Having Their Say in Walsall

A roundtable discussion was held a week ago. The results were really interesting, with the good people of Walsall receptive to constructive critique and welcomde ‘fresh eyes’ looking at the centre of the town. The results show a strong desire to create a "future heritage", as much as celebrate the history of the area and a need to reflect and celebrate the town’s cultural and ethnic diversity. Also identified was the opportunity to ‘look out as well as in’, to pick up nearby community assets like Caldmore ‘curry trail’, Bloxwich’s theatres, the Arboretum and Reedswood Park in Birchills, and the need to sort out gateways and approaches as a high priority – the road routes and public transport hubs do not express a consistently positive welcome, and the relatively low cost ‘decluttering’ of the streetscape was seen as a sensible early move.