The Hive Effect
Many Minds.One Hive. Every Cell Connected
A non‑profit community and environmental project reconnecting people with nature — and with each other.
Public Asset Stripping
Here is the pattern laid bare.
Across the entire River Tame corridor, Sandwell Council sold, cleared, fenced, or destroyed every single public green space on this side of the A4123.
This section breaks it down asset by asset:
• what the land was
• what it became
• when it was sold
• who benefitted
• what the community lost
Each card is simple.
Each card is factual.
Each card tells the same story:
COMMUNITY BENEFITS — 0
This is not coincidence.
This is a system.
Public Assets - Ours are gone!
SECTION 3 — PUBLIC ASSET STRIPPING
A thematic breakdown of every public space along the River Tame corridor that Sandwell Council sold, stripped, or destroyed — and what your community lost each time.
Public Asset #1 — Former Sandwell College Site (Brook Road)
Status: SOLD
Years: 2010–2015
Location: End of Brook Road / Pound Road
Original Purpose: Education, community access, flood‑buffer land
New Use: 117 homes (College Gate estate)
What Happened?
• 2010: Planning application lodged
• 2012: College demolished
• 2013–2015: Housing estate built
• Known flood‑risk land
• Once part of the engineered flood‑mitigation system
• Removed a major water‑absorption zone
Community Benefits: 0
Environmental Impact:
• Increased runoff
• Loss of green space
• Increased downstream flood pressure
Public Asset #2 — Brandhall Golf Course
Status: DESTROYED / SOLD
Years: 2018–2022
Location: Source of the River Tame
Original Purpose: Public green space, wildlife habitat, flood absorption
New Use: 190‑home development + “eco‑park” + new school
What Happened
• 2018–2020: Council pushes for closure
• 2020: Golf course shut down
• 2021: 550‑home plan revealed
• 2022: Reduced to 190 homes + 67‑acre park
• 2026–2028: School construction begins
Community Benefits: 0
Environmental Impact:
• Loss of upstream green buffer
• Increased flood risk
• Bund built to protect private housing, not the community
• Bank breached during heavy rainfall
Public Asset #3 — Brook Road Park
Status: SOLD
Year: 2015
Location: Brook Road
Original Purpose: Only park for the entire estate
New Use: Private development
What Happened
• Park deliberately built below road level as part of 1970s flood‑mitigation
• Sold with no replacement
• Community lost its only play area
Community Benefits: 0
Environmental Impact:
• Loss of flood‑buffer land
• Increased runoff
• Loss of safe play space
Public Asset #4 — Brook Road Field
Status: SOLD
Year: 2015
Location: Next to PDSA
Original Purpose: Open green space, flood absorption
New Use: Housing development (13 homes approved 2020–2023)
What Happened
• Sold quietly
• Later approved for housing despite being designated Community Open Space
• Another buffer zone removed
Community Benefits: 0
Environmental Impact:
• More hardstanding
• Less natural drainage
• Increased pressure on the brook
Public Asset #5 — Penncricket Lane Allotments
Status: SOLD
Year: 2022
Location: Penncricket Lane, beside the brook
Original Purpose: Allotments, community food resource, green space
New Use: Private sale (details withheld)
What Happened
• Abandoned for decades
• Rediscovered by you
• Proven to be council‑owned
• Promised meetings, delayed for years
• Quietly sold behind closed doors
Community Benefits: 0
Environmental Impact:
• Loss of potential community food source
• Loss of green space
• Loss of flood‑buffer land
Public Asset #6 — The Billies (Public Green Space)
Status: SOLD
Year: 2022
Location: Along the brook, opposite the allotments
Original Purpose: Public green space, wildlife habitat
New Use: Private ownership
What Happened
• Sold without consultation
• No replacement provided
• Community cut off from natural space
Community Benefits: 0
Environmental Impact:
• Loss of wildlife habitat
• Loss of public access
• Increased fragmentation of the river corridor
Public Asset #7 — Back of the Billies (Cakemore Arm)
Status: SOLD IN SECTIONS
Years: 2011–2023
Location: Former canal arm behind the Billies
Original Purpose: Wildlife corridor, drainage, historic canal route
New Use: Industrial yards, storage, fenced‑off land
What Happened
• 2011–2012: Ashes Road end sold
• 2015: Middle section sold for industrial expansion
• 2021: Penncricket Lane end sold for £400k–£500k
• 2023: Remaining strips disposed of to adjacent businesses
Community Benefits: 0
Environmental Impact:
• Wildlife corridor destroyed
• Increased industrial runoff
• Loss of natural drainage
Public Asset #8 — Titford Road Wildlife Corridor
Status: CLEARED / DEVELOPED
Years: 2024–2026
Location: Behind Asda, Titford Road
Original Purpose: Dense wildlife corridor, riverbank habitat
New Use: 60 affordable homes
What Happened
• 2024: Council rejects plans due to pollution & biodiversity loss
• 2025: Planning Inspector overturns decision
• 2025: Land cleared
• 2026: Construction begins
Community Benefits: 0
Environmental Impact:
• Wildlife corridor destroyed
• Trees removed
• River section culverted and altered
Public Asset #9 — Lion Farm Fields
Status: UNDER THREAT / PART ALLOCATED FOR HOUSING
Years: 2012–2026
Location: Lion Farm, Oldbury
Original Purpose: Playing fields, green space
New Use: Proposed mixed‑use development (200 homes + partial green space)
What Happened
• 2012: Exclusive option agreement with developer
• 2013–2022: Extensions, delays, community opposition
• 2023–2026: Shifted to mixed‑use in Local Plan
• 2026: Consultation ongoing
Community Benefits: 0
Environmental Impact:
• Loss of playing fields
• Loss of green space
• Increased traffic and pollution