Councillor Craig Collingswood has become Wolverhampton’s 166th Mayor and is pictured with his daughter, Abby, who is Mayoress Councillor Craig Collingswood has been officially appointed Wolverhampton’s 166th Mayor. Councillor Craig Collingswood has been officially appointed Wolverhampton’s 166th Mayor. He took over the chains of office from outgoing Mayor Councillor Linda Leach at the inauguration, which took place during last night’s Annual Council Meeting. His daughter Abby, a cardiothoracic nurse at New Cross Hospital’s Heart and Lung Centre, is Mayoress. Councillor Paul Singh was appointed Deputy Mayor for 2025 to 2026, with his wife Ranjit Dhillon becoming the new Deputy…

City of Wolverhampton Council is offering local groups and organisations the opportunity to manage Portobello Community Centre. The council owned centre on Hill Road, Willenhall, has been vacant since the previous community association left in December 2023. The council remains committed to exploring all options to ensure the building is retained for community use. Expressions of interest are being invited to either take on the centre through a community asset transfer of the building or to lease it as a community association. Interested parties are advised it is a big commitment to take on a community building and requires…

Adult Education Wolverhampton will be hosting a Higher Education Fair aimed at current students and members of the public who want to find out more about going to university. Visitors will be able to learn more about different university courses and their entrance requirements, how to apply for courses and get information on costs, and get details of grants, bursaries and financial support available for travel and childcare. There will also be information about Adult Education Wolverhampton’s Level 3 Access to Higher Education courses to help people prepare for university, and specific schemes, programmes and tester events to ease the…

Artworks by Francis Xavier as part of the Walsall Makes strand Over the last year thousands of Walsall residents have been inspired and engaged through a dynamic cultural programme delivered as part of the Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund (CWGLEF), celebrating creativity, community and local heritage. Funded by the CWGLEF’s Cultural Pillar and delivered by Walsall Council in partnership with Creative Black Country, the Creative Commissioning strand of the programme has brought art into public spaces, empowered local makers, inspired the future of making in Walsall, and supported vibrant cultural activity throughout the borough. With more than 21,500 attendees…

-r Cllr Smith, Daniel Coward and Mike Doyle from J.Harper & Sons Sandwell Council, in partnership with J. Harper & Sons (Leominster) Limited, is nearing completion of the construction of a new affordable housing development at Beever Road, Tipton. The scheme will deliver 18 high-quality homes for local residents in need of safe, secure, and affordable housing. The scheme includes a mix of 8 one-bedroom apartments along with 10 two-bedroom bungalows that have already been handed over and allocated to tenants. All properties have been designed to meet the needs of families and individuals with four of the new homes…

A Sandwell Council owned site has been given a radical overhaul creating 12 new family homes in Oldbury. • A former brownfield site at Crosswells Road in Oldbury has been reshaped to create more homes by Sandwell Council. • Before being used for housing, the land was once the site of a council-run depot, which had been demolished. • The regeneration of the site has improved the streetscape and aesthetics of Crosswells Road and brought new people into the neighbourhood. • Tenants’ energy costs have been considered and Photo Voltaic (PV) panels and electric chargers have been installed at each…

Councillor Steve Melia (Great Barr with Yew Tree ward) is the new Mayor of Sandwell following a ceremony in the Council Chamber at Sandwell Council House His Mayoress is his sister, Valerie Thacker, who last year also acted as his Deputy Mayoress. The Deputy Mayor was named as Councillor Elaine Giles (Newton Ward) and her Deputy Mayoress will be her granddaughter, Grace Giles. At the ceremony, votes of thanks were passed to the outgoing Mayor Councillor Syeda Khatun MBE. Councillor Melia, who has been a councillor for 30 years, having represented both Great Barr with Yew Tree and Wednesbury South…

Hajj and Umrah pilgrims reminded of vaccinations needed to travel People travelling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages are being urged to make sure they are up to date with their vaccinations in order to travel safely. Hajj and Umrah is expected to fall between 4 and 9 June, 2025, and all travellers should be up to date with routine vaccinations such as the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and diphtheria-tetanus-polio vaccine. In addition, the UK Heath Security Agency is urging travellers to Saudi Arabia to ensure they are vaccinated against meningococcal disease with the MenACWY vaccine, after it…

Sandwell Council and Sandwell Children’s Trust are celebrating the launch of Foster Care Fortnight in Sandwell This is when we join a national campaign to raise awareness of the need for foster carers to help us to improve the lives of Sandwell’s most vulnerable children. Over the next two weeks the FosterSandwell team at Sandwell Children’s Trust will be sharing stories from our foster carers, care experienced young people and members of staff about the relationships we have built through fostering. As Councillor Jalal Uddin, Cabinet Member for Children and Families for Sandwell Council reflects; “The theme of this year’s…

Artists impression of the play area at Leamore Park Both Leamore Park and Bloxwich Park, Memorial and Prominade Gardens will soon be transformed thanks to funding from the Bloxwich Town Deal. Contractors were on site last week for a pre-start site visit and work has started in Leamore Park today (Monday 12 May). The work will be phased so that both parks aren’t closed to the public at the same time. The work will see both parks given a new lease of life, with new play areas designed by local schools, and various other improvements and repairs. “ Improving Bloxwich’s…