Some of it is genuinely useful.
There is information about the council’s new telephone number, crisis payments, exam-results support, children’s activities, vaccinations, free swimming, water safety, the Local Plan consultation, Bikeability, town-centre regeneration and more.
And as I have said before, I am not interested in criticising Sandwell Council simply for the sake of it.
If something is good, say so.
If something is useful, promote it.
But being a critical friend also means asking whether the story being told quite matches the reality underneath it.
And in this latest bulletin, there are a few areas where that matters.
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ONE COUNCIL NUMBER – A SENSIBLE MOVE
From 1 September, Sandwell Council is introducing one main telephone number for many of its services:
0121 569 7474
That should make things simpler for residents, particularly those who are not online or struggle with digital services.
The bulletin even encourages people to pass the number on to anyone they know who is not online.
That is welcome.
Not everyone wants an app.
Not everyone is comfortable filling in online forms.
And sometimes people simply need to speak to another human being.
The test will be what happens when someone actually rings it.
How long do people wait?
How many hang up?
Does the callback system work?
Are problems resolved at first contact?
One number is useful.
One number leading to three quarters of an hour listening to hold music is less so.
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FREE PARKING: NICE SOUNDING POLICY, BUT WILL IT ACTUALLY WORK?
This is one area where I remain highly sceptical.
Sandwell is introducing up to two hours of free parking in selected Wednesbury and Great Bridge car parks, alongside free market-stall pitches for twelve months.
The council says the idea is to increase footfall and help struggling markets.
It sounds attractive.
Everybody likes the words:
FREE PARKING.
The problem is that Sandwell’s own evidence suggests parking charges are not the main reason these town centres are struggling.
Wednesbury’s own Masterplan identifies declining retail choice, online shopping, competition from retail parks and other centres, poor evening activity, public-realm issues and concerns around safety.
It also tells us something particularly important:
Footfall is already highest on market days.
So people are coming.
The bigger question is what they find when they get there.
Do they stay?
Do they spend?
Are there enough shops worth visiting?
Does the town centre feel safe and attractive?
Has moving the market affected pedestrian flows?
Those are much bigger issues than whether somebody saves £1.10 on parking.
Great Bridge is even more interesting.
Previous council studies actually identified ample parking as one of its strengths.
Its weaknesses included poor pedestrian connections, heavy traffic, tired public realm and the lack of integration between the traditional centre and the retail park.
Making parking free does not solve any of those things.
Neither does giving away market pitches.
If a trader cannot make enough money to justify a pitch costing around seven quid, the problem probably isn’t the seven quid.
The problem is likely to be not enough customers.
So yes, call it a pilot.
But before it begins, Sandwell should publish the baseline:
How many cars currently use the car parks?
How much income will be lost?
How many market stalls currently operate?
What is existing footfall?
What are shop vacancy rates?
What exactly will constitute success?
Otherwise, twelve months from now, almost anything can be described as a success.
More parked cars do not automatically mean more shoppers.
More free stalls do not automatically mean a thriving market.
This still looks very much like a sticking plaster on a much bigger wound.
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FIRE WARNINGS: IMPORTANT — BUT THE COUNCIL HAS RESPONSIBILITIES TOO
The bulletin again warns residents about fires and barbecues on parks and open spaces.
Quite right too.
With the dry weather and recent fires, nobody should be lighting disposable barbecues or fires on nature reserves and public green spaces.
But this is where I think Sandwell needs to go considerably further.
We have already made the case for proper, modern and enforceable byelaws across Sandwell’s parks, Local Nature Reserves and water bodies.
Not a patchwork of signs.
Not a PSPO here and an old rule there.
A proper, understandable regulatory framework covering matters including:
fires;
wildlife protection;
fishing;
vehicles and e-bikes;
damage to habitats;
water safety;
camping;
littering;
dogs;
and other behaviour that can damage our green spaces.
And those rules need to be visible and actually enforced.
But fire safety is not only about telling residents what they must not do.
The council is the landowner and land manager.
So what are Sandwell’s wildfire management arrangements for its nature reserves?
Where are the risk assessments?
Where are the firebreaks and fuel breaks where they are environmentally appropriate?
How is vegetation managed during prolonged dry periods?
Can fire appliances gain proper access?
Are vulnerable boundaries next to homes properly protected?
What arrangements exist with West Midlands Fire Service?
We cannot simply wait until smoke appears over a reserve and then post another graphic saying:
“Please don’t light fires.”
Residents have responsibilities.
So does the council.
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THE LOCAL PLAN: GOOD TO SEE IT PROMOTED — BUT CAN ORDINARY PEOPLE REALLY UNDERSTAND IT?
One thing I criticised in the previous News & Events bulletin was the absence of the Local Plan consultation.
This time it is there.
So credit where it is due.
The problem now is a different one.
The Local Plan is incredibly important.
It will help shape where homes are built, where employment land goes, what infrastructure is needed, how green space is protected and how Sandwell develops through to 2044.
But try explaining the consultation to someone who doesn’t spend their spare time reading planning documents.
Spatial strategy.
Site allocations.
Infrastructure capacity.
Green Belt.
Employment land.
Biodiversity.
Flood risk.
Blue and green infrastructure.
Planning constraints.
And just for extra fun, Sandwell already has another Local Plan which went through years of preparation and examination but still hasn’t formally been adopted, while Government has now required councils including Sandwell to begin another new-style Local Plan.
I suspect many residents will reasonably ask:
“Hang on — didn’t we just do one of these?”
And they would have a point.
Putting a link into a newsletter and saying “Have your say” is not enough.
If Sandwell genuinely wants ordinary residents involved, it needs to make the process understandable.
How about a short plain-English guide?
What is the Local Plan?
Why are we doing another one?
What can it actually change?
How might it affect my neighbourhood?
What does the council want me to comment on now?
Then produce simple information for each of Sandwell’s six towns.
Have face-to-face sessions in libraries and community venues.
Let residents speak to planning officers.
Show people maps they can actually understand.
Because at the moment developers, landowners and planning consultants know exactly how to respond to a Local Plan consultation.
The ordinary resident often does not.
A consultation can be technically open to everybody while still being practically dominated by the people who understand the system.
That is not meaningful engagement.
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CRISIS PAYMENTS – THIS IS EXACTLY THE SORT OF THING PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
One of the strongest parts of this bulletin is the promotion of Sandwell’s Crisis Payments.
Help may be available for people dealing with emergencies such as fire, flooding, domestic abuse, stolen money, essential household items breaking down or temporary gaps in income.
This is exactly the sort of service that needs putting in front of residents.
People often only discover support exists after they have already reached crisis point.
So more of this please.
Useful.
Practical.
And potentially very important to somebody reading it.
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BIKEABILITY: TEACHING CHILDREN TO RIDE SAFELY IS A GOOD THING
The bulletin also celebrates more children receiving Bikeability training.
Apparently 2,752 pupils took part during 2025/26.
I have been critical of Active Travel schemes in Sandwell.
I remain critical of some of them.
But teaching children how to cycle safely is a completely separate matter.
I have taught children to ride bikes myself.
It is a useful life skill.
It builds confidence.
And children who cycle should know how to do it safely.
Supporting Bikeability does not mean automatically supporting every cycle lane or road redesign that subsequently comes along.
We are allowed a little nuance in public life.
Apparently.
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TIPTON REGENERATION – NOW SHOW US WHETHER IT WORKS
The bulletin also reports completion of public-realm works around Owen Street in Tipton.
Improved pavements.
Lighting.
Bus stops.
Crossings.
Apprenticeship opportunities.
All positive enough.
But regeneration cannot ultimately be judged by photographs of new paving stones.
The real questions come later.
Did footfall increase?
Did businesses benefit?
Did people feel safer?
Did vacancies fall?
Did people actually spend more time in the town centre?
That is how regeneration should be judged.
Not simply:
“The work has finished.”
Completion is not the same thing as success.
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ENERGY SWITCHING – WE’VE ASKED THE QUESTIONS
The bulletin also promotes Sandwell’s Switch Together Energy scheme.
Residents are being encouraged to register for collective energy purchasing, with the possibility of receiving a cheaper tariff.
It may prove worthwhile.
But similar schemes have appeared before and then quietly faded from view.
What we rarely see is the historic Sandwell evidence.
How many people registered?
How many actually switched?
What did they save?
How long did those savings last?
How did the tariffs compare with deals residents could have found elsewhere?
And what does the scheme cost the council?
We have now submitted questions on precisely those points.
If the results are good, publish them.
That would be the best advertisement the scheme could have.
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SUMMER ACTIVITIES, SWIMMING AND HEALTH INFORMATION
There is plenty else in the bulletin worth supporting.
Free swimming.
Summer activities for children and young people.
SEND-inclusive youth provision.
Exam-results support.
Vaccination information.
Water-safety advice.
These are useful things to put in front of residents.
And this is worth remembering when criticising council communications.
A newsletter does not have to be controversial to be worthwhile.
Sometimes telling somebody where their child can swim for free is enough.
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SO WHAT DO I MAKE OF THIS ONE?
Overall, I think this is actually a better News & Events bulletin than some previous editions.
There is more useful civic information.
The Local Plan consultation is finally being promoted.
There is crisis support.
There is public-health information.
There are services and activities residents can actually use.
But there are still recurring weaknesses.
Too often Sandwell communicates:
what it is doing
before properly demonstrating:
why it should work
and later
whether it actually did.
Free parking is perhaps the clearest example.
It sounds good.
It is easy to put on a leaflet.
But Sandwell’s own evidence suggests the problems facing Wednesbury and Great Bridge are much deeper.
Likewise, telling residents not to start fires is necessary.
But the council also needs robust byelaws, visible enforcement and proper wildfire management of the land it controls.
And telling residents to “Have Your Say” on the Local Plan is welcome.
But unless ordinary people can understand what they are being asked, consultation risks becoming an exercise largely for professionals, developers and the usual suspects.
Being a critical friend means being prepared to say:
That’s good.
That needs improving.
And sometimes:
I really don’t think that is going to work.
Sandwell is certainly getting better at telling residents what it is doing.
Now I want to see it get equally good at showing us:
why it chose a policy,
what evidence supported it,
what it cost,
what residents actually said,
and eventually...
whether it worked.
That is not asking too much.
That is simply what good local government should look like.
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