Friends Groups, Volunteering and Green Spaces in Sandwell Market Stalls, Missing Actions and Another Council "Ongoing Review" – But What Has Actually Changed?

 

Friends Groups, Volunteering and Green Spaces in Sandwell

Market Stalls, Missing Actions and Another Council "Ongoing Review" – But What Has Actually Changed?

I went along to Sandwell Council's latest Friends Groups and Allotment Groups "market-style" event at West Smethwick Park Pavilion on 17 July.

And, to be honest, if it had been a real market, I might have turned around and gone somewhere else to spend my money.

Now, before anyone starts sharpening their corporate pencils, I arrived at around midday because I had another appointment earlier. So I cannot comment on what happened during the first hour.

But when I arrived, the room certainly wasn't what I'd call bustling.

There were quite a few empty tables.

I couldn't see Waste Management or Recycling.

I couldn't see Litter Watch.

I couldn't see any Environmental Protection Officers.

The poor representative from SCVO looked rather lonely when I arrived. Frankly, signing people up to the SCVO bulletin might have been a more productive use of everyone's time.

I saw no obvious senior officers or Director-level management.

I saw two councillors, both from the opposition.

No Reform Cabinet Members that I could see.

No Council Leader.

And perhaps most surprisingly, I didn't see Volunteer Development Manager Andrew Walker, despite Andrew promoting the event and saying how much he was looking forward to welcoming us all.

Perhaps he was there earlier. Perhaps he arrived later. I'm quite happy to be corrected.

But during the time I was there, the person apparently overseeing this great "ongoing review" of Friends Groups engagement wasn't visible.

Not exactly ideal.

Some Positives – Because There Were Some

Let's be fair.

I had a very useful conversation with Sunish Patel, Greenspace Projects Lead Officer.

I've known Sunish for years and, to his credit, he is one of those officers who will actually engage with you. Sometimes I suspect his hands are tied by resources, structures or decisions made elsewhere, but at least you can have a proper conversation.

I also had an encouraging chat with Amy Robinson, Greenspaces Facilities Manager.

My understanding is that the Council/Friends Groups ways-of-working agreement is being reviewed.

Good.

It needs reviewing.

But—and it's quite a big but—Friends Groups need to be involved in reviewing it.

Please don't disappear into an office, write another document full of "collaboration", "impactful engagement" and "stakeholder journeys", then present it to us as a fait accompli.

Talk to us.

Some of us have been doing this for rather a long time.

I was also introduced to Neighbourhood Officer Joanne Peasley and managed a friendly dig at John Satchwell about semi mature trees. 

mature trees.

So it wasn't entirely wasted.

But for an event supposedly designed to bring Friends Groups together with Council departments and partners, there weren't exactly hundreds of avenues open for meaningful engagement.

Apparently the Previous Event Was a "Success"

This is where we need to stop kidding ourselves.

The Council has repeatedly described the January market-style event as a success.

Why?

Because people attended.

Because people talked to each other.

Because there was "meaningful participation".

Because evaluation sheets were positive.

Lovely.

But here's the problem.

A successful event and a successful review of Friends Groups governance are two completely different things.

I can go to a wedding, eat three sausage rolls, dance badly and fill in a form saying I had a lovely evening.

That doesn't mean the marriage will work.

If these market-style events are going to continue, then let's have some proper evaluation.

What were the objectives?

How many recognised Friends Groups attended?

How many officers and organisations were invited?

How many actually turned up?

How many actions came out of the day?

Who owns them?

What are the deadlines?

How many have been completed?

How many are still outstanding six months later?

And most importantly:

What actually changed because the event happened?

That's how you measure success.

If we need KPIs, let's have KPIs.

Response times.

Actions completed.

Site visits delivered.

Issues resolved.

Stakeholder satisfaction.

Promises kept.

Because without proper evaluation, scrutiny, action planning and measurable outcomes, an engagement event can become little more than a way of saying:

"Look everyone, we engaged."

Box ticked.

Next.

Whatever Happened to the January Actions?

Here's a rather good example of the problem.

After the January event, I raised the fact that we were still waiting for promised actions, contacts and site visits.

The response?

Could I send the list again so it could be discussed with colleagues?

Sorry?

If commitments are made at a Council-organised engagement event, why is the volunteer being asked months later to reconstruct the Council's own action list?

Where are the notes?

Where is the action log?

Who was assigned each action?

Who followed it up?

This is exactly the problem we've already identified with missing minutes and inconsistent records from previous Friends Groups meetings.

Volunteers should not have to become Sandwell Council's unofficial filing department.

The Great "Ongoing Review"

We keep hearing that these events form part of an "ongoing review" of how the Council works with Friends Groups.

Fine.

So what exactly is being reviewed?

Who owns the review?

Where are the terms of reference?

Where is the January survey analysis?

What did people say?

What recommendations came out of it?

Where is the action plan?

What's changed?

When does the review finish?

Who signs it off?

And where do Friends Groups get to see and comment on the outcome?

We also still have the existing Friends Groups Partnership or ways-of-working Agreement.

What's happening to that?

Is it still in force?

Is it being rewritten?

Is it being replaced?

Because previous consultations, agreements and years of voluntary input should not mysteriously evaporate every time somebody moves office or gets a new job title.

Friends Groups, Allotments and Everyone Else

The second event was wider than the first.

Friends Groups.

Allotment groups.

Community organisations.

Council departments.

Potentially useful.

I've got no problem with that.

But let's be clear.

A networking event for lots of community organisations is not automatically the same thing as a formal review of how the Council works with constituted Friends Groups.

Friends Groups have particular relationships with individual parks, nature reserves and green spaces.

They hold local knowledge.

They often have constitutions.

They have histories with those sites.

They should not simply become another table in a room full of "community stakeholders".

Both things can exist.

But don't confuse them.

Green Space Ambassadors – Why?

Then we have the Green Space Ambassador initiative.

I remain thoroughly unconvinced.

What exactly is it?

What gap is it filling?

How does it relate to Friends Groups?

How does it relate to Litter Watch?

Who's managing it?

What's it costing?

What are its objectives?

Where is it properly explained?

Because it currently looks suspiciously like another layer being added before we've fixed the layers we've already got.

We've got constituted Friends Groups.

We've got volunteers.

We've got Litter Watch.

We've got other established community organisations.

Perhaps the priority should be to properly engage with and support them first.

Where informal "Friends of" Facebook groups exist—some of them set up or promoted by councillors—help them develop constitutions and proper structures if they want a formal relationship with the Council.

Then look at the gaps.

Which parks don't have Friends Groups?

Which reserves need them?

Help local people establish them.

Build a strong borough-wide network.

There are people like Ian Carroll, myself and many others with years of experience around Sandwell's pools, waterways, wildfowl, parks and reserves.

Others bring expertise in heritage, horticulture, litter, events and biodiversity.

Use that knowledge.

Don't reinvent it with another shiny title.

Litter Watch – Support Them, Don't Duplicate Them

And while we're talking volunteers, let's mention Litter Watch.

They've got a tremendous volunteer base.

They've been doing this stuff for years.

Yet we increasingly seem to get Council initiatives that stray into territory Litter Watch has already occupied for ages.

Maybe it's time to properly review that relationship.

What support are they getting from Sandwell Council?

From Serco?

From senior management?

What resources do they need?

If you've already got a successful community partnership, here's a revolutionary idea:

Support it.

Resource it.

Celebrate it.

Don't create another initiative doing half the same job.

Maybe We Need Proper Quarterly Meetings

If these market-style events are going to continue, the format needs looking at.

Perhaps a quarterly borough-wide meeting at the Council House would work better.

Maybe 3pm or 3.30pm until around 6.30pm, giving people with daytime commitments a chance to attend.

Parking at West Smethwick Park isn't always easy and accessibility needs proper consideration too. The access arrangements around the pavilion certainly didn't seem ideal for anyone with mobility difficulties.

But let's be absolutely clear.

Quarterly meetings must never replace officers going out to sites.

You cannot understand Sheepwash Nature Reserve entirely from a meeting room.

You cannot understand a damaged gate, a polluted pool, an access problem or an off-road bike route from a PowerPoint presentation.

Sometimes officers need to put their boots on and come and look.

Strategic meetings and site visits.

We need both.

Who Actually Does What?

Communication is still a mess.

People move.

Teams change.

Services restructure.

Responsibilities shuffle around.

Now we're getting Ward Co-ordinators added to the mix.

So can we please have an up-to-date structure?

Who does what?

Who deals with whom?

Who owns an issue when it crosses three departments?

Who escalates it?

Who reports back?

A new Friends Groups email address might help.

But there's little point having a shiny inbox if nobody behind it knows who owns the problem.

And Where Do Friends Groups Fit Into Wider Consultation?

This is another big question.

We've recently been looking at the Design Code consultation.

Where were Friends Groups?

Parks.

Open spaces.

Landscape.

Biodiversity.

Public realm.

Trees.

Green infrastructure.

Surely established Friends Groups have something useful to say about those things?

Yet we seem to find out about consultations almost by accident.

The same applies to tree planting, biodiversity, parks strategies, waterbody management and other environmental initiatives.

The Council needs a proper mechanism that says:

"This consultation affects parks and green spaces—have we contacted the relevant Friends Groups?"

It shouldn't be difficult.

Now Let's Talk About Byelaws – Because This Cannot Keep Being Kicked Down the Road

This is where I get particularly frustrated.

Sandwell urgently needs robust, clear, legally sound, consistent and enforceable borough-wide byelaws covering its parks, nature reserves, waterbodies and green spaces.

Not vague guidance.

Not another webpage.

Not "best practice" that nobody can enforce.

Proper byelaws.

With legal force.

Clearly communicated.

Consistently applied.

And properly enforced.

Friends Groups and wildlife campaigners have been asking for this for years.

The legal process might not be simple.

Fine.

Do it properly.

But don't use complexity as an excuse to keep doing nothing.

Everyone should know what is permitted, what is prohibited, who enforces it and what happens when the rules are broken.

Residents.

Dog owners.

Anglers.

Rangers.

EPOs.

Police.

Friends Groups.

Everyone.

And the Angling Policy?

Same problem.

We've had years of discussion and consultation.

Friends Groups and wildlife advocates put time into draft policies.

Then somehow we've ended up with "best practice guidance".

That's not good enough.

Sandwell needs a proper angling policy.

Clear.

Properly consulted upon.

Properly adopted.

Enforceable.

It needs to say where fishing is allowed and where it isn't.

What methods are permitted.

What equipment is allowed.

What happens with unattended rods.

Night fishing.

Traps.

Licences.

Permits.

Day tickets.

Charges.

Discarded tackle.

Wildlife protection.

Enforcement.

The lot.

If the old draft wasn't right, improve it.

If parts were too complicated, explain why.

But don't throw years of volunteer work in a drawer and replace it with something that looks like it was written during a coffee break.

Responsible anglers benefit from clear rules too.

This is not anti-angling.

It's anti-chaos.

Wildlife Doesn't Care About Corporate Buzzwords

And this is why all of this matters.

Over just one recent weekend, volunteers and wildlife campaigners have reported swans attacked by dogs.

One attack was fatal.

Wildfowl have reportedly been caught in traps.

Birds have become tangled in discarded fishing debris.

Hooks and lures have been found caught in birds' beaks and bodies.

We've had deliberate fires being started.

ASB.

Off-road bikes.

The usual catalogue of problems.

Every individual incident needs to be properly reported and investigated.

But collectively they make one thing obvious.

We need proper rules and proper enforcement.

Officers have to take ownership of this.

You cannot hand out animal welfare awards on one side of the building while wildlife campaigners on the other side are trying to work out who on earth is responsible for acting when animals are being harmed.

Rangers and EPOs – What Are They Actually There to Do?

We also need a proper review of Rangers and Environmental Protection Officers.

What powers do they have?

Who enforces the byelaws?

Who tackles illegal fishing?

Who deals with traps?

Who handles wildlife incidents?

Who deals with deliberate fires?

Off-road bikes?

Persistent ASB?

When do the Police get involved?

How are repeat incidents recorded?

How is intelligence shared?

Without clear responsibilities, the best policy in the world will gather dust.

And without proper policy and byelaws, enforcement officers are being asked to work with one hand tied behind their backs.

Whatever Happened to the Wildlife Crime Officer?

Another mystery.

Who is Sandwell's Police Wildlife Crime Officer?

How do we contact them?

How do Friends Groups engage?

How does intelligence move between West Midlands Police and Sandwell Council?

Do joint operations happen?

How do we spot patterns across several parks?

Wildlife campaigners shouldn't need to keep a personal address book of useful officers just to get an incident taken seriously.

There should be a proper route.

Here's My Radical Proposal: Talk to the People Who Know the Places

Some Council officers need to understand something.

Some Friends Groups and volunteers genuinely know these places very well.

Sometimes better than the officer who's just inherited responsibility for them.

That's not an insult.

It's inevitable.

If you've spent twenty years watching a pool, a reserve or a particular wildlife population, you acquire knowledge.

Professional expertise matters.

Local knowledge matters too.

Put them together.

That's partnership.

So What Should Happen?

Here's my suggestion.

No new catchy slogan required.

Review the Friends Groups ways-of-working Agreement properly—with Friends Groups.

Hold proper quarterly borough-wide meetings.

Keep proper minutes.

Keep action logs.

Name the officer responsible.

Set deadlines.

Report progress.

Continue regular site visits.

Publish an up-to-date contact and management structure.

Set proper escalation routes.

Introduce sensible KPIs.

Publish what came out of the January event and survey.

Evaluate future events honestly.

Explain the Green Space Ambassador scheme and prove it's needed.

Strengthen Litter Watch instead of duplicating it.

Help informal Friends Groups become constituted.

Support new groups where there are gaps.

Automatically include Friends Groups in relevant consultations.

And, urgently:

Sort out the byelaws.

Sort out the angling policy.

Sort out who enforces what.

Sort out Rangers and EPO roles.

Sort out wildlife crime reporting.

It's not rocket science.

From "We Engaged" to "We Did Something"

There are good officers at Sandwell Council.

There are dedicated volunteers.

There are people who care enormously about our parks, reserves and wildlife.

Use them.

Market-style events might have a place.

But they are not governance.

They are not site visits.

They are not consultation.

They are not enforcement.

And they are not action.

After two market-style events and more than six months of this mysterious "ongoing review", I think it's reasonable to ask three very simple questions:

What changed?

What improved?

What got done?

And perhaps one more:

Are Sandwell's parks, nature reserves, green spaces and wildlife any better protected because of it?

At the moment, I'm not convinced we have good enough answers.

And that, surely, is the whole point.

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