His Majesty’s Ofsted inspectors described Walsall Council as a place where children are at the heart of, in a report published today, Tuesday 8 July 2025. The accolade builds upon the council’s previous rating of ‘good’ in 2021 and puts Walsall firmly on the map of excellence as the only outstanding local authority for overall effectiveness in the Black Country. Since 2018, children’s services have been on a transformational journey of improvement to provide better outcome for children, young people and their families, which is set out in the council’s Walsall Right 4 Children approach. Following an inspection in May,…

Work has commenced on improvements to three parks and play areas in Walsall. The £470,000 project will be delivered on behalf of One Palfrey Big Local, with funding from Local Trust, following consultation with residents which identified green spaces for investment. As part of the work, the play area at Palfrey Park will be extended with four new items of play equipment installed and a new seating area created. The play areas at Bescot Crescent and Rutter Street arena will also be refurbished and resurfaced with the existing outdated equipment removed and replaced with new items. Meanwhile, the sports arena…

Illegal goods with a retail value of approximately £365,000 were seized in an operation carried out by Walsall Trading Standards and West Midlands Police on 2 July 2025. Officers, supported by a specialist search dog team, investigated four retail premises, one associated vehicle, and a storage unit. The operation uncovered approximately 100 kilograms of illegal hand-rolling tobacco, 287,000 illicit cigarettes, and 350 illegal disposable vapes. Sniffer dogs Griff, Cooper, and Bran—highly trained in detecting tobacco and vapes—assisted the team. At a self-storage yard, Griff identified a unit containing the illegal cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco. Inside, some counterfeit cigarettes were even…

With high temperatures forecasted, Walsall residents are advised to take steps to stay well during the hot weather, as the UK Health Security Agency (in partnership with the Met Office) issues a yellow heat health alert for the West Midlands. The alert is in place from Wednesday 9 July to Tuesday 15 July. High temperatures can pose a risk to health, particularly for older adults, young children and individuals with long-term health conditions who may need extra help to stay cool. “ As warmer weather is forecast, there are things we can do to stay well. Keep indoor spaces cool…

Approximately 100 attendees gathered at Walsall Football Club on 26 June 2025 for the inaugural Neurodiversity and Wellbeing Conference, with the theme ‘Shifting the Narrative’. The event brought together professionals from various sectors such as public health, wider local authority teams, the NHS, education, housing, health and social care, the voluntary and community sector and DWP (Department for Work and Pensions). Individuals with lived experience also participated to advocate for inclusion and promote wellbeing in neurodiverse communities. Organised by Walsall Council’s Mental Wellbeing team in Public Health, the conference aimed to drive system-wide improvements and foster a more inclusive society.…

The former Clive Marks school uniform shop in the Saddlers Shopping Centre is being transformed into a place where young people can chill out and have fun in a safe space. Funded by UK Government, the hub is one of fifteen projects planned for Walsall following a successful, £20 million funding bid aimed to regenerate the local area. The hub is being developed following calls from young people in Walsall for more welcoming and safe spaces to spend time and connect with each other. Planned to open in the next few weeks, the hub will offer free Wi-Fi, gaming consoles,…

The funding has helped deliver a range of enhancements at the reserve, situated in Willenhall, which are already making a big difference for both visitors and wildlife. Key improvements include: Over 750 metres of new, accessible pathways, replacing uneven ground and old, dilapidated steps with an easy-to-use new ramp New gates, offering better access and security for the site A refreshed ladder board and site map, helping visitors explore the reserve with ease Vegetation management in selected woodland areas to support long-term habitat health Dredging of one of the reserve’s key wildlife ponds, improving the aquatic environment for amphibians and…

A number of community-based organisations are set to deliver activities as part of a programme to promote and support good food choices and improved access to food. The Feeding Our Futures Small Grants Programme is funding 17 voluntary and community sector organisations in Walsall to deliver a range of innovative projects and activities. These initiatives are designed to enhance access to good quality food and support better food choices. The funded projects will encompass a diverse array of activities focused on food security, education, and community wellbeing. These include cooking, growing, and nutrition workshops; the development of budget-friendly recipe books;…

The ‘Black British Ballet Exhibition’ will be hosted at Lichfield Street Hub Library, open now until July 30, 2025. The exhibition will include 20 to 30 images taken over the past 60 years, archive posters, and audio and video clips of the dancer’s stories. The video clips will be sourced from interviews carried out by Oxygen Arts over the past 18 months with 20 black British ballet dancers. There will also be a range of events and activities including reading, photography, ballet and creative writing workshops, and a ballet show curated by Oxygen Arts. “ I am very excited we…

The New Art Gallery Walsall is getting a green makeover as part of a project to cut carbon emissions and reduce energy use, thanks to funding from the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Work is currently underway to replace the Gallery’s old heating system with modern, eco-friendly air source heat pumps. Solar panels will also be installed on the building to help generate clean electricity, along with new double glazing, efficient hot water taps, and other upgrades to make the building use less energy overall. These improvements will make the 25-year-old…