The Hive Effect
Brand hall golf course
"If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our own institutions, great is our sin" - Charles Darwin
In the heart of Sandwell lies a community grappling with the repercussions of short-sighted decisions and misplaced priorities. Brandhall, once a bastion of greenery and tranquillity, now faces the spectre of urbanization at the expense of its invaluable green spaces and environmental heritage. At the forefront of this transformation stands Brandhall Golf Course, a cherished oasis of nature and respite for locals.
Brandhall is under siege as Sandwell Council's plans to erect a new primary school and hundreds of houses on the site of the golf course threaten to irreversibly alter the landscape. This audacious move, cloaked in the guise of progress and educational advancement, reeks of hypocrisy and short-sightedness.
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Dubbed as a beacon of education, the proposed primary school serves as Sandwell Council's Trojan horse—a tool of propaganda to justify the destruction of a beloved park. By leveraging the noble cause of education, the council seeks to camouflage its true intentions: the wanton destruction of green spaces in favour of private housing developments.
Click images to ENLARGE for more information
The ramifications of this egregious act extend far beyond the loss of recreational amenities. Brandhell's children, the very beneficiaries of this purported educational boon, stand to inherit a world marred by environmental degradation and ecological imbalance.
In a cruel twist of irony, they are taught to be responsible, sustainable, and environmentally aware, while bearing witness to the destruction of their own backyard—a glaring contradiction that undermines the very principles they are taught to uphold.
Sandwell Council's decision to sacrifice Brandhall's green spaces at the altar of urbanization is a betrayal of the community's trust and a disservice to future generations. It is a stark reminder of the urgent need for responsible governance and sustainable development practices.
The time has come for Sandwell Council to halt its reckless pursuit of progress and heed the voices of its constituents, lest Brandhall be condemned to the depths of Brandhell - a housing estate built upon the ashes of environmental stewardship and educational integrity.
In Brandhall and Causeway Green, where the battle against socioeconomic disparities rages on several fronts, the fight for the restoration of community resources is not just a political issue - it is a matter of survival, dignity, and the pursuit of a more just society for all.
BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE is/ was home for:
Bats. Newts. Squirrels.
Frogs (dead since the introduction of the first pools)
Foxes (whose numbers have mysteriously dwindled over the last 5 years)
Rabbits (almost extinct over the last 10 years).
Hedgehogs (in severe decline).
Dragonflies (mostly dead). Badgers (mostly dead).
Freshwater Shrimp (probably all dead since the waterways have been altered so much).
40+ varieties of birds have been seen here, including; buzzards, kestrels, peregrine falcons, hawk finches, bull finches, and Black Redstarts.
Rare Funga, fungi, and mushrooms can be found here including: citrine waxcaps, bearded tooth fungus, brown roll-rim, fly agaric, corals, clubs and other grass fungus.
WELCOME TO
BRANDHELL
COUNCIL ESTATE
THE SANDWELL COUNCIL HOUSING ESTATE THAT USED A PRIMARY SCHOOL TO KILL A PARK
“We have decided that creating space for around 190 new homes – significantly fewer than the 550 proposed as part of last year’s consultation – is the right balance for the site, having listened to all views and information. There is a desperate need for more housing in Sandwell, especially affordable housing, and we must fulfil our duties to make land available for this".
"False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil"
- Plato
PROPAGANDA
'Brandhall Village'
village
[ˈvɪlɪdʒ]
NOUN
NOUN
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a group of houses and associated buildings, larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town, situated in a rural area.
"pretty fishing villages" ·
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a self-contained district or community within a town or city, regarded as having features characteristic of village life.
"the Olympic village"
Does building "a village" on top of virgin soil, with ancient rock formations, a river and ancient woodland sound like Social Housing or Affordable housing?
Or does it sound like expensive Private Housing?​
'We need more houses'
SOCIAL HOUSING CRISIS
The UK faces a desperate housing crisis. We need to build at least 340,000 homes per year.
Of those, at least 150,000 need to be good quality social rented homes.
"This acute shortage of housing, particularly social housing and genuinely affordable housing has led to spiralling rents and house prices across the country.
Many young people and families on low to middle incomes struggle to afford to rent or buy a decent home”
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Who can afford to raise an average mortgage of £138,000 when as of January 2021, the average house price in the UK is £249,309, and the index stands at 130.76? Property prices have risen by 7.5% compared to the previous year.​
VACANT PROPERTY CRISIS
More than 600,000 homes across England are currently vacant, with a third empty for six months or more, government figures show.
Official figures obtained by Attic Self Storage revealed the number of vacant properties has increased over the last few years to a 605,891 high. At the same time, homelessness has also increased with the latest government figures showing more than 4,700 people are sleeping rough on any given night in England.
"We can't build a new school on the site of the old one"
It is 2025. We are an advanced civilisation. We have satellites and a space station orbiting our planet. We can build city sized ships that float in our oceans. We can build castles and chateaus, bunkers and skyscrapers, and entire cities that we live and work in. We can build 20 storey buildings in less than a week. We can build tunnels across the sea and put trains in them and we can build bridges that span mountain ranges. We can even print buildings.
But we can't build a school where a school already stands?
Who are these clowns? What century are they living in?
"We need to demolish the school to ease traffic congestion"
Demolishing Causeway Green Primary School and building a new private housing estate will not ease congestion. It will add to it.
"We will give people the biggest park we have ever give"
PATHETIC
The tiny green slither in the image is what will be 'a park'!
Apparently it is as big as 7 football pitches. It's pathetic.
It is the bit with the brook that runs though a series of water retaining pools along the way.
IT FLOODS
This image shows the 'new pool' when it rains. This pool was created when Sandwell Council constructed a huge water retaining bund to protect a private housing development at the bottom of Brook Road.
FIND OUT MORE ON CORRUPTED WATER PAGE
INEQUALITY
WHERE WE LIVE, IT'S NEVER 'AS SIMPLE AS A WALK IN THE PARK'... BUT IT IS 'CHILD'S PLAY'!
DARE TO VISIT OUR
“Of all men’s miseries the bitterest is this: to know so much and to have control over nothing.”
― Herodotus, The Histories
MISEDUCATION
EDUCATION IS A FINE THING - BUT HALF AN EDUCATION IS DANGEROUS
CAUSEWAY GREEN
PRIMARY SCHOOL
WHAT WILL BECOME OF CAUSEWAY GREEN PRIMARY SCHOOL?
WHEN CIRCA 200 HOUSES AND A SCHOOL ARE BUILT OVER BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE
WILL IT BE A PARK?
Apparently a new school cannot be built on the site of the existing one due to various excuses, one of them being that the site has limited access and local road traffic is severely affected by the influx of parents in cars dropping their kids off during school terms. So, will Causeway Green Primary School become a park instead?
If Brandhall Golf Course has a school and houses built all over it, will it be replaced with a park at the site of the old school or are there other plans?
Councillor Kerrie Carmichael, Leader of Sad-Unwell Council, said:
“My vision for Sandwell is to be a borough that is totally focussed on the needs of our residents, where everyone can fulfil their potential and be proud to live here".
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"We remain fully committed to providing what our residents want – to live in clean and safe neighbourhoods, to have somewhere to turn when times are tough, and to be proud to call Sandwell home.”
WILL IT BE HOUSING?
WILL SANDWELL COUNCIL WILL CONSTRUCT YET ANOTHER PRIVATE HOUSING ESTATE ON THE SITE OF THE REDUNDANT CAUSEWAY GREEN PRIMARY SCHOOL ONCE THEY HAVE DEMOLISHED IT?
CONCERNS REGARDING INFRASTRUCTURE AND ACCESS TO THE SITE WILL NOT APPLY TO THE DEVELOPMENT, NOR WILL THE INCREASED VOLUMES OF ROAD TRAFFIC AND CONGESTION.
CHAOS WILL ENSUE
INCREASE THE VOLUME OF LOCAL TRAFFIC BY APPROX ANOTHER 700-800 VEHICLES
CRIPPLE THE LOCAL UNDERINVESTED, UNFIT FOR PURPOSE, INFRASTRUCTURE
INCREASE THE LOCAL POPULATION BY APPROX ANOTHER 800 - 1500 PEOPLE
PUT EVEN MORE BURDEN UPON ANY PATHETIC REMAINING OPEN SPACES
THIS WILL PUT EVEN MORE BURDEN UPON THE ANIHILATED ENVIRONMENT
THIS WILL PUT EVEN MORE BURDEN UPON THE ALREADY DECIMATED WILDLIFE
THIS WILL PLACE MORE BURDEN UPON THE PARENTS WHO HAVE TO COMMUTE FURTHER TO SCHOOL
SCHOOL HIKING ROUTES
BAD EDUCATION
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KILL A PARK TO BUILD MORE PRIVATE HOUSES
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KILL TREES, WILDLIFE & HABITAT TO BUILD A NEW SCHOOL
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DEMOLISH A SCHOOL TO BUILD MORE PRIVATE HOUSES
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DESTROY AN ALLOTMENT TO BUILD MORE PRIVATE HOUSES
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DESTROY PUBLIC GREEN SPACE TO BUILD MORE PRIVATE HOUSES
IS THIS HOW WE ARE GOING TO TEACH CHILDREN TO BE RESPONSIBLE?
IS THIS HOW WE ARE GOING TO TEACH CHILDREN TO BE SUSTAINABLE?
IS THIS HOW WE ARE GOING TO TEACH CHILDREN TO BE INTELLIGENT?
IS THIS HOW WE ARE GOING TO TEACH CHILDREN TO BE HEALTHY?
IS THIS HOW WE ARE GOING TO EDUCATE AND TREAT THE VERY PEOPLE THAT WILL INHERIT THIS CHAOS?
THERE IS A BETTER WAY
“WE’RE NOT AGAINST PROGRESS – BUT WE ARE AGAINST PROGRESS AT ANY COST”
SO, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?
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"More natural green space? More wildlife? More biodiversity? Better connected communities? Better waterways? A better school? Better safety? Free energy? Free food? More Housing? Plus there is way more profit in it - for everyone!"
"It seems that I'm way more forward thinking than they could ever wish to be"
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- GRAHAM WALKER
LET'S START WITH A USELESS PATCH OF GRASS
THEN ANOTHER USELESS PATCH OF GRASS
THEN A WASTED/ UNUSED PATCH OF GRASS
THAT’S 180 HOUSES IN THE AREA & BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE REMAINS UNTOUCHED
GREEDY FOR MORE?
THAT’S 250 HOUSES IN THE AREA & BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE STILL REMAINS UNTOUCHED!
WANT MORE?
280 HOUSES!
MORE PEOPLE + MORE SPACE
= 1 UNFIT-FOR-PURPOSE “COUNCIL”
& BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE STILL REMAINS UNTOUCHED
UNWELL DEVELS USING COMMONERS!
SAD-UNWELL COUNCIL
YOU ARE OUR COUNCIL - WE ARE NOT YOUR SUBJECTS
PLEASE, SIT DOWN AND COUNCIL.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE JOB THAT WE AFFORD YOU, TO LOOK AFTER OUR BEST INTERESTS, THEN LEAVE.
WE HAVE YOUR SEATS FILLED ALREADY.
YOU ARE OUT OF TOUCH WITH OUR PEOPLE.
YOU ARE TOTALLY OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY.
DEVELOPERS
NOBODY LIKES PEOPLE WHO DESTROY NATURAL HABITATS & GREEN-BELT LAND.
NOBODY LIKES PEOPLE WHO BUTCHER WILDLIFE FOR NOTHING OTHER THAN GREED.
BUILDING ON PENNCRICKET LANE ALLOTMENTS, BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE, THE BILLIES, OR LION FARM FIELDS WILL BE TOO COSTLY FOR EVERYONE, IN EVERY SENSE OF THE TERM.
THERE ARE BETTER WAYS AND YOU KNOW IT, SO PLEASE SHOW US SOME HUMANITY AND WORK WITH US TO SOLVE PROBLEMS - DO NOT TRY TO BUILD OVER US.
HOUSING BUYERS
USE YOUR COMMON SENSE AND PLEASE UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES OF BUYING.
USE YOUR COMMON SENSE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU WILL HAVE PAID TO HELP DESTROY.
EVERYTHING WILL BE LISTED HERE, AND EVERYONE WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT (AND WHO) HAPPENED TO THEIR LIVES.
COMMISSIONERS
IF THE GOVERNMENT IS SERIOUS ABOUT ANY SINGLE ONE OF IT'S TARGETS, THEN LET'S MAKE A START NOW, BECAUSE YOU'RE LATE ALREADY, AND HERE IN OUR PART OF SAD-UNWELL, YOU'RE 30 YEARS LATE. 10 YEARS IN THE MAKING AND OVER 10 YEARS OF TRYING TO SITE A BEEHIVE FOR CHILDREN HAS LED TO THIS - AND YOU STILL AGREE WITH BUILDING ON PARKS?
KERRIE CARMICHAEL
IF YOU DON'T HAVE TRUST, HONESTY, AND COMMON SENSE, THEN YOU HAVE NOTHING, SO HOW WILL THE DIVIDING LINE BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND OUR COMMUNITIES BE REBUILT.
WE NEED A PROPER COUNCIL, THAT INCLUDES AND INVOLVES ITS RESIDENTS WITHIN ITS STRATEGIES, THAT WORKS WITH THEM AND ALONGSIDE THEM, TO ACHIEVE STABILITY, SUSTAINABILTY AND PROSPERITY FOR THE FUTURE. YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THIS VERY FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE.
THE SOULTIONS TO ALL OF THE BOROUGHS PROBLEMS ARE NOT FOUND WITHIN THE TAINTED WALLS OF SAD-UNWELL COUNCIL HOUSE, THE ROOT CAUSES ARE, AND THEY ARE SYSTEMIC.
YOU WERE APPOINTED TO DEAL WITH THE DEMONS - NOT MAKE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
WORK WITH US AND WE WILL ACHIEVE THE INCREDIBLE
WORK AGAINST US AND WE WILL ACHIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE
A BETTER SCHOOL
There is a better way to build a school. A much better way. The picture is an impression of how the new school could look. Yes we have taken into account the mine shaft on the property!
The red area at the top of the picture is private garages relocated from the area marked in black
The black area is vehicular access to the school carpark and drop off location
The orange area is the school carpark and drop off location
The yellow area that encompasses the whole site can be used for playing fields, rewilding, playgrounds, or even growing crops to serve on site.
The grey line is private offroad parking for the residents of Penncricket Lane
The blue line is for pedestrian access to the school.
The blue line is also vehicular access to the school carpark and to offroad parking for the residents of Penncricket Lane
The red curve is the school. Tapered from one end to the other it is designed to catch the light and the heat of the sun. The green rooftop is sloping and harvests rain water for the bio toilet facilities.
The 2 red lines to the right of the picture - are pedestrian walkways and access to private garages on Grafton Road
The green area is for rewilding
The grey area is the playground
MORE DETAILS COMING SOON
AND ALL WE WANTED WAS A BEEHIVE!
The Hive Effect
TIME HAS RUN OUT - IT IS TIME TO STAND OUR GROUND
We know that we, as a civilisation, must make projects like The Hive Effect work. At The Hive Effect we know how to make this work, without it costing the earth, but all that Sandwell Council can see are pound signs - at our expense.
Sandwell Council should never have come here and they should never be able to walk these lands with their heads held high, ever again.
Free Water
Situated on the side of the River Tame, Brandhall Golf Course & Bee Sixty-Eight have access to all of the water they will ever need to sustain not only the plots, but to the wider surrounding areas. What's more is that the water that re-enters the water table will be cleaner than when it left the source! Managed, maintained, monitored water.
Food For All
Food. We don't need to go into detail about the global food chain but mentioning the cost, the shortage, and the demand is something that affects us at a local level. The Hive Effect can alleviate some of those problems by making fresh produce available to local people who may never have had access to such produce before.
This IS Food For All - so Join In and dig in!
Hands On Education
Every possible way to educate is explored at The Hive Effect, and at Bee Sixty-Eight that education really is evolutionary.
Come into the open apiaries or don a beekeeping suit. Plant a seed or take a cutting. Pick food or make a jam. Get involved here or take our ideas home.
Next Level Education
For the engineers out there, for the inventors and the problem solvers, we have some projects to whet your appetite too. They are all very hush right now but all will be revealed at our launch. It may turn out that you have an idea that is the best idea ever and you want to shout about it. Contact us by pressing the button below.
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IT IS LOUDER IF WE SHOUT TOGETHER.
This Is Permaculture
THE HIVE EFFECT
The Ethics on which permaculture are built:
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"Care of Earth: Provision for all life systems to continue to multiply"
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"Care of People: Provision for people to access those resources necessary for their existence"
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"Set limits to consumption and reproduction, and redistribute surplus"