Is Birmingham shrinking?

Last September (2010), all of the bushes and practically all of the trees were chopped down on either side of the river Tame where the bridge crosses it by Forge Mill Farm in Sandwell.

Photos 1 and 2 show a before and after of one side -- the side I am interested in.

In the last few weeks, and particularly in the last 2 weeks, all of the bushes and most of the trees have been chopped down on a sizeable piece of land adjacent to that shown in photos 1 and 2.

Photos 3 and 4 show the 'after' situation - the pale patches on the ground being the shredded left overs of the former trees. Prior to the chopping and shredding, the area was a dense block of greenery. Now, as can be seen, a distant car park looms large.

Followers of by blog will not be at all surprised by this. Sandwell have during the past 3 or 4 years chopped down hundreds of mature trees; thousands of saplings and hundreds of yards of mature hedgerows - all in the facile name of 'looking after your countryside.'

But this one is a bit different.

Reason?

Because these trees and bushes were on land owned by the City of Birmingham.

See my somewhat amateurish map and note the two green patches which designate the sites concerned, and note also the red line which marks what I understand to be the County boundary.

The destruction of the environment is just the thing that Sandwell is so good at. Sandwell Valley even has a Green Flag in recognition of Sandwell's especially green credentials.

Bravo!

However, suspicions alone, that Sandwell is the perpetrator of this latest crime against the environment, are insufficient to indict Sandwell.

But as luck would have it, last Saturday (2nd April, 2011) a hapless bunch of Community Pay Back people were at the site doing minor choppings and shifting pieces of old fencing. So I asked one of them what he was doing and who he was doing it for.

He told me it was Sandwell!!!!!

QED.

So, Birmingham, what's going on?

Has Sandwell accidentally strayed, like lost sheep, into Birmingham without realising it?

Is Sandwell carrying out these 'cleansing' works with Birmingham's knowledge? Nudge nudge - wink wink!

Has Birmingham sold the Hill Top Golf Club, to which this land is adjacent, to Sandwell, as was rumoured last year?

Or did the Community Pay Back chap get it wrong? Has Birmingham itself chopped down all of these shrubs and trees, thereby emulating Sandwell in its destructive practices, and if so, why?