Regeneration

The Team has been involved in a partnership with Planning to get people involved in regeneration initiatives in their neighbourhoods. This has led to the development of public art works and involvement of local people in urban design. Projects have been run in many places, from small mosaic works on Beechdale and Goscote to larger urban design projects in Caldmore Green and Willenhall. The team has worked closely with Sure Starts in Pleck and Blakenall in engaging people on the design of their buildings.

Gateways project

The Borough of Walsall has no clear time-honoured idea of itself as a place. Walsall was constructed from bits of other regions clustered around the old Staffordshire town of Walsall creating a unitary 'Metropolitan' local authority in the 1970s. Few areas in the borough have any natural affiliation governmentally with Walsall town and the borough lacks the gravitas of the surrounding shire counties or the weight of midland's cities. There is no consistent 'look' as people enter the borough via its 'gateways' and it is in these very places that resistance to being a part of Walsall is most vociferous.

Funded by the Walsall Borough Strategic Partnership of which Walsall Council is a key partner, the 'Gateways' project is a £250,000 regeneration public art project, aimed at improving the visual impact of entering the borough and helping address the problem of identity in Walsall. A steering group of  funders, the council’s senior management team and politicians from the Cabinet was brought together to oversee the project. The Creative Development Team manages the project.

The main aim was to create a visual package for the borough through agreement and consensus. A creative way of working was thought to be the best approach. Artist Tim Ward of Circling the Square was employed to work with us on creating entrance features for main road routes in and out of the borough as well as six 'district centre' markers. During the project's 18-month lifetime workshops have been held with all nine Local Neighbourhood Partnerships in Walsall to create and design 21 boundary features and six town centre markers.  

Consensus over style, size, look, images, words and locations was agreed at public meetings chaired by elected representatives as well as at other locally held workshops. These workshops gave people a chance to speak out in an informal and non- threatening environment, as well as having their opinions and ideas ratified in more formal arenas.

People from Walsall, Moxley and Brownhills took part in creative workshops exploring their area's history, identity and hopes for the future. They created their own site specific pieces as another part of the 'gateways' project - again agreed and ratified at local meetings and in the council house.

The Gateways project supports a number of Vision priorities, including 'encourage everyone to feel proud of Walsall' and 'make it easier for people to get around'.