Fred Grove - victim of redevelopment
reposted from 'The Stirrer' | 27.08.2006 12:33 | Free Spaces | Social Struggles | Birmingham
WRONG SAID FRED – CAMPAIGN LATEST
22-07-2006
Bizarre goings-on in Birmingham this week as pensioner Fred Grove stepped up his campaign against eviction.
Fred has been served with a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on his canalside cottage in the Vauxhall area of the city, because he stands in the way of “progress.”
22-07-2006
Bizarre goings-on in Birmingham this week as pensioner Fred Grove stepped up his campaign against eviction.
Fred has been served with a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on his canalside cottage in the Vauxhall area of the city, because he stands in the way of “progress.”
Fred Grove
The irony is that although he would be forced to move out, the cottage itself would be preserved – becoming the centrepiece of a square at the heart of a new development called Eastside.
Is the first ever example of a CPO being issued against a human being?
As if to underline how cock-eyed this whole affair is, Fred was tipped off by The Stirrer that a meeting about the project was taking place in Birmingham on Thursday for “stakeholders” in the project.
You might reasonably have thought this category would include a 71 year old man who has lived there all his adult life but who is now being forced to leave.
Er, no. Fred and many others directly affected by the development were not invited, even though this was the first time the full vision for Eastside had been unveiled.
Undeterred he and his daughter Marilyn gatecrashed the meeting – accompanied by The Stirrer – to see how it might affect them.
The event, hosted by Birmingham City Council, was attended by the regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands.
There were also local architects, urban planners, environmental campaigners and the like – many of them good people, deeply concerned by Fred’s plight.
Yet there were no bona fide local residents involved.
And attempts to discuss Fred’s particular situtaion were quickly squelched by Alan Bishop, the local authority bod chairing the day.
As Fred told us later: “I’m none the wiser now than I was before about why they want me out.”
But it did was open his eyes to the absurdities of a planning system that puts local residents at the back of the queue for consultation.
In any event the campaign to prevent his eviction – backed by The Stirrer -goes on.
We’ll have details shortly of his efforts to secure the support of his MP Clare Short.
As an aside, it’s worth noting that despite Birmingham’s cosmopilitan make-up, there was only one non-white face among the 32 people present.
The city – torn apart by a race riot last year in the inner city district of Lozells – has hitherto been smug about its multicultural credentials.
But how can a huge development of inner city land - which includes a new park, shops and apartments – reflect the needs of residents when those planning it have the appearance of a “whites-only” club”.
I briefly wondered if I’d stumbled into a Ku Klux Klan meeting by mistake?
The presence of at least one Asian face re-assured me that I hadn’t, but this is a city that needs to wake up to awful reality of race relations in its midst.
more pics of Fred Grove and his gaff here:
http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/Images/fredgrove/
Is the first ever example of a CPO being issued against a human being?
As if to underline how cock-eyed this whole affair is, Fred was tipped off by The Stirrer that a meeting about the project was taking place in Birmingham on Thursday for “stakeholders” in the project.
You might reasonably have thought this category would include a 71 year old man who has lived there all his adult life but who is now being forced to leave.
Er, no. Fred and many others directly affected by the development were not invited, even though this was the first time the full vision for Eastside had been unveiled.
Undeterred he and his daughter Marilyn gatecrashed the meeting – accompanied by The Stirrer – to see how it might affect them.
The event, hosted by Birmingham City Council, was attended by the regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands.
There were also local architects, urban planners, environmental campaigners and the like – many of them good people, deeply concerned by Fred’s plight.
Yet there were no bona fide local residents involved.
And attempts to discuss Fred’s particular situtaion were quickly squelched by Alan Bishop, the local authority bod chairing the day.
As Fred told us later: “I’m none the wiser now than I was before about why they want me out.”
But it did was open his eyes to the absurdities of a planning system that puts local residents at the back of the queue for consultation.
In any event the campaign to prevent his eviction – backed by The Stirrer -goes on.
We’ll have details shortly of his efforts to secure the support of his MP Clare Short.
As an aside, it’s worth noting that despite Birmingham’s cosmopilitan make-up, there was only one non-white face among the 32 people present.
The city – torn apart by a race riot last year in the inner city district of Lozells – has hitherto been smug about its multicultural credentials.
But how can a huge development of inner city land - which includes a new park, shops and apartments – reflect the needs of residents when those planning it have the appearance of a “whites-only” club”.
I briefly wondered if I’d stumbled into a Ku Klux Klan meeting by mistake?
The presence of at least one Asian face re-assured me that I hadn’t, but this is a city that needs to wake up to awful reality of race relations in its midst.
more pics of Fred Grove and his gaff here:
http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/Images/fredgrove/
reposted from 'The Stirrer'
Homepage:
http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/2207061.html
Additions
“I’M LOSING MY LITTLE PIECE OF HEAVEN” – FRED GROVE LATEST
27.08.2006 12:46
Fred, who’s lived for 41 years at Belmont Row, Vauxhall (aka "Eastside") is awaiting a valuation on his property after a visit this week from a council official.
But cash is no compensation for the loss of a family home, and now he’s also been told that even if he wins his fight against eviction, the garden he’s so lovingly tended will be taken from him…
The irony is that without Fred, the small mooring on the riverbank behind his house would by now be completely overgrown.
It used to serve as a landing bay for the factory next door, but as barges lost out to trucks in the battle to carry freight it fell into disuse.
There’s no public access, and so Fred had to build his own patio with a ladder to get down to the canal.
He’s turned this weed-strewn patch, in his own words, into “my little piece of heaven”.
He’s even designed a bridge which extends from the mooring across to his own DIY rockery.
There’s a home-made water mill, a goldfish pond, and beautiful flowers.
“This was a wasteland until I started working it” Fred recalls.
“Now I’ve got plums here, apple trees, rhubarb. I’ve created a real little wildlife haven.”
It can’t last though - a vindictive bureaucrat has spotted that this little parcel of land – which has otherwise been completely neglected by officialdom for more than two decades - isn’t on the title deeds to his house.
And the council has told him that even if he succeeds in his battle to remain there, he’ll be banned from using this lovingly nurtured green space.
“You can imagine the turmoil I’m in” he said.
“Everything I’ve worked for there over the last 20 or 30 years will be just wiped out.
“They’d be happy to leave me staring at the four walls.”
Understandably Fred is feeling quite low at the moment, but remains determined to fight on.
reposted from 'The Stirrer'
Homepage:
http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/fg2308061.html