The Burntwood Action Group (BAG) Team must briefly pause our ongoing technical defence of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) today to share a deeply personal and significant update regarding the leadership of our campaign. It is with a very heavy heart that we announce our Chairman, Vic Chamberlain, has reluctantly stepped down from his role due to unresolved health issues.

Vic recently wrote to the BAG committee to formally communicate his decision, explaining that his current health situation leaves him unable to afford the group the immense energy, time, and attention needed to successfully fulfil the demanding role of Chairman. We are taking this moment to publicly commemorate his massive drive, his unwavering community support, and the sheer passion he has poured into Burntwood over the years.

For years, fighting for the Burntwood community and leading BAG has been Vic’s absolute passion. From formally signing the group’s founding constitution back in October 2018 as our Chair, to aggressively leading the recent extraordinary committee meetings, Vic has been the steadfast anchor of our resistance against the destruction of our Green Belt. Under his tireless leadership, the BAG Team has achieved numerous monumental successes for the benefit of Burntwood, including our most recent community victories against speculative developers.

Crucially, it was Vic’s leadership that empowered our Team to meticulously dissect NPPF planning laws, hold the local planning directorate to account, and build the unassailable legal defences that currently protect our fragile town from the 1,350-home siege. He led from the front, ensuring our community was never silenced by bureaucratic planning processes.

While Vic is stepping away from the intense, day-to-day administrative burdens of the Chairmanship, his dedication to our cause remains completely unbroken. He has explicitly confirmed to the committee that he will remain a member of BAG and hopes to be back attending meetings in the not-too-distant future.

On behalf of the entire Burntwood Action Group Team, and the thousands of residents whose local environment he has fought so fiercely to protect, we want to thank Vic for the wonderful, relentless support he has provided over the past years. We wish him the absolute best for a full, steady, and speedy recovery, and we eagerly look forward to welcoming him back into the fold to see us secure the permanent protection of our Green Belt whenever he is ready and able.

The fight to save Burntwood continues, and we will carry it forward with the exact same tenacity and dedication that Vic has instilled in all of us.