Brandwood End people told to keep out of local beauty spot in council error

Nov 28 2009 by Neil Elkes, Birmingham Mail

BLUNDERING council contractors have provoked fury in a city suburb after telling families and dog walkers to keep out of their local beauty spot.

The council staff put up four warning signs at the Jasmine Fields Nature Reserve in Brandwood End informing residents they had no right of way through the public open space.

It came just two months after local park ranger Adam Noon, founder of the Friends of Jasmine Fields volunteer group, won a coveted city council Chamberlain Award for turning the site from derelict, fly-tipped wasteland into a nature reserve and much loved community facility.

But the signs, which said ‘no right of way exists across this land for members of the public’, were taken down a day later following the outcry.

The official council line was that there had been a ‘mistake’ but emails from officials suggested that city lawyers thought that any claims of public rights of way might scupper future development plans.

Coun Mike Leddy (Lab, Brandwood) stormed: “I don’t know whether it’s a cock-up or a cover-up. The park rangers and people here have spent many hours cleaning up this land, putting up the fences and turning it into a lovely nature reserve.

“Then these signs go up with no notice. Not even the park staff knew what was going on. Everyone was furious.”

He said the site was earmarked for a marina development more than a decade ago, but with the squeeze on public finances this was highly unlikely in the near future.

“It seems the development department thought the land should be secured from the public, even though it is public open space under the responsibility of the leisure department. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.”

A council spokesman confirmed the signs had gone up in error. He said: “Council contractors put the signs up as the result of a simple mix-up. They have now been taken down.”