Agenda item

Wednesfield - Local Economic Development and Growth

[To consider a report on Wednesfield – Local Economic Development and Growth]

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed the witnesses to the Scrutiny Panel Meeting.  Four witnesses were present, Mr Richard Preston (Enterprise Manager from the Canal and River Trust), Mr Simon Hamilton (Vice Chair Hands on Wednesfield), Mr Simon Archer (West Midlands Magazines) and Mr Ray Fellows (Chairman of the Wednesfield History Society). 

 

Mr Preston stated that the Canal and River Trust was five years old.  It was presently the third largest charity in the UK.  They were responsible for 2,000 miles of canals and rivers across England and Wales and thus had operating bases across that area.  They were responsible for the maintenance of the assets such as bridges, locks and tunnels.  They were also responsible for the day to day maintenance across the network.  A significant amount of their core funding was allocated to maintenance work.  The Trust wanted canals and rivers to be used in a manner fit for the 21st Century which included for leisure and residence.  More people living in the London area, due to rising property prices, were increasingly choosing to live on water ways.   The Trust was looking to increase other uses of the canal such as angling, walking and cannoning.  The more canals were used in an appropriate manner, the more natural surveillance there would be, which consequently reduced anti-social behaviour. 

 

Mr Preston stated that the Trust saw itself more and more as a health and well-being charity because of the positive effect engagement with nature had on people.  There were lots of opportunities for the Trust to work with the Council in the area of health and well-being.  Work had started the previous day on a towpath from Horseley Fields Junction out to Bentley Bridge.  A challenge the Trust was always facing was litter, the Wednesfield section was no different.  They were working with Probation to put together a new workload to allow them to clean more of the water space.  There was a particular deficit in volunteers in the area around Wednesfield.  Cllr Bateman had been doing some sterling work for the Wednesfield Canal Festival which was attracting more support each year.  More volunteers were however wanted. Community groups were able to adopt part of their local canal as part of a national scheme, which he hoped would help attract more volunteers.  He saw the local nature reserve as a massive opportunity. 

 

The Scrutiny Officer asked if there were any challenges that the Council could assist the Canal Trust in helping them to achieve their objectives for Wednesfield.  Mr Preston responded that the Trust was working with the Council already with the Local Growth Fund on towpath refurbishment.  They were also working with the Council on the Wednesfield Canal’s Local Nature Reserve.  They were a partner with the Council on Blue Network - the European Regional Development Fund bid.  They did suffer from anti-social behaviour and so consequently any assistance from the Council would be appreciated.  He also saw opportunities for the Council and the Trust to work with the Community groups so local people could fully appreciate the asset in their locality.  Continued support for the Canal Festival was also requested. The towpath had been improved to Bentley Bridge but the Trust desired to go further to reach communities further out.  The Canal Watch Scheme had just been launched, which was based on Neighbourhood Watch but specifically for the canal.  He also saw opportunities working with the Council’s Public Health Department on promoting health and well-being.  

 

Mr Simon Hamilton (Vice Chair Hands on Wednesfield) gave a presentation to the Panel.  He stated Hands on Wednesfield was a voluntary organisation, which had formed after the Wednesfield and Fallings LNP had disbanded.  The group was into its third year.  The main focus of the group was to encourage the community to come together and celebrate all the positive aspects of Wednesfield.  There was significant planning around events and in particular supporting the Christmas Tree lights events in Wednesfield.  The main focus of the group was supporting community groups in fund raising initiatives.  They had also been linked heavily with the arrangements for the Big Lunches and Neighbourhood Noshes.  These were national events which were held locally to bring communities together in a friendly environment with refreshments and food.  Hands on Wednesfield strived to try and improve their activities each year.  They were always trying to find the right networks to link into and using those networks to help improve the work of the group. 

 

The Scrutiny Officer asked Mr Hamilton what he saw as the vision for Wednesfield and what were the group’s current objectives.  In response Mr Hamilton stated that the group was about community cohesion and improving the lives and welfare of people in the community.  They brought people together for community events.  The Christmas Lights Switch on Event was one of their main annual events, which they continued to try and improve.  The main vision of the voluntary group was to make Wednesfield a better place to live and work.   Wednesfield in Bloom had just won the Gold Award in the England in Bloom competition. Wednesfield had become a vibrant place. Their main focus was to involve local people in Wednesfield in activities and ensure consultations received appropriate responses. 

 

The Scrutiny Officer asked Mr Hamilton what the main challenges were for the group achieving their vision.  In response he stated that recruiting volunteers was one of the main challenges.  Whilst they had considerable volunteers through various groups, they tended to be the same people volunteering each time.  They were trying to encourage more people to become involved.  Another challenge for them was communicating their key messages out into the community.  Funding was another key challenge.  One goal they wanted to achieve was to extend the Christmas lights down Ruby Street and on Lichfield Road down to Well Lane.  This was a huge project, which the group had been discussing with the Council for a number of years and would cost significant amount of money.  The group wanted clear direction from the Council on how much would it cost and how long it would take for planning permission, which would enable them to plan appropriately with the residents and traders.  In the previous year they had raised £6,000 to have extra Christmas lights for the forthcoming celebrations.  They requested more support from the Council to help achieve their goal of improving the Christmas Lights in Wednesfield.   

 

Mr Hamilton stated that since the LNP’s had disbanded, the Chairs of the local volunteer groups did not have as much direct contact and connection with the City Council.  The disbanding of the LNP Chair’s Forum had caused a displacement.  A mechanism needed to be identified to feed through information to people in the local area.  He stated that the group had good support from local Councillors but this could also be reviewed and improved. 

 

Mr Simon Archer (Wednesfield Magazine) gave a presentation to the Panel.  He stated that he had worked in newspapers and magazines for twenty-three years.   Having been made redundant four years ago, he decided to start a magazine.  The magazine was developed to promote the positive work of the community groups and local people.  He had met with James Clarke (Chair of Hands on Wednesfield) who encouraged him to become actively involved with the community groups.  He had consequently become the Treasurer of Hands on Wednesfield.  He had been approached by the Wednesfield Rotary Group to help communicate their work.  He had launched Wednesfield in Bloom.  The first year they had achieved the Silver Award and earlier this year had received the Gold Award.  This was something which he saw as worthwhile for the Council to engage with and replicate around the City.  A small amount of funding from the Council would help Wednesfield retain the Gold and potentially involve other parts of the City. 

 

Mr Archer stated that local newspapers were in decline and had been for the last twenty-five years.  His magazine had a wide distribution.  It was an opportunity for people to see what was happening locally.  His magazine had become a focal point for voluntary groups to communicate their messages.  He considered Wednesfield to have the best Christmas Lights Switch on Event in the City. The Scrutiny Officer asked Mr Archer what he considered as the vision for Wednesfield.  In response Mr Archer outlined what he saw as the strengths and weaknesses of the Wednesfield area.  The strengths were, three exceptional community centres, free parking, the shopping centre at Bentley Bridge and the old traditional high street and a strong community with excellent communication and interaction.  One of his visions was to see the High Street linked with the shopping centre but he was unsure how this could be best achieved, but perhaps via an old-style arcade. 

 

Mr Archer stated the weaknesses were a lack of youth provision, little representation for the homeless/beggars, which was becoming more of a problem and anti-social behaviour.  He felt more could be done to improve the park which was not used all that well.  There were opportunities to be had with the park if the Council was to provide some funding and be creative.  There used to be Neighbourhood Wardens which he felt were a key link with the Police.  Since these had gone there was not the same communication and he believed this had caused a negative effect on reducing crime.  He did receive press releases from the Council but if he received them earlier it would help him promote Council supported events because his magazine went out every two months.  The Scrutiny Officer suggested he could potentially meet with a Council Communications Officer quarterly to discover dates for events more in advance. 

 

The Scrutiny Officer asked if there was anything the Council could do to improve collaborative working with the groups Mr Archer was involved.   In response, Mr Archer stated Councillors could engage more with some of the community groups such as Rotary.  He did however appreciate the time constraints faced by Councillors and their continuous engagement with groups such as Hands on Wednesfield.

 

Mr Fellows from Wednesfield History Society gave a presentation to the Panel.  He stated that Wednesfield was famous for a battle that took place between the Saxons and the Vikings on the 5 August in the year 910.  It was also famous for its trap making industry and was once the world leader for making traps home and abroad.  The vision for the History Society was to see Wednesfield as it was in the late 1980s and early 1990s when people came to Wednesfield to do their shopping and the High Street and market were always busy.  The market had opened in December, 1960.  Presently out of 26 stalls, only 12 were being used.  It was clear the market was in decline and had been for some time.  In the High Street there were empty shops.  Their main objective was to get the community more involved and it was important to communicate the message of the importance of using the High Street and Market or face its potential loss.  They had some excellent social media in the area.  He believed there needed to be a reduction in rent for the market traders and a reduction in rates for the shops to achieve the overall aim of more people using the High Street shops and market.  It had to be made attractive for them to work in Wednesfield.  He believed the City Council could reduce the rates by using funding from the regeneration money that had been said would come from the amalgamation with Birmingham.  The Council had helped them with some of the History Society’s projects, with Robert Johnson and the Library Service assisting them in the running of two historic shows, H.M The Queen’s visit to Wednesfield on 24 May 1962 and the Lancaster plane crash on 17 May 1945.   The Council had also helped Wednesfield achieve a Gold award in the Britain in Bloom competition by helping in areas such as lawn cutting.  He believed Wednesfield had some of the best Councillors in Wolverhampton and encouraged the return of Breakfast Meetings to discuss local matters.  These meetings used to be attended by Councillors, businesses, residents, community groups and the Police.  Breakfast meetings would enable useful information to be better shared.

 

Mr Fellows stated that some of the people working on the market were not receiving enough income to pay the rent.  He suggested on a trial basis the Council waive the rent to see the effect it would have on the market.  The success of the shopping centre at Bentley Bridge had taken people away from the High Street and the Market Stalls.  In response to the Scrutiny Officer asking what the Council could do to help the History Society, he requested the Council continue to offer funding opportunities.  Mr Hamilton stated that it was important for the Council to recognise the good work of the History Society and the value they offered.  There were local historical valued buildings that could potentially be demolished in the future due to regeneration works.  He requested that the Council involve local people in such decisions. Mr Fellows stated that he had many artefacts that had been sent to him, including the old windows from the theatre that had been demolished to make way for Sainsbury’s   He wanted to establish a museum to commemorate the Trap Making Industry and the Battle of Wednesfield, which would be an attraction for local schools. 

 

A Panel Member, who was also a local Member, addressed the Panel.  He stated that the Canal in Wednesfield was the first piece of transport infrastructure in Wednesfield which had regional importance.  It was still an important piece of infrastructure which was being used more and more.  The Canal and River Trust were fronting issues which related to partnership working with the Private Sector such as Bentley Bridge Leisure Park.  He referred to a note which had been sent to him from Bentley Bridge and had been circulated to the Panel.  The letter stated that the support they had received from the Council, the Fire and Police Service, Hands on Wednesfield, Wednesfield in Bloom, Wednesfield Magazine and the Canal and River Trust had helped Bentley Bridge achieve a successful growth rate.  The annual footfall had increased from 2 million per annum in 2014 to 2.2 million just two years later, a 5% growth rate per year.  This beat the national average growth rate trend for similar leisure and retail places in the UK, which had an average growth increase of 1.8%.  This important fact underlined how well the voluntary sector was working with the community and consequently having a beneficial impact on Bentley Bridge.  The letter also stated that brand partners such as KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Nando, Bella Italia, Chiquito’s and Hollywood Bowl had also invested in their units and refurbished them to a high standard.  In 2018, Subway and The Nickelodeon were looking to undergo refurbishment works and Cineworld was going to complete an extensive refurbishment which would bring their 4DX super screen experience to Wednesfield.  The Panel Member stated that it was important for the voluntary sector to know how important the private sector felt their work had been.  The retail park had been delighted about the Gold Award for Wednesfield in Bloom.  The shopping park was nearly at full occupancy and the jobs created were the highest to date with more than 600 people employed at the shopping park.  This was extremely positive news which had been achieved through the hard work of people working together.  The History Society had its own energy with a vision for using history to develop the local economy.  It was important for them to continue to work with the Council. 

 

The Panel Member stated the current High Street had only three empty commercial properties, which was an improvement on previous years.  There were issues around the market but he also knew that the nature of the national economy was changing, with the advent of electronic shopping, international brands and changes in transport.  The manufacturing industry in Wednesfield was hugely important to the City economy.  Large sums of money were raised from business rates for the Council.  Manufacturing was the biggest employer in Wednesfield, followed by the retail and health sectors.  The one area which needed further work was in Performing Arts.   The Canal Festival had helped to showcase local talent and had helped promote the visitor economy, which he wanted to see develop. 

 

The Panel paid tribute to Stephanie Clarke who had been a credit to Wednesfield and a founding member of Hands on Wednesfield.  She had been a hard worker, working tirelessly for her local community and was sadly missed by so many people. 

 

A Panel Member, who was also a local Member, stated that the Market was clearly in decline and needed improvement.  The Gurdwara wanted to be more involved with Wednesfield events and especially with the Christmas Lights celebrations.  Mr Hamilton in response stated that the Gurdwara would be involved with the forthcoming Christmas Light Celebrations.  There were three faith leaders coming together with the Mayor to say a prayer for Stephanie Clarke on the anniversary of her death.  The Gurdwara were heavily involved in Wednesfield in Bloom and the primary schools were planting outside the Gurdwara in the following week.   Mr Hamilton stated it was however sometimes hard to approach the Gurdwara Committee, as this often changed, but he would welcome more connections with the Gurdwara and he agreed the links could be strengthened. 

 

A Panel Member stated that the community work in Wednesfield should not be underestimated and the community cohesion was much better than in other Wards.  Section 106 money was very important to local groups and facilities.  It was important to engage with communities as to how this money was spent and he asked for a report to be received before the committee concerning section 106 finance.  The Panel Member’s experience had been parks being prioritised rather than other areas, such as the local war memorial.  The Chair stated that he had recently spoke to the Director of Governance who had relayed that the first point of call regarding section 106 money should be to the local Councillor.   A Panel Member stated that he had never been consulted on how section 106 money should be spent in his ward.  Another Panel Member stated they had always been proactive in determining how the section 106 money would be spent. 

 

A Panel Member stated that it was important for the Council to facilitate the network that Wednesfield had successfully created and this could be helped with Council departments better communicating with each other.  The Council needed to give clearer direction on costs for Christmas Tree Lights events.  Thought also needed to be given to the High Street particularly with the improvements being made at the retail and leisure centre.  It was important not to charge for parking in Wednesfield.  Mr Hamilton stated that Graiseley Lane had a parking metre system in place.  There were businesses on Graiseley Lane, the Children’s Centre and a school.  He was concerned that parking was chargeable until 8pm in a residential area, when across the City after 6pm parking was free of charge.  A Panel Member stated that it was because it was visiting time at the New Cross Hospital.  Mr Hamilton stated that the local people of Wednesfield felt they were being punished because of visitors at the hospital.  Residents were struggling to park in their own street, unless they had a resident only permit.

 

A local Member stated that the Community Centre was not being well used.  He thought it would be good to display some of the artefacts in the possession of the History Society.  He had been unable to book a room at the Community Centre because he had been told on a Thursday to phone on a Tuesday between 9am and 10am, but had needed the room for the approaching Monday.  He requested that either an Officer be employed by the Council to manage City wide room bookings or develop an online City wide room booking system.  This would improve use of the centres across the City.  He stated that the Amphitheatre was a phenomenal facility but it was not being widely used by Performance groups, this needed to change.  The High Street needed to be regenerated but there was a currently a reluctance from the business community to engage in a BID (Business Improvement District).  The regeneration of the High Street was an area he thought the Council could help assist.  He reported that Wednesfield had lost two doctors despite house numbers increasing and a rising population.  The Council needed to put pressure on the health authorities to ensure there was adequate doctor provision. 

 

The local Member stated there was high demand for school places in Wednesfield.  They had attended a meeting with Officers who were especially good at predicting demand but had been unable to inform him as to how many spare places there were available at Wednesfield schools.  They had also been unable to inform him how many school places were needed to cover the new housing development.  The local Member estimated 300 places would be needed and so long-term planning was essential.  He added that three schools had closed in recent years. 

 

The local Member stated he was delighted there was a £6 million development ongoing at the Industrial park.  He raised the need to ensure the traffic infrastructure was fit for purpose as the area was densely populated.  He was concerned the current proposals were not sufficient particularly on Lakefield Road.  When building new housing estates, it was important to build the community at the same time.  Planning was therefore vitally important.   He had been concerned that at a recent Planning Committee meeting important information had not been available to the Committee regarding the proposed development.  None of the information obtained by the consultations had been available.  When building houses, it had to be in the right area with the correct supportive infrastructure and this was an area the Council needed to do more.  A Panel Member stated that it was also important to give thought to provision of youth services in new developments proposed.    The local Member stated that he had been informed that Wednesfield Pub Volunteers had carried out work in one year, equivalent to £260,000 at minimum wage level.  This clearly demonstrated how strong the volunteer community was in Wednesfield. 

 

The Cabinet Member for City Economy stated that he had been fascinated by the discussion and he was committed on behalf of the Cabinet to take away the information from the meeting to formulate a plan outlining what was possible from the Council.  He would work with Officers on a co-ordinated response regarding school places but would need to liaise with the Education Department.  A Panel Member who was also a local Member stated that Wednesfield needed a Development Plan to ensure its ongoing success.  This could then be used to measure ongoing performance. 

 

A Panel Member stated that businesses and the Council needed to come up with new ideas for the High Street to ensure its survival.  They needed to take account of the rise in electronic devices, changes in shopping habits and the rise of online shopping.  A local Member stated there was an ageing population and a high number of bus users who did not park on the supermarket but used the High Street.  They praised the local volunteers and was delighted Ashmore Park Community Association had received, The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service earlier in the year. 

 

The Chair asked the Service Director for City Economy if she was aware of the challenges stated by the external witnesses and the Councillors.  In response she stated it was inspiring what the volunteers were doing in Wednesfield and this was what was needed in developing a local economy.  She supported the Cabinet Member’s suggestion of pulling together all the information obtained from the meeting into developing a Community Action Plan.  There were a number of initiatives taking place which the Council could offer their assistance to benefit Wednesfield.  She informed the Panel of a Crowd Funding initiative called “Crowd Fund Wolves.” The Head of Service Development outlined the initiative which had been launched on the 11 November 2017.  The Service Director for City Economy stated the Council could certainly help improve the communication flow of relevant information to the Wednesbury Magazine.  The big issue for the BID was it not being presently viable due to lack of support from the local businesses, it could however be revisited.  It was worth considering Pop-Up initiatives in the High Street and use of cultural assets were regenerating High Streets across the country.  She would talk to the relevant Planning Officer about section 106, who could give guidance on who to contact to ensure effective communication in the future. 

 

Resolved: That a Wednesfield Community Action Plan be developed by the Council.

 

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