By Dawn’s Early Light
Residents of long standing may recall the ominous ring of this title. But spirits were high when 32 local residents assembled outside Highfield House at 6-45 a.m. one February morning. The occasion was to take part in a live radio broadcast to make clear the public support for the retention of Highfield House.
The house was in very good condition some 18 months ago but, since it has been in the ownership of developers / speculators the once lovely garden has been devastated and the house itself has been allowed to decline. Based on items and photos supplied by several people, Michael Wilkes produced a slide show of the house (if you would like a copy email Michael as Michael.Wilkes@birmingham.gov.uk - it is a 1mb file). “Neglect of a locally listed building is tantamount to vandalism and should not be rewarded with permission to demolish and develop for a maximum haul of money” said Councillor Wilkes. “It shows what can happen when a good house falls into the wrong hands. I spoke at the Planning Committee and submitted five pages of arguments as to why the application should be refused and Councillor Paula Smith worked tirelessly organising the campaign to save the house”.
As ever, the dice are loaded against the general public when it comes to profitable development. Successive governments have done nothing to change this situation and the present lot have made it even worse with their obsession with targets. Hall Green Focus believes that the only target that should count is the preservation of the character of communities. There is nothing wrong with a fair profit (given the point reached we would accept build on the site that preserved the structure of the house) and this could have been done had the will - and or appropriate legislation -been there.
