Nine local residents have been appointed to a new Neighbourhood Board that will decide how £20 million in funding is spent on improving Chelmsley Wood over the next decade.
The appointments mark the next step in the Pride in Place programme, which will direct long term investment towards changes that residents themselves have asked for.
The nine were chosen by a selection panel earlier this month, with more than 30 people applying for the ten available places. All of those selected either live or work in Chelmsley Wood, and were chosen for having shown a strong understanding of, and commitment to, the local community during the selection process.
The new community members of the Chelmsley Wood Neighbourhood Board are:
Sam Flint
Corinne Hobson
David Lane
Daniel McGuinness
Chet Parmar
Shesh Sheshabhatter
Sarah Spencer
Natalie Travers
Sara Bonas-Whalen
They will sit alongside Saqib Bhatti, MP for Meriden and Solihull East, Councillor Karen Grinsell, Leader of Solihull Council, Councillor Phil Tierney, Ward Councillor for Chelmsley Wood, and Hazel Dawkins, representing Chelmsley Wood Town Council, bringing the Board’s full membership to 14, including its chair.
Neighbourhood Board Chair Neil Roberts welcomed the appointments, saying the strong number of applicants showed how much interest there was in the scheme. With the Board now in place, he said, members can begin the first two major tasks facing them, agreeing the boundaries of the Pride in Place programme area and starting to shape the Pride in Place Plan itself.
Roberts said the coming months would be focused on listening to residents, describing it as “a summer of talking” aimed at making sure everyone who wants a say gets the chance to contribute, so that the eventual plan reflects what the community actually wants.
The full Board is expected to hold its first meeting next week. Minutes from Board meetings will be published on Solihull Council’s website as the programme progresses.
Further details on the Pride in Place programme are available on the Solihull Council’s website here.
