News from Blakenall

Interesting mess being created with the debacle around the land issue where at present Bloxwich baths stands.
We have the past announcement that these baths and leisure centre will be rebuilt with lottery grants.. however who actually owns the land on which this Leisure centre stands? Have the Miners charity who left the open space of Leamore Park for the continued benefit of the people of Blakenall been consulted?  How incompentent can you get? and risk losing precious regeneration funds?

News also that the Ryecroft NRC based in Ryecroft Place is to close along with the adjacent health centre facilities. All those using Ryecroft NRC will be expected to move to the Dartmouth centre based in New Forest Road .. the welfare rights service and the ryecroft training unit.. Have the people of New Forest Road been consulted? Not a bit.. we have sent round a consultation paper to seek their views and most feel that the Dartmouth Centre in new Forest Road should be considered for demolition.. they already have too many cars parking there on the road and to increase usage by making the Dartmouth centre the hub of a gigantic spoke will vastly increase the car parking.
Ryecroft NRC I in the right place and if Dartmouth centre was demolished , the land sold for housing, some of the proceeds would cover doing up Ryecroft NRC and expanding into the adjacent health centre.. to be used as a day care centre for the elderly living in the area for lunchtime meals etc
.. a much more sensible plan,.. needs proper meaningful consulting of course .. but your local independent councillor Peter Smith accepting this way forward with £200K to facilitate has done this without asking all local residents about it.. the idea makes good headlines but local residents have to live with the consequences.!

We have news that the Goscote area will be offered up for development... all that debate about the open space called the Lea.. in reality there was never any probable cause for alarm that the Lea would be built on.. the essential first step was to get the advert out to see if any major developer would come forward to talk about it.. as we stand the save the Lea campaign has just delayed the talking and allowed the tipping paradise open space to remain for longer.
WHG should concentrate on looking after their tenants as a priority and I fear that too many times they have lost sight of that with distractions into too many other areas

We have been asking many residents on the effect they see of the introduction of the so called bedroom tax.. a great many horrific personal stories of residents caught up for no fault of their own in the accompanying cuts to their household incomes and so reducing their standard of living to below the poverty line... guilty of ruining peoples' lives... there will be more evictions, family splits and domestic violence and continued wrecking of lives... those who are well off can just shrug off these changes... those in charge have lost touch with reality.. time to turf them out!!
Ian Robertson