Official Black Country Thread

[Nacho]

Civic Quarter near completion
Dec 10, 2005
A £1.4 million project to pedestrianise part of Walsall town centre and create a Parisian-style cafe culture will be completed next month.

Barriers and road blocks have been wreaking havoc in the area surrounding Leicester Street over the past few months as workmen carry out different stages of the Civic Quarter scheme.

The new layout will revitalise a key gateway into Walsall and provide the opportunity for continental-style cafes.

Work started in June and targeted several locations around Leicester Street, Darwall Street and Tower Street.

Contractors Birse CL have been working on laying out huge paved areas with inset lighting.

They have created new pedestrian routes along most of Darwall Street and disabled parking spaces have been relocated around the town.

Cabinet member for regeneration, Councillor Adrian Andrew said: "Work on this key gateway into Walsall is on schedule, as we create a stunning new location for civic and public services."

He also claimed the project would be a springboard for future improvements to Lichfield Street and was vital for attracting more businesses and investment to Walsall.

Council officers will also be planting a coppice of 20 birch trees around the Gala Baths in Tower Street and larger trees will be planted outside the Civic Centre.

Councillor Andrew said the plants would bring a flavour of the countryside to Walsall.

"We have made a commitment that any trees we do remove during the work will be replaced. It is a key vision to make Walsall greener and this scheme does just that."

The other, larger plants include a cut leaf plane tree that can grow to 50 feet and a colourful tulip tree. An American sweet gum has also been earmarked for outside the Civic Centre.

The plans come after four trees in the Civic Quarter were removed due to weak root systems.

The entire scheme is being built to a design produced by urban designers Gillespies.

[morestoreysplease]

I drove around West Brom the other day and was really impressed with the ornate old buildings and the recently finished ones. I couldn't get near to THEpUBLIC but it looked like a funky Mill Point from afar. The bus station is class, the other purple building's fine too (didn't know the name), the Metro stop, and a high rise Days Inn too! It's got quite a lot going for it, and should be the catalyst to really develop the links between here, Oldbury, Brierley Hill all the way to Wolvo. And then there's Walsall.....

[brumthom]

what do we think of the public? i personally think it is the single most vile piece of crap ever built - completely overbearing, boring and well... pink. plus its in debt

[deep sea buildings]

Originally Posted by Martin G

I hope they stop being so tightfisted with their trunk road scheme like they've been with EVERY SINGLE OTHER PREVIOUS BLACK COUNTRY Dual carriageway proposal - if you care to cast your mind back a bit, you may recall that the following dual carriageway routes:

1) The Black Country Route (A463 Willenhall/Bilston/Coseley)
2) The Black Country Spine Road (A41 West Bromwich/Great Bridge/Wednesbury/Bilston/The Lunt)
3) The Dudley Southern By-pass (A461 Burnt Tree - Netherton)

were ALL meant to be built with grade-separated junctions throughout their length.

And as we all know, due to some pathetic penny pinching courtesy of the councils/highway authorities involved in all of these schemes, they were eventually built and opened with surface level roundabouts thus hardly alleviating any of the traffic congestion that they were designed to help avoid. What's worse, they are already way over capacity! The Black Country Route is a glaring example of what the intervening years can do to downgrade a scheme which was initially proposed as a fast all purpose near-motorway standard dual carriageway by-pass scheme with split-level junctions to avoid tailbacking for through traffic.....only three junctions that comprised the original [70s planned] stretch of this by-pass (before it became known as the Black Country Route in the mid-80s) were ever built as grade separated (M6 Junction 10 to the Keyway at Willenhall) - whilst the rest were bog-standard surface level roundabouts - even the intersection at The Lunt where the later-built Black Country Spine Road fed into it [though tellingly this has a wide central reservation at the junction which was designed to allow for future flyover provision - yeah - dream on baby...!]. What's even more galling was that the route around Bilston was revised and ran directly through the town centre along Market Street - instead of passing some distance to the south of it using the original [long protected] alignment.

So I don't know much about this new Brierley Hill Trunk Route, but my suspicions are it will in all likelihood be planned and built as yet another bog standard cheapo dual carriageway which will have loads of crappy surface-level roundabout intersections, traffic lights, bus lanes, pram lanes, cycle lanes, speed bumps and then meet its maximum capacity within weeks of opening cos it was under-engineered like the other aforementioned primary routes that went before it.

It's not enough!

The Black Country - despite its densely packed sprawl of towns large and small - has long had a simply dreadful road network and infrastructure - it doesn't have a single motorway or fast urban highway (with split level junctions) traversing its boundaries anywhere - the M5 doesn't count as it's a long-distance artery and NOT a local distributor. Considering how much derelict land the entire conurbation has as a result of its industrial past it's incredible that highways proposals over the decades have never seeked to build on these vast ribbons of otherwise unused land to at least improve transport links throughout the area and thus in so doing attract new development and businesses along their alignments. Motorway access from all parts of the Black Country to the M6 and M5 are monumentally poor - that is no exaggeration. To this day, the Merry Hill Centre remains shamefully alone amongst the UK's vast out-of-city shopping malls in that it's nowhere near a motorway or motorway-standard road of any sizeable capacity. One wonders if this oversight will ever be properly addressed.

friggin hell mate - you hit the nail on the head with that statement. i'm sad to admit that i've lived around bilston most of my sorry life and i couldn't have summed it up any better. the sooner i get out of this place the better - i only have to find a decent road that'll get me out fast then i'll go!!

[Nacho]

Originally Posted by morestoreysplease

I drove around West Brom the other day and was really The bus station is class, the other purple building's fine too (didn't know the name), the Metro stop, and a high rise Days Inn too!

That is a very good bus station Tha Alsop art work is spot on too.Wednesbury opened its new bus station last year....that's the dog's BLX too!!

[Pete2005]

Originally Posted by Nacho

That is a very good bus station Tha Alsop art work is spot on too.Wednesbury opened its new bus station last year....that's the dog's BLX too!!

West Brom has got a lot going for it - however the pUBLIC is now in administration (it was already late, over budget and in 'financial discrepancies') and they are looking at finding better uses for part of the building. I think a large performance area/theater would be the best idea. The purple building is on the Lyng, its a health centre.



The new Sandwell College site, 2007 start date

[Nacho]

Now the Lyng is a good example of urban regeneration.They did a good job on those flats too.

[Nacho]

From Wednesday's Express and Star

How the Black Country will be transformed
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Black Country should be a better place to live over the next 15 years. Deputy Business Editor Simon Penfold explains why
Mar 22, 2006
Imagine a region with better homes, thriving town centre shopping centres and jobs for all. That is the vision put forward by the Black Country Study.
Bilston town centre - the plan says it and
other traditional shopping centres need
to be revitalised as part of the vision
put forward in the study

This is a report two years in the making that maps out the future of the area over the next 15 years. Idealistic it may be, but the report should spark into life parts of the region that desperately need investment. Today's draft proposals are intended to transform the Black Country's landscape and economic fortunes, and keep people from leaving the area.

It earmarks office and shop development focused on the centres of Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Bromwich and Brierley Hill and around 30,000 houses built alongside the Metro and railway network.

Industry and manufacturing should be built in "investment corridors" linking the four local centres, while new sites are identified to attract hi-tech companies.

Under the plans, housing growth will be concentrated on 12 'public transport corridors' - railways and tram lines that offer people an alternative to the car.

Run-down council estates will be revamped, while old industrial land will be cleaned up for housing.

The proposals, which cover development in the Black Country up to 2021, will be finalised and submitted to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott by the end of May.

Consider

They have been put together following consultation with local people as part of a process led by the Black Country Consortium, the organisation comprising the area's councils and business leaders, given the job of planning the area's future.

Mr Prescott will consider the plans and a formal consultation process, involving the Government and the public, will take place later this year or early 2007.

If it gets the go-ahead, it will become part of the planning framework for the whole of the West Midlands for decades to come.

Consortium chief executive Sarah Middleton said: "No change is not an option."

She said the Black Country had a proud heritage but an underperforming economy.

"We need to provide clear plans and messages to developers and investors," she said.

"We want more people to move in to the Black Country than move out."

"Consultation has revealed that people are generally supportive of our proposals."

[morestoreysplease]

How about Merry Hill bringing their planned huge tower (late 80s) back to life, to mirror the new theme park one in Brum!

[CargoHold]

Do any of you peeps know of a place called Mostyn Street, Whitmore Reans in Wolverhampton, if so, whats it like up there ?

[Nacho]

Originally Posted by CargoHold

Do any of you peeps know of a place called Mostyn Street, Whitmore Reans in Wolverhampton, if so, whats it like up there ?

Shouldn't that be 'Bostyn Street' ?


Sorry Cargo,no idea.

[SimonTheSoundMan]

Originally Posted by CargoHold

Do any of you peeps know of a place called Mostyn Street, Whitmore Reans in Wolverhampton, if so, whats it like up there ?

Take a flak jacket.

[hammerb24]

Originally Posted by CargoHold

Do any of you peeps know of a place called Mostyn Street, Whitmore Reans in Wolverhampton, if so, whats it like up there ?

You know that song 'welcome to jamrock' ? Could well be about Whitmore Reans.... Dunstall just round the corner isn't too bad tho...

[RSWB]

The largest Wolverhampton project is about to start construction soon - the 260m summer row development, it is a mixed retail/residential scheme in the city centre, and will include a new debenhams department store, around 80 new shop/cafe units, and a cinema, this is what it will look like:
















Whilst it will improve the retail offer in Wolverhampton, I really do think it's a bit of a missed opportunity to provide something more 'city like' - this scheme looks like a development you'd find in a small/medium sized town, actually it reminds me of the redevelopment of Corby town centre lol.

What do you all think of it?

[Biosonic]

I like it!

Wolverhampton has a wealth of Victorian buildings so something ultra-modern wouldn't fit well...

[Nacho]

Thanks for those.

[Nacho]

Seems like the works for the Civic Quarter have finished.Smiley,have you seen it.....any good?

http://www.walsall.gov.uk/news/walki...ic_quarter.htm

[SimonTheSoundMan]

I last saw those models of Wolverhampon a good two year ago. I think it has changed now. The cinema has pulled out and Debenhams are thinking of still pulling out.

[Martin G]

Wolverhampton City Centre desperately needs some tall towers. I can't believe that it hasn't even planned any for the foreseeable future considering it's been made a city for a few years now and civic pride should have soared with this distinction sufficiently enough for some new ambitious landmark additions to the skyline to be proposed. As it stands it has one of the most disappointing city centre-scapes you're likely to see anywhere - the tallest office block / tower structure of any kind in the city centre remains Mander House - and that dates back to the 1970s and only stands a piddling 8 storeys high or something. I wonder why the developers haven't seized on some sort of initiative to think taller? What is stopping them? Is the CAA height restriction 50 metres here or summat? Perhaps there's an old ruling that forbids any building to rise higher than the tower of St Peter's Church? Like the old Philadelphia one where nothing was allowed to surpass the City Hall in height for decades...

[hammerb24]

Originally Posted by SimonTheSoundMan

I last saw those models of Wolverhampon a good two year ago. I think it has changed now. The cinema has pulled out and Debenhams are thinking of still pulling out.

Simon,

Debenhams 'signed up' around 2 weeks ago, the lastet plans still include the cinema although I'm not sure which chain.