Wednesbury Town Hall - Peace on Earth (Terms & Conditions Apply) 🎄

Wednesbury Town Hall, Let’s Dance Again & the Curious Case of Seasonal “Community Spirit”

Ah, Christmas.
The season of goodwill.
Of mince pies, fairy lights, community togetherness…
…and apparently ban letters for pensioners.

If you were under the impression that Wednesbury Town Hall is a public civic space — open, inclusive, neutral — then pour yourself a sherry and sit down, because recent events suggest otherwise.

What’s unfolding looks less like a community hub and more like a private members’ lounge, where access depends on whether you smile nicely, don’t ask awkward questions, and definitely don’t mention the word safeguarding.

☕ Come In, Warm Up… Actually No, You’re Out

Let’s talk about Let’s Dance Again (LDA).
On paper, it’s a charity dedicated to reducing loneliness and isolation among older people. Lovely. Heart-warming. Exactly the sort of thing you’d wrap in tinsel and goodwill.

In practice?
Less “peace on earth”, more “computer says no”.

It’s now clear that this is not a one-off:

• multiple elderly regular attendees have been excluded from events and trips,
• exclusion notices are often impersonal, unsigned, and abrupt,
• no welfare checks, no appeals, no alternatives offered,
• and — here’s the real Christmas cracker — some people were banned after raising safeguarding concerns.

Yes.
Raise concerns about safeguarding?
🎁 Congratulations — here’s your ban.

Nothing says safe, caring charity quite like punishing the people asking whether things are being done properly.

🔔 Peace on Earth… But Only If You Keep Quiet

This isn’t an admin hiccup. It’s a pattern.

Same tone.
Same process.
Same result.

Out you go.

For a group that exists to tackle isolation, the irony is thick enough to spread on toast.

And all of this is happening inside a public building, funded by the public, meant to belong to everyone. Not a private clubhouse. Not a fiefdom. Not a space where raising concerns gets you quietly removed like an unwanted bauble.

💰 Follow the (Festive) Money

Now let’s ruin the cosy atmosphere with numbers.

LDA’s own public records show:

• £14,300 total income,
• £12,392 of that from public grants,
• leaving roughly £1,900 for everything else.

Everything else being:

• weekly coffee mornings,
• entry fees,
• raffles and stalls,
• entertainment events,
• paid trips,
• exercise classes.

Either this is the most miraculous loaves-and-fishes operation since biblical times…
or the accounts don’t reflect the reality on the ground.

And here’s the festive cherry on top:
👉 there are no publicly available detailed accounts to check.

Nothing builds trust like “just take our word for it”.

🎅 Public Money, Private Rules

We also know LDA has received public funding from Sandwell Council.

Which raises some very basic, very reasonable questions:

• What due diligence was done?
• Were safeguarding arrangements checked?
• Were exclusions discussed?
• Were conflicts declared?
• Did anyone notice elderly people being removed from activities?
• Did anyone ask why accounts aren’t publicly visible?

Asking questions, it seems, is becoming a risky hobby.

🎁 The True Meaning of Christmas (Apparently)

So here we are, in the season of kindness, goodwill and compassion, looking at:

• elderly people excluded from social lifelines,
• others banned for raising safeguarding issues,
• a public building operating like a private venue,
• public money flowing with limited transparency,
• and governance that appears deeply uncomfortable with scrutiny.

This isn’t about personalities.
It isn’t about grudges.
It’s about public accountability, safeguarding, and basic decency.

Because if a charity can’t cope with safeguarding questions —
then it isn’t spreading goodwill.

It’s spreading risk.

And that should concern all of us.

🎄 To Be Continued… 🎄

Because this story isn’t finished.
Not by a long shot.

And unlike certain exclusion letters,
this conversation isn’t going quietly away.

#Wednesbury #Sandwell #PublicMoney #SafeguardingMatters #CharityGovernance #OlderPeople #Transparency #CommunityNotControl #FollowTheMoney #SeasonOfGoodwill