Pop group The Saturdays visit hospice

POP group The Saturdays visited the site of a new hospice in Solihull.

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DJ visits hospice site

RADIO star and Solihull boy Johnnie Walker visited the construction site of a new hospice in the town.

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£7m appeal for Solihull hospice

MARIE Curie Cancer Care today launches a £7m appeal to build a hospice in Marsh Lane, Solihull.

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Government won't intervene on hospice plan

THE Government has refused to intervene in a controversial bid for a new hospice in Solihull.

John Denham, secretary of state for communities and local government, had the powers to ‘call in’ Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s approval for the Marie Curie scheme.

Yet a letter from his department of the council said this could ‘not be justified’.

Opponents said the Marsh Lane plan should be rejected as it is on protected Green Belt land and would cause traffic problems.

But the letter said: “The secretary of state is satisfied that the issues raised do not relate to matters of more than local importance, which would be more appropriately decided at national level rather than the local planning authority.”

Click here to read the letter (Microsoft Word).

The council’s planning committee passed the plan in December.

More than 11,000 backed the scheme as they said Marie Curie’s present home on the Warwick Road was outdated. This will now be sold for flats.

Solihull Conservative MP election hopeful Maggie Throup welcomed the news.

In a press release she said: “Despite being an avid Green Belt defender, I feel the social role provided by our local hospice outweighs the loss of this small area of Green Belt.

“I am delighted that the Secretary of State has decided not to intervene in this local decision, which now means Marie Curie Hospice can speed ahead to the next stages and the immense amount of fundraising needed.”

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Hospice plans backed by council

COUNCILLORS last night backed controversial plans to put a hospice on Green Belt land in Marsh Lane, Solihull.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s planning committee approved the Marie Curie Hospice plan.

The Government has the option to intervene. Until it decides whether or not to, the plans do not have full approval.

More than 11,000 people supported moving the hospice from the Warwick Road – but Marsh lane residents said it would blight their lives.

The news has so far been welcomed by Maggie Throup, the Conservative’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Solihull.

She said: “Despite being an avid Green Belt defender, I feel that the social role provided by our local hospice outweighs the loss of this small area of Green Belt.”

Solihull MP Lorely Burt also backed the plan.

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MP to back hospice at vote

SOLIHULL MP Lorely Burt will tonight speak in favour of a controversial planning application to put a hospice on Green Belt land.

She will urge Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council to support the scheme, which will need approval by the Government.

More than 11,000 have supported the Marsh Lane plan – but some nearby residents say it will blight their homes with extra traffic.

Mrs Burt, who will travel from Westminster for the vote, said: “It is hugely important for Solihull residents to maintain this hospice within the borough.

“Marie Curie brings out the best from those in Solihull who volunteer, raise money and work in the charity shop.”

In a statement she said: “Most of the patients who use Marie Curie also hail from Solihull, so it is vital we keep it local for them and for their friends and families.
"The new hospice will provide wonderful facilities, whereas in the current building there aren't even single sex toilets.

"With an ageing population, more people are choosing to die at home, and the new facility will provide the space for training for Marie Curie nurses, allowing more people to remain at home and die with dignity."

The planning committee will meet at 6pm at the council’s offices in Solihull town centre. For more about the plan click here.

Approve hospice, council officer concludes

A HOSPICE should be allowed to move onto Solihull Green Belt land and sell its existing premises for housing, council planning officers have concluded.

A report to councillors recommends they back the hospice plan for land off Marsh Lane, right – which will need Government approval – and pass the homes plan.

It comes after months of fierce debate about the plan by Marie Curie Cancer Care to move from nearby Warwick Road to a 24-bed facility with 109 parking spaces.

It would include a conference centre – but the report says this would not be hired out.

A report by a Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council planning officer says the proposal is “acceptable” and in line with planning policy.

It says: “The applicant in their submissions has provided a sound case to demonstrate
that very special circumstances exist as to why the development on this land
with green belt designation should take place.

“Officers consider that the existing site at Warwick Road provides a poor standard of accommodation that no longer meets modern day standards.”

This was supported by criticisms of the existing unit by the NHS regulator, it says, and added the facility was vital for the area.

A study of 24 alternative sites found the Marsh Line site the “most appropriate”, it says and design was “will provide excellent, high quality accommodation”.

The plan is backed by a 11,131-signature petition, Solihull MP Lorely Burt,
Malcolm Harbour MEP and Solihull NHS Care Trust.

The report said of supporters’ views: “Palliative care requirements are increasing with the ageing population and the present hospice inpatient, day care and counselling facilities are clearly insufficient for future needs.”

Yet a 360-name petition opposed the scheme along with 105 letters of objection with concerns about use of Green Belt, traffic, design, noise and wildlife.

Marsh Lane Residents Area Group said: “The harm that will be caused by this inappropriate development is not outweighed by other considerations.

“As well as the Green Belt issues, we have strong concerns about the significant impact this scheme will have on road safety and the free flow of traffic in Marsh Lane and the surrounding roads, the inappropriate scale of the development on the character and appearance of the area and the effect on the living conditions of nearby residents.”

The report acknowledges it is an “inappropriate development that by reason of its size and location has a significant impact on the openness of the Green Belt”.

It must therefore be referred to the Government Office for the West Midlands so the Secretary of State can decide whether to intervene and make the final decision.

The application for the hospice’s current site is for 37 apartments in three blocks.

Ten letters objected to the scheme over concerns about traffic and its affect on neighbouring properties.

But the planning officer’s report says neighbours would not be “adversely affected”.

Members will be able to decide on this plan and give its view on the new hospice at the next meeting of the planning committee on Wednesday at 6pm at the council’s offices in Solihull town centre.