V.D.S. - 6 Settlement Guidelines Parish Council
  1. Lickey and Blackwell must remain as separate villages.
  2. Lickey and Blackwell and Marlbrook should be protected against becoming part of the urban sprawl by the following means:
    1. preserve the openness in residential areas by avoiding sub-division of plots and in-fill development, especially if it joins areas of housing previously seen as distinct and separate;
    2. keep distant views to and from the area unimpeded by buildings;
    3. preserve roadside trees and hedges. See Tree and Hedge Guidelines
    4. maintain current density levels, which vary through the parish, wherever possible.
  3. When larger developments are proposed, the Highways Partnership should undertake studies on the impact the extra traffic will have on rural roads. This should include the following:
    1. parking
    2. possible damage to verges and banks (for example Greenhill)
    3. speeding
    4. possible loss of trees and hedges, making reference to the Tree and Hedge Guidelines in Section .
  4. The rural character of the roads can be undermined by unsympathetic 'improvements' (for example concrete culverts in Mearse Lane). With imagination the developer can preserve the greenness
    1. Keep unkerbed grassed road edges.
    2. Keep sinuous alignments
    3. Minimal use of abutting footways
    4. Speeding affects this parish as elsewhere
    5. Sensitive spots are the 3 residential areas and the schools at Blackwell and Lickey. Also horse and pony riders frequently use the roads. If traffic calming is considered, then imaginative means to reduce driver speed by influencing driver perception is preferred. Many overt traffic-calming measures may not be appropriate in our semi-rural setting
    6. Any new drainage work, or similar, taking place in grassy verges should be made unobtrusive.
    7. Street furniture and signs should be minimal in number, and discreet in size, colour and materials.
  5. Any commercial activitv should continue to be discrete and unobtrusive and follow all the V.D.S. guidelines for settlement, building and landscaping. This is especially important for the Lickeys which has important views in from surrounding districts and views out.
Figure 15 -Cherry Hill Road runs alongside Pinfields Wood and developments are hidden behind hedges and trees. Note narrow entrances. Figure 16 -Blackwell Post Office -centre of the village and between trees and greenery.


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Last Updated 27/06/2005