Friar Park’s New Gold Rush: Who Really Benefits?
You’d think Friar Park was about to become Monaco the way the PR machine is churning out glossy photos of diggers, hi-vis jackets and grinning councillors.
But behind the staged “community hub” narrative sits a very different story — one of political control, financial dependency, strategic opportunism and a breathtaking lack of transparency.
The Friar Park Millennium Centre (FPMC) is legally supposed to be non-political.
In reality, it has been welded so tightly to the Sandwell Labour machine you’d need industrial bolt cutters to separate them.
And now, with Friar Park Urban Village (FPUV) and the Wednesbury Levelling Up Partnership (WLUP) throwing millions around, the stakes are higher than ever — and so are the conflicts.
The Community Isn’t Buying It — FPUV Is Already Being Challenged
Let’s get this in early, because it matters:
The FPUV scheme is being challenged by residents AND by organised community campaigners.
Why?
Because:
- The consultation was threadbare
- Key information was withheld
- Residents were treated as an afterthought
- Environmental, access and safety concerns were brushed aside
- And the whole thing feels very much like a decision made behind closed doors long before the public were let in on it
So no — this is not a regeneration plan “backed by the community”.
It’s a regeneration plan being pushed at the community, and people are pushing back.
The Political Network Running the Millennium Centre
Let’s stop pretending FPMC is some neutral village hall.
For around 20 years it has been a political clubhouse for the same Labour network:
Cllr Simon Hackett
- Company Secretary (2004–2010)
- Director (2010–2024)
- Still a Charity Trustee today
- Holds political surgeries inside the building
- Tightly connected to the new Labour MP
The much-publicised “resignation” in 2024 was nothing but a paperwork shuffle.
He never left.
He simply moved seats.
Former Mayor Roy Handley MBE
A longstanding director and political ally.
A pipeline of Labour-friendly community operators
Always connected. Always revolving. Always in place.
This is not “community governance”.
This is institutional capture.
Follow the Money — It Always Tells the Truth
FPMC’s accounts show:
- Heavy dependency on public grants
- Payments from the Council and Police
- A building owned by the Council, but financially benefiting the charity
- A service-delivery footprint aligned with political interests
- Hundreds of thousands flowing annually
And then comes the headline:
**£2 Million of Levelling Up Cash
directly into a building controlled by political associates.**
This isn’t a community uplift.
It’s a community upgrade — for a select few.
WLUP: The Board That Controls the Money — And the Vanishing Chair
Welcome to the Wednesbury Levelling Up Partnership Board, where £20 million of public money is being allocated.
Originally chaired by Maria Jardine, a supposed “independent community voice”, she then mysteriously:
- disappeared from the membership list
- vanished from meeting minutes
- was replaced by Kallianne Titley
- all without a single public explanation
No statement.
No accountability.
No transparency.
Because why tell the public anything when you can just quietly reshuffle the deck?
Meanwhile, the Board now includes:
- Cllr Peter Hughes (Regeneration portfolio holder)
- Antonia Bance MP
- A trustee linked to the Centre
- A clutch of Labour councillors
Yes — the same people who benefit politically from FPMC’s expansion are the same people overseeing its funding.
But apparently this triggers zero declarations of interest.
Declarations of Interest: A Masterclass in Selective Amnesia
If you read the WLUP minutes, you’ll see something remarkable:
Almost no declarations of interest exist — despite mountains of conflicts.
A politically connected charity receiving millions?
No conflict.
Trustees sitting on the Board funding the building they oversee?
No conflict.
The MP sitting on a board steering money into a centre used as a Labour surgeries venue?
No conflict.
It’s magic.
Or, more accurately: it’s Sandwell.
The Quiet Operator: Anam Choudhury
Between 2017–2019, governance at FPMC was shaped by:
- Anamur (Anam) Choudhury
- Company Secretary
- Person With Significant Control
- Part of a familiar regeneration and community funding network
His presence highlights that the real action often happens off-stage, away from minutes and accountability.
NEW: The MP’s Misleading Letter — And Her Silence Since
This part is astonishing even by Sandwell standards.
After a meeting about the FPUV proposals, Antonia Bance MP sent representative a letter that:
- omitted key information
- misrepresented the nature of the meeting
- failed to address fundamental objections
- and raised more questions than answers
Residents wrote back asking her to clarify the inaccuracies.
She has not responded.
Not a word.
For an MP elected on promises of transparency, this silence is deafening — and telling.
What The Sandwell Skidder Has Already Reported
The independent Sandwell Skidder blog has, for years, documented:
- opaque building-use agreements
- questionable grant processes
- alleged misconduct by councillors
- a serious data-breach and housing controversy involving Hackett
- repeated failures of internal investigations
- the political capture of community assets
Whether every allegation was upheld is irrelevant.
The pattern is undeniable.
And that pattern is now resurfacing through WLUP and FPUV.
Why This All Matters (And Why Residents Shouldn’t Stay Silent)
Friar Park deserves regeneration that is:
- transparent
- fair
- competitive
- inclusive
- honest
What we’re getting instead is:
- a contested housing scheme
- selective consultations
- political control of community assets
- millions funnelled into one Labour-aligned hub
- a reshuffled WLUP board with no justification
- weak governance
- and an MP who won’t answer basic questions
This is not Levelling Up.
This is Levelling Over the residents who were supposed to be at the heart of it.
Questions Sandwell Council, WLUP and the MP Must Answer
- Why was the WLUP Chair changed in secret?
- Where are the full declarations of interest?
- Why does a supposedly non-political charity host Labour surgeries?
- Why is £2m going into one favoured building while other groups get nothing?
- Why has Antonia Bance MP failed to answer questions about her misleading letter?
- Why must residents challenge FPUV themselves?
- Will the Council invite external scrutiny of WLUP and FPMC governance?
Until these questions are answered:
Residents are right to distrust this entire regeneration programme.
#Sandwell #FriarPark #MillenniumCentre #FPUV #LevellingUp #Wednesbury #WLUP #Governance #Transparency #PoliticalAccountability #Regeneration #SandwellLabour #CharityGovernance #CommunityCampaigners
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