pot holes filled with chippings)
• Regrading of the mound along the barriers to the car park adjoining the extension – aim is to make it more tidy and easier from a maintenance perspective
• The shelter in the extension has been removed. A flail mower will be taken across this area to bring the edge of the mown grassed areas as close to the hedge line / fence (diving the fenced park and the extension). This will be done late February/early March 2014 to make the area look tidy. 

Please find attached minutes from the fourth meeting of Friends of Brownhills Common (13.02.2014) and the agenda for the next meeting. 

Yours faithfully, 

Helen Sanger

Senior Countryside Ranger
Countryside Services

Morgan Bowers posted the following wonderful deer film on YouTube yesterday (12th March 2014):