MAX "HEADSTONE ROOM

MAX "HEADSTONE" ROOM

About 8 months ago, a parcel of land came available along the lane in Crossheads, which adjoins the School Playing field. It is for sale at a reasonable price, certainly affordable after the generosity over the years of the community helping CURB raise funds which sit at around £15,000 to date.

CURB as you know have disbanded, and handed over the £15K for the Parish Council to look after until a suitable site has been found. As you all know I have attended many meetings of the Parish Council over the last 7 years and this is a project that has thwarted many attempts as many different sites had over time been considered including this one.

I have in front of me a letter where CURB asks the owner of this small plot of land, which clearly states, that they believe this to be a perfect site. Why, well its because it is in the Parish, actually in the village, local people who will be buried there or have their ashes interred there would be able in the daytime to easily park on the Village Hall carpark, with their permission of course, to attend with flowers etc. Nobody would need to drive up Crossheads lane to park. A small plot of land at the back of the playing field could be allocated to the site, as that too is owned by the Diocese of Lichfield. All of the building companies are in the village at the moment, they could be asked to clear the land and build a good sized brick wall around the plot and turf the site over. In a few months time after they have finished construction this may not be possible.

All the cash is in the Bank NOW, the seller wants to sell NOW, at a very much reduced cost. The Diocese of Lichfield think its a great site and to quote "this is the best opportunity I have seen in the last 10 years, it could serve our purposes and that of the community for the next few decades."

Planning for the Burial Ground is in the Neighbourhood plan soon to be ratified by a local referendum on the 15th September 2016.

All the ducks are in a row.............but then what do you suppose happened........yes you guessed it, the Parish Council. On the Parish Website you will see that the Parish Council had a meeting about the Burial ground..........IN FEBRUARY. The minutes have not been ratified and it is now August, soon to be September. Until the minutes have been ratified no work can be done on developing the idea, lol more importantly no work has been done on the idea, in fact the seller has not even once been contacted. So it will be a full 8 months since the idea was first put to the council, and when I ask them what they are doing about this important facility for the community this was the reply I received.

Blah Blah Blah

"You can be assured that you, along with other residents, will be advised on any further substantive developments in this matter as and when they arise."

As and when they arise!!!! the cash is in the Bank, everyone is ready to go, after more than a decade of looking and after salaries have increased to £38,000 an increase of 50%, its still being looked at!!, after 8 months and over a decade!!

I can understand if the Diocese of Lichfield were the blockers but they no longer are, I can understand if the price for the land was a blocker as it was before, but it isn't now.

This is just down to local politicking. I was the one to contact the seller and persuade them to drop the price, I was the one to contact the Diocese of Lichfield and gain their agreement. It was because it was not the idea of the great and the good of the Parish Council this golden opportunity will be missed. I am not writing this to get credit, I could not give a monkeys nuts if the Chairman of the Parish Council decides to call the site the "Andy Cooper Memorial burial ground" with a big brass plaque and a life size photo on the entrance, says its all his idea and has me sign a legal agreement never to speak of it again, as long as the opportunity is not lost.

It was because I was told it could not be achieved because of the blockers, that I got off my ample backside and picked up the phone to sort it out, and that's what I did.

Our community may lose a golden opportunity to provide additional burial space in the community, through negligence incompetence pride politicking you call it what you want.

I spoke to the seller today, they have other offers they are now considering, as a community we really have to ask if we lose this opportunity which is available now, just  to continue considering options that have not come to fruition in over 10 years of trying, then it will be a travesty for the villages.

I say stop faffing about and get on with sorting this opportunity out, the problem now is the council everyone else think this site is the one to go with. It could be in place by the end of this year if they get a move on.......I will hold my breath......or maybe not....