Have your say on Walsall Wood scheme
Date Published : 19 August 2008
Open spaces and a shopping area of a Walsall community are set to be revamped as part of a £300,000 improvement plan.
Landscaping and planting could take shape at open spaces in Walsall Wood as part of proposals by Walsall Council.
But officers drawing-up the scheme and councillors want to hear from residents over the proposals which could also see a piece of public art created.
A special event will be staged to set out proposals which will go on public display at Walsall Wood library, off Lichfield Road from 10am to 1pm on Monday September 8, Wednesday September 10 and Friday September 12.
The plans will also be on view between 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm on Saturday September 13.
Councillor Mike Flower, councillor for Aldridge North and Walsall Wood and lead member for the regeneration project said, “This will be the second time the public have been consulted on plans for the Walsall Wood High Street area. We have listened to people’s priorities and we hope the public will now come along and have their say on the detailed proposals. This is a very exciting time for Walsall Wood.”
“We want everyone to have their say so if anyone cannot attend one of the sessions they are welcome to talk to one of their local councillors who will ensure their comments are considered.”
“We hope that Christmas lights, funded by the Aldridge North LNP, will be in place by the start of winter so the project is gathering momentum.”
Councillor Adrian Andrew, Walsall Council deputy leader and cabinet member forb regeneration, said: “This is a fantastic scheme which will improve Walsall Wood and we want to put the people who live, work and shop in the community in the driving seat.
“We would love residents to come and see what is being proposed but most of all we would like to hear their views on the proposals and also how they can be improved.
“For example, one of the things that we will be looking at is seeing if the lorry park just off the High Street would be better used for car parking in the daytime.”
As part of the proposals, more benches, better landscaping and better entrances could be created at two green spaces in Walsall Wood.
The green space, off Brooklands Road is in line to be improved while land at Coppice Road could also be given a makeover to encourage more people to get out into the open air.
Also as part of the proposals, a piece of public art could be created to celebrate the heritage of the community.
Four volunteers are needed to help sit on a panel which will help decide how the arts project will take shape.
A location for the piece is yet to be chosen with members of the community steering group to choose an artist and help guide the finished piece.
Improvements are also set to be made to pavements along the High Street with better parking areas set to be created as part of red route scheme proposals.
The plans come after two workshops for traders and residents in High Street were staged in Walsall Wood over the summer to develop proposals for the red route scheme which aims to ease the flow of traffic along the A461 by eliminating problem areas and creating designated parking areas where they are needed.
For more information contact Walsall Council regeneration officer Cherry Shine on 01922 652537 or Cllr Mike Flower on 07732 079881.