Public Open Space, Streetsbrook Road
IF YOU drive from the A34 Robin Hood roundabout towards Solihull along Streetsbrook Road, why not stop to enjoy a marvellous open space just after the St Bernard’s Road/Prospect Lane roundabout?
There’s a pleasant oasis to your left and, to your right, a vast open field which goes across Woodlea Drive and towards the Danford Lane end of Prospect Lane.
None of this appears to be an official park and locals couldn’t even name it.
No real effort has been to landscape it in the way that, say Highbury Park, was modelled, but the sun shines across here beautifully in spring and summer.
I’ve never seen the area looking anything other than immaculate and it would be a travesty if anyone tried to use the excuse for ‘more housing’ as a reason to grant permission for it to be concreted over.
Those who live around it, on Woodside Way and Birch Tree Grove, have a very pleasant environment that’s just as exclusive as anything in Four Oaks to the north of Birmingham.
Looking at some of the 60s-style properties, it’s the land that makes the house and not the other way round, but the whole area is a model of high quality suburban living where you instantly feel as if all is well with the world.
Signs warning that ball games are prohibited thankfully didn’t seem to apply to the snow last week, when lots of youngsters were busy chasing each other and throwing snowballs.
What looked like a Lowry painting from afar, turned into something like a scene out of Braveheart-with-snow at closer quarters.
It was great to see a quality open space being put to such good, exuberant use.
Further along Streetsbrook Road, at another mini-oasis woodland junction with Sharmans Cross Road, there was such a lovely snowman complete with dog that many motorists were stopping their cars on the bend to take pictures of it with their mobile phones.
* For more information about parks in Solihull visit www.solihull.gov.uk/parks/
parksandopenspaces or telephone 0121 704 8472 or email parkrangers@solihull.
gov.uk
* For Birmingham, visit www.birmingham.gov.uk or call 0121 464 8728. VisitorInfo
