News

Storm Darragh - 8th and 9th December 2024

9^th Dec 2024

Unfortunately we have to report on the devastation caused by the storm and the loss of a huge number of trees in the Country Park. The area around the Lickeys seems to have been very badly affected as several local roads including Rose Hill, Barnt Green Road and Lickey Road were blocked by fallen trees. An area at the top of
Beacon Hill has been devastated. Many trees were down in the area of the Visitor Centre but amazingly the building was not affected.
The prevailing winds in the area are from the south west and the trees develop their own ways of protecting themselves from these winds. The Rangers have explained that trees can recognise a weakness and compensate by producing ‘reaction growth’ to protect themselves. Storm Darragh involved very strong gusts from the north east for which the trees were not protected, hence the huge number that were lost. In addition, there was a ‘domino effect’ when a felled tree often brought down others.

It will take the Tree Team many weeks to clear all of the fallen trees, many of which blocked paths.

On the positive side, nobody was killed or injured by the falling trees.

Retirement of Joe Hayden

9^th Nov 2024

Joe retired at the end of October after working for Birmingham City Council for 36 years. Joe was the first Head Ranger at the Lickeys where he worked for 16 years, years which he has described as the happiest and most satisfying years of his working life. Since leaving the Lickeys, Joe has been Birmingham’s Park Services Manager.
Joe gave great support to the Society during its formative years for which we are most grateful. He supported the formation of the Lickey Hills Consultative Committee, a group of representatives of local organisations, park users and local residents. This group continues to meet four times a year with the support of Senior Ranger Steve Hinton and Sue Amey, Constituency Parks Manager.
Joe and his team worked in the late 1900’s to raise the standard of the Country Park to ensure it met national standards. This resulted in the Lickeys becoming the first Birmingham park to achieve the Green Flag award in 2000. Joe continues to be a Green Flag judge.
On October 29th, an event was held on the Lickeys to thank Joe for his work and commitment to Birmingham’s parks and to the Society. Many of his colleagues were present together with representatives of numerous organisations including the LHS. The Society presented Joe with a framed picture of himself on Bilberry Hill, a picture created by Simon Woolford, to whom we owe grateful thanks.
We hope that the picture will provide Joe with lasting memories of the times that he spent as Head Ranger in the Country Park

The Lickey Hills Society 1984 – 2024

5^th Sep 2024

The Lickey Hills has been geologically stable for millennia, but 40 years ago, an “earthquake” occurred that shattered the idea that the Lickeys were untouchable.
The “earthquake” was a proposal by Birmingham City Council (BCC), to construct a dry ski slope on Rednal Hill. Ironically, that threat led to the creation of the Lickey Hills Society (LHS) which has promoted the conservation and enhancement of the Lickey Hills Country Park (LHCP) and its environs for 40 years.
In opposition to the ski-slope proposal, a public meeting was held on 5 November 1984 which led to the formation of the Lickey Hills Society. BCC holds the Country Park in trust, despite it being mostly situated in Worcestershire and under the planning control of Bromsgrove District Council. The LHS led the successful campaign against the ski slope which was won in March 1986 when BCC cancelled its plans.
Once this goal had been achieved, the Society began a programme of talks and walks realising that the Hills would be better protected if their natural history, geography, history and cultural heritage were promoted. No one body exclusively represented the Lickey Hills which, from the 1950s, had been suffering benign neglect. The newly formed LHS took up the mantle and as a member described it, became “the guardians of the Lickey Hills”.

See Newsletter 197 in our Newsletter Archive for more detail