Starting today, January 31, there are no limits to the number of visitors allowed into care homes in England.
However, visiting restriction may be put back in place should their be an outbreak of COVID.
Councillor Keir Pedley, Portfolio holder for Adult Social Care said,
“Walsall care home providers are keen to remind families and friends that the safety of their residents remains their priority. They will continue to take a measured approach to receiving visitors in a safe way, following robust infection prevention measures and taking into account their specific circumstances.”
“I would like to thank all care home staff in Walsall who continue to work incredibly hard to protect some of our most vulnerable residents through very challenging times.
Stephen Gunther, Director of Public Health said,
“I appreciate the emotional impact limited visitors has had on care home residents and their families as a result of the recent measures.
“Whilst the rate of COVID-19 remains really high in Walsall, I would advise visitors to care homes to continue to be cautious. Continue to wear a face covering, wash their hands on entry and use hand sanitiser frequently and importantly if they feel unwell to stay at home and book a PCR test.
“I encourage anyone that has not already had their COVID vaccinations and booster to make sure that they get them.”
“These actions will not only help protect their loved ones but also the other residents in the care homes who are more vulnerable if they catch COVID-19.”
A new nationwide competition has launched looking for a pudding that will be at the centre of Her Majesty’s celebration of 70 years on the throne this year.
Judged by an expert panel including Dame Mary Berry, Monica Galetti and Buckingham Palace Head Chef Mark Flanaghan, entries end on 4 February so there’s not much time to get cooking!
The competition is being hosted by Fortnum and Mason and will feature multiple rounds of judging, ending with five finalists attending the store in March where the winning pudding will be announced.
Children over the age of eight are also encouraged to enter.
As a reminder, a pudding should be steamed or baked, layered or rolled, a pie or crumble, a cake or tart.
Local Walsall councillor Garry Perry is encouraging residents to get involved and said:
Councillor Garry Perry, Deputy Leader for Resilient Communities said:
“Whether you take this incredibly seriously — and I think we will have some determined Walsall contenders — or are happy to just take part, I think the main thing is to have fun and remember the moment and how you shared it with your loved ones.
“Hopefully there will be some local culinary triumphs, but even if there are blue soup type moments which Bridget Jones would empathise with, those too are memories to look back on fondly in years to come.
“Please do try to resist the urge to include local delicacies like black pudding and scratchings in your creations. I’m no baker but worry they’d contribute to a soggy bottom and that would never get past Dame Mary’s eagle eyes.”
A new medical centre in Walsall costing £12.6 million to build will be complete by August 2023.
The former Challenge building situated on the corner of Hatherton Street and Hatherton Road has now been demolished and will be replaced by a three-story building housing four medical practices.
The new building will host the Sycamore House Medical Centre, Lichfield Street Surgery, Saddlers Surgery and The Limes Medical Centre.
Featuring 54 consulting rooms, an optician, a pharmacy and a café, the centre expects to provide services to more than 25,000 patients.
Nominations are open for a Batonbearer for the Queen’s Baton Relay at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Applications can be made online with local individuals sought who have provided a difference in their community, or anyone who has a “unique and inspiring” story to tell.
This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity will take place in the lead up to opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, with the Batonbearer arriving at Alexandra Stadium on 28 July 2022.
Nominations are open until 14 February.
Councillor Garry Perry, Deputy Leader for Resilient Communities said:
“We have an abundance of people across Walsall who fit the criteria and this has been demonstrated more than ever during the ongoing pandemic.
“To nominate, all you need to do is explain how your nominee is making a difference in their community and why they deserve to take part in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“Please do get your nominations in before the closing date of 14 February and help to get Walsall on the map.”
Wednesbury Road in Pleck was closed off today (20 January 2022) following reports of a police incident.
Diversions were put in place after a gunman opened fire with a shotgun on the Walsall road around 3pm, before escaping in a Volkswagen Tiguan.
Two shots were reported to be fired at a man aged 32, who was hit but has not been seriously hurt, said West Midlands Police.
Please be advised that there is currently a Police incident on Wednesbury Road, Walsall at The Brown Lion Junction. The road is closed in both directions at its junction with Old Pleck Road causing some traffic congestion. Please avoid the area where possible.
The shooter is still on the run, though police are investigating. Local residents who have any information have been asked to contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, quoting log number 2522 of January 20.
A new theatre show based on the popular BBC television series Peaky Blinders is taking to the stage later this year.
Opening on 27 September at Birmingham Hippodrome, Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby is a dance show featuring a 20 strong-cast from the Rambert dance company.
Featuring a live band, the show is said to feature “dazzling, athletic dance and stunning dramatization” as it follows the story of Tommy Shelby’s love affair with Grace Burgess.
Peaky Blinders screen writer Steven Knight said: “Peaky Blinders has always had music and movement at its heart and now the beating heart of the show will be transferred to the stage, an interpretation of Tommy’s story performed by Rambert, one of the leading dance companies in the world. This is dance for people who don’t usually watch dance and what I’ve written has been transformed into something startling by consummate dancers and choreographers. If the concept of a Peaky Blinders dance seems strange, reserve judgement and reserve a ticket.”
After a run at the Birmingham Hippodrome until October 2, Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby will also premiere at Wembley Park Theatre before touring around the UK in 2023.
A new policy is being considered for Walsall Council employees to support women experiencing menopausal symptoms.
The draft policy is due to be considered in front of committee members on 24 January.
The aim of the policy is to create a deeper understanding among council managers and employees about the menopause and provide a supportive environment.
Internal and external support would also be available for employees.
Councillor Mark Statham, cabinet member for internal services said:
“I’m really pleased to see a forward-thinking policy like this being brought forward for consideration.
“Research suggests that as many as one in five women leave the workplace due to menopause. Many women, particularly those in senior roles, either suffer in silence or end up leaving their jobs. This is clearly not the best outcome for the women concerned or the council in terms of losing valuable skills and experience.
“There is more discussion about menopause now than there was say 20 years ago, but there’s no doubt that in some ways it’s still a taboo subject and this perhaps explains why, as a society, our knowledge of menopause is not what it could and should be.”
Walsall is to create nine “tiny forests” across the borough as part of a legacy scheme for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, writes Jayne Howarth.
Image credit: Earthwatch Europe
As Birmingham 2022’s Official Nature & Carbon Neutral Supporter, Severn Trent is delivering a series of initiatives to ensure the games can become the first carbon-neutral Commonwealth games and leave a legacy across the region.
This includes the creation of 2022 acres of legacy forests, as well as 72 tennis-court-sized Tiny Forests, which will be built in urban areas across the West Midlands.
Nine sites have been identified in Walsall. Each Tiny Forest will see 600 native trees, planted densely in each tennis court size plot of land and will be linked to one of the nations and territories competing at the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
They will provide a publicly accessible place for people to relax, enjoy and appreciate nature in urban areas, as well as support health and wellbeing.
Councillor Oliver Butler, Portfolio Holder for Clean & Green Services, said:“Tiny Forests increase and improve nature in our borough and are going to be a real asset to Walsall and the wider West Midlands.
“Here in Walsall the work will connect us with nature and wildlife. It all starts with education so it’s great to see local schools and our communities getting behind the project, by planting and caring for tomorrow’s Tiny Forests, which I know will bring so much life, greenery and beauty to our borough.”
As part of the Tiny Forest scheme, local communities will be invited to help Earthwatch Europe collect data and assess the benefits of the Tiny Forest in their area, including carbon absorption, flood management and the benefit on biodiversity, and community wellbeing as the sites develop.
Severn Trent and Earthwatch Europe will also provide training and resources for the schools to help use the Tiny Forest as an inspiring outdoor classroom, with hands-on workshops allowing children to learn first-hand about nature and the environment.
Councillor Gary Flint, who represents Bloxwich East with Councillors Corin Statham and Mark Statham , is a volunteer co-ordinator for the project in Bloxwich, where land on Ashbourne Road, Lower Farm, has been earmarked for the tree-planting.
He said: “There’s already a community orchard there, which was set up by the former Bloxwich Town Partnership, and is leased to Goscote Greenacres, so the Tiny Forest will be another community space that will bring lots of benefits.
“We’re just launching a new volunteer group in Bloxwich that brings together a number of community groups so we’ll be working together on this. After the trees are planted, the volunteers will look after them and we’ll also be working with Lower Farm Primary School so the children can learn about the importance of trees and nature.
“We’re pleased to be part of the Tiny Forest project as it will have a positive impact on the community.”
Sites identified by Healthy Spaces and Clean and Green include: Willenhall Memorial Park; Swannies Field, Harden; Kings Hill Park, Darlaston; Cooks Street, Darlaston; Borneo Street, The Butts; Barr Beacon; Ashbourne Road, Lower Farm; and Walsall Arboretum.
Each forest is expected to engage up to 100 volunteers on planting day, up to 40 people on monitoring days, up to six volunteers working as a “keeper team” to act as the forest ambassadors and support with maintenance, as well as the wider community, visitors and school children as an inspiring place to enjoy nature.
Liv Garfield, CEO of Severn Trent said: “The threats of climate change and biodiversity loss are huge challenges for our society and what’s really exciting about the Tiny Forests and our Commonwealth legacy forests is that these new green spaces across the West Midlands will live on long past the games for future generations to enjoy as a space where biodiversity and nature can thrive and flourish.”
Earthwatch will support and fund the installation of the Tiny Forests in Walsall, which is expected to start in early 2022.
Tim Cleary, Parks and Countryside Operations Manager at Walsall Council, added: “We are really excited about this opportunity and that we have been able to find so many suitable sites across the Walsall area, this will bring new green spaces into our communities and help to enhance some existing sites too.
“The benefits of this collaboration with Severn Trent and the Commonwealth Games will leave a lasting legacy for these communities and will bring a new lease of life to the groups and volunteers that are already very active in trying to make a difference.”
Firefighters have tackled a blaze at the Sneyd pub on Vernon Way in Bloxwich in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Four fire crews from around the region were sent to tackle a “severe” blaze at the derelict pub at 1.27am on Sunday.
“It was a fire in a two-storey detached, derelict public house. We used three main jets and one hose reel jet to tackle the fire using one hydraulic platform,” confirmed a spokesperson for the brigade.
We currently have four crews from Bloxwich, Willenhall, Fallings Park and Aldridge and an aerial appliance from Walsall dealing with a severe fire at a derelict pub in the Bloxwich area. pic.twitter.com/CW8bCFCS1V
The pub has been derelict for some time and has been the subject of multiple housing applications, the most recent of which was turned down by Walsall Council in 2019.
The Imperial Picture House, which in more recent years served as a bingo hall and a J.D. Wetherspoon’s pub, has been given Grade II-listing.
The Imperial in 1899.
In the summer of 2021, a redevelopment proposal was put forward by Lodge Housing Ltd to turn the iconic Walsall building into apartments, but its new status now protects its architectural and historical significance. The 1,800-capacity theatre has stood in the town since 1869 when it first used as an agricultural hall.
“Theatres Trust is delighted that our application to have the Imperial Theatre in Walsall listed has been successful.
“The Imperial is a rare and unusual example of an early cine-variety theatre and much of its architectural character and original features remain intact.
“This decision is particularly welcome as there is currently a planning application to convert the building into flats and the Grade-II listed status will give the Imperial additional protection against harmful redevelopment.”
It’s unknown whether the building will ever be used again, but many are hoping it will be restored as a venue that serves the local community.
