1. @ChrisB – Much of this proposal is about asking residents what they want. That's not something the small number of staff at Burntwood Town Council have the time to do. If they want to do it, they need to work with someone like Limitless. @Richard Perrins – none of what you just listed is within Burntwood Town Council's power to do. Shops are privately owned buildings, and it's up to the Landlord to deal with them. Councillors and officers push the Landlords to improve the area but their power is limited. Cllr Paul Taylor
  6. The urban sprawl started in the nineteen sixties when developers offered cheaper houses in outlying communities for commuters. It was the early seventies before it grew in Lichfield, and has not really slowed ever since. The housing needed for young local people trying to get on the housing ladder are partly the offsprings of this first phase. There are also substantial others from other larger cities, especially Birmingham. Incidentally, the houses are no longer cheap. This situation is self perpetuating now and is impossible to stop. The consequences are all too apparent. The ethos of the city is changed and,… Philip
  19. I disagree with LDC on a lot of things, but not providing a traveller site is something I totally agree with them on, they have tried multiple times to locate sites but there is nowhere suitable. We're a small district with no where appropriate. The Traveller/Roma/GRT community are well served by sites in our surronding districts, but instead they choose to illegally occupy land here every year or so. I hope LDC takes the toughest possible action against those that choose to break the law. St John's C
  25. Andrew is unique in that he is the only person, other than councillors and their mates, who I have come across who thinks that the LDC has served Lichfield well over the years. He must live in a utopian Lichfield in another galaxy far, far away because the one we live in, here in Staffordshire, has been anything but well served in recent years. Councillors all parties need to honestly look both around and at the district, honestly talk to a wide range of residents, even read the comments on Lichfield Live – Lichfield is broke, it does need fixing. John Robinson
  26. Were there no girls involved in this project? Has Chase Terrace Academy turned into a single sex school? It's very disappointing that this project seems to have been open only to the boys and neither the company involved nor the council seemed to think this inappropriate, especially at a time when the construction industry is pushing for greater diversity and recognises it needs to attract more people into its ranks. Perhaps Cllr Farrell will comment on how the girls are now going to "benefit directly" from the procurement spend. Are they to attend cookery and typing lessons? J Smith
  33. It has become a very thorny problem. Thieves know the prisons are full and that any sentences will likely be light. Finding appropriate punishment is no longer a deterrent to thieves, be it housebreaking, shop lifting or car and phone theft. The hope of rehabilitation is statistically unpromising. Crime should be punished. My thoughts are that restorative poweres should be uppermost in this. Any assets (not just stolen goods) should be requisitioned. It should be made to hurt if it intends to deter. Further sanctions should enforce this move. We are in danger of crime, of all kinds, undermining the… Philip
  35. We already know how Lichfield District Council intends to involve the community in planning policies. When there was a general outcry about building houses on the Friasgate site they ran a survey at the council offices asking citizens to choose the bricks and tiles and style of housing. At planning meetings any public input has one representative given five minutes on a stop watch to present any objections. The generally aged committee members sit in disdain while such objections are delivered and then ignored. Would Lichfield really have suffered the devestating developments had the council been listening to local people?… Philip
  37. Just four reasons to change to a Unitary Authority. 1) Cost reduction in tiers of bureaucracy removed 2) More joined up Local Govt. Currently Council Tax payers confused as to who does what 3) Better localised and regional planning. Wider view leads to more informed outcomes 4) Economies of scale. A larger authority has more financial power and flexibility I have worked closely with both County and District Councils and with Unitary, the latter being far and away the more beneficial to residents Ian Summerton
  39. Theer are 62 unitary councils now + 6 shire unitary councils – this is a cost saving efficiency excercise [saving on councillors expenses alone is already eye watering] Some unitary councils were technically insolvent pre becoming unitary. For LDC this was forecast as "very likely" by the then councillors [Val Richards Conservative Deputy Leader & Mike Wilcox the Leader] as long ago as 2002/3 when working with Tamworth to save money & increase efficiency with waste collections started.That seems to work well. Regardless of protest it will happen. Turkeys don't vote for Christmas Toby
  44. @Flossy Yeah they're working so well… out of the 6 English councils that have declared bankruptcy in the country, 5 of them are unitary/single tier! We don't want this, we don't deserve this and we will fight this. Additionally, the size of the proposed unitary areas really annoys me – unitary does an ok job in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where most districts are around 100-200k people. I'd be all for a unitary Lichfield district at 107k or a Lichfield & Tamworth at 195k but these options are not on the table, it's starmer's way or the highway. I'll be… St John's C
  46. It's all in the words isn't it? Not 'their' ambitions but 'our' ambitions. The District Council has always put business first and the 'residents' last. This has been totally obvious with the massive changes in housing development and warehouses that have swamped the area. Had the 'residents' been considered we would have more schools (especially secondry) social and youth facilities, a proper swimming pool and leisure centre accessible to all, cinema (yes I know but A. Its still not here yet, and B. The impact has compromised shops and parking. Oh! C. The contract will be a an Albatross to… Philip
  50. What nonsense! Just like what has happened in the police, the fire service and armed forces ( and where I work) this will end up being a disaster and an ill thought out mess. The best candidate with the right attitude and/ or experience should always get the job regardless of gender or race. In the particular case of this train company I should imagine that male candidates who have got the right attributes will be ignored for the positions by the box ticking brigade if the quota of females haven't been met. Scotto
  53. We actually pay within 100% of all invoices before the due date or quicker. Its called Ethics, nothing to do with party or being a councillor. £24BN is owed to mirco & small businesses. These are businesses who have signed contracts and ignore the invoice due date. The office of the small business commissioner since 2014 (that how long I have been working with them) to finally get some kind powers to stop the late payment culture. Xero Accountancy has reported that 24% of Mirco & Small businesses owners can not pay themselves due to the late invoices. Answer to… James Blackman
  69. This is very welcome and any visitor to County Buildings cannot ignore the gallery. As Chair of the Education and Lifelong Scrutiny Committee I used to ask visiting students to find a picture of a female councillor or a female dignitary of any kind in the Council Chamber – or elsewhere. It was only in very recent years that elected female representatives were not referred to as "Councilor Mrs …" instead of just "Councillor …". Happy International Women's Day sisters – still some way to go. Steven Norman
  72. Local Guy,.. residents in this area have lived on a building site year after year. The construction under the railway, the Southern Bypass, the destruction of the Darwin Walk memorial trees plus countless others, metres and metres of beautiful ancient hedgerow torn up, the green nets draped over the hedges at Fosseway on the Birmingham Road hill, oversized,over-dense construction on every single green field in South Lichfield. Now the last green view, Cricket Lane, is being buried beneath 18 metre high warehousing, hundreds of houses, bordered by an enormous Care Home. Every single field gone, this fragmentation of nature will… Batgirl
  76. @St John C. It is not a forced plan nationwide. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland already operate this system. In fact 70% of the UK is already under this system. The Districts won't bail out County Councils or existing Unitaries. Staffordshire County Council spends £711m, LDC spends £16.5m and much of that is statutory services. DC budgets are tiny and incapable of delivering large scale schemes, much ado about nothing comes to mind. It also makes me laugh, people praising the County Council when month after month the state of the roads is mocked and berated. As for Lichfield having… RFW
  86. These government proposed reforms of councils (including Lichfield District Council) are HUGE. They must not lead to large/unwieldy councils with no real connection to communities. The Lichfield Lib Dems have said that the reforms must not be at the expenses of weakening the connection between councils and the communities they serve. https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2025/02/25/community-connections-must-be-at-the-heart-of-unitary-authority-reforms-lichfield-liberal-democrat-councillor-says/ So one new unitary authority for the whole of Staffs (or Staffs County as Staffs County Council have proposed) is a non-starter. Paul Ray
  88. This option is the north staffordshire appeasement option. Locking Stoke out of any Unitary is a good idea, their council is practically bankrupt and does a terrible job at delivering public services. The people of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Moorlands shouldn't be punished when their districts and county have down the right thing over the years – making the tough but necessary decisions to keep financially stable. Notice how since the forced unitary plans nationwide people are no longer talking about bankrupt councils… rather than national government and local ratepayers bailing out bankrupt councils, this responsibility will fall to the districts… St John's C
  94. Good. I’d love to see a crack down on the tacky cheap signage that has sprung up right across Lichfield. Seems to me the Vape Shops, Fast Food shops, Corner Shops, Mobile Phone Repair shops, Barber Shops are the worst offenders. It is not in keeping with the history and architectural heritage of our city. Some areas have very strict rules on signage that preserves a traditional and pleasant street scene. It would be great if Lichfield had this also. I think it would be nice to see some decorum and class applied. Saddlers of the World Unite