THE LEADER of Bromsgrove District Council has hit back at a story in a national newspaper which labelled the town’s ‘BirdBox’ area an ‘eyesore’ which resembled ‘Tellytubbies Land’.
The piece – from the Daily Mail which went live on its Mail Online website over the weekend – quoted a post on X (formerly Twitter) which said the council had ‘covered the town in c**p’.
Others responding to the claims criticised the district council for its decision years ago to knock down the indoor market hall which once stood there, labelled the BirdBox a ‘complete waste of money’ and that they only saw children climbing all over the artificial turf covered blocks.
‘Award-winning space’
Responding to the article on social media, Coun Karen May said: “There has been a lot of ‘talk’ and indeed media attention around the BirdBox, empty shops and the former market hall site recently and I would like to set the record straight on some of these things.
There is plenty of space at the Bromsgrove BirdBox for social distancing. Picture by Tristan Harris.
“BirdBox was always meant to be just a ‘meanwhile space’ created with funds left over from a developer rather than council’s monies. It won a ‘Regeneration Project of the Year’ Award in 2021 at the West Midlands Property Awards.
“We have been blown away by the success of the events in the space which has seen everything from roaming dinosaurs to live music and was used to showcase the iconic ‘knife angel’ as part of its national tour.
“Bromsgrove District Council was awarded £14.5m of Levelling Up Funding and using the lion’s share of this, plans have been submitted to create a pavilion and office space at the site.
“These plans are yet to be considered by Bromsgrove District Council’s Planning Committee but include an indoor community events space, as, due to the weather, at times the events at BirdBox had to be cancelled much to the dismay of residents.
“The LUF is earmarked to develop brownfield sites, not the High Street, but the UKSPF is available for businesses in our town and district centres to bid for.
“There is currently a grant available for up to £10,000 as part of this, to encourage businesses to utilise empty shop units or improve their current properties.”
The plans for the former market hall site were submitted in October.
And last week we reported that – during a consultation – they had received a mixed response.
She said a full list of frequently answered questions was available at bromsgrove.gov.uk/fmh.
Click here to read the Daily Mail article in full.
- What do you think of the BirdBox? Have you attended events there? Email your views to [email protected]
