Month: June 2023

The annual Aldridge Running Festival proved to be a huge success this year, with 400 runners participating in the 10k course, including 89-year-old, Sheila Symonds!

Organised by the Aldridge Running Club, who helped ensure the day ran smoothly by dealing with registration and marshalling, the runners started at Portland Avenue at 10.30 am, including children participating in the one-mile and 400-metre races.

Alongside some fantastic times in the men’s, women’s and veteran’s categories, Sheila completed the course with the aid of ARC member Lizzi Chambers in 3hrs 26mins.

The full results can be found below:

Men:

1st: Robert Meredith (Tipton Harriers), 00:34:38

2nd: Gary Whitehouse (Tipton Harriers), 00:35:12

3rd: Richard Burman (RSCAC), 00:35:33

 

Women:

1st: Olivia Harris (RSCAC), 00:40:41

2nd: Hermione Knowles (Lichfield RC), 00:41:31

3rd: Sarah Close, 00:46:40

 

Veteran age category winners, men:

V40: Dan Turner (Lichfield RC), 00:36:45

V50: Richard Naylor (RSCAC), 00:36:26

V60: Malcolm Eustace (Cannock & Stafford AC), 00:39:51)

V65: John Meads, 00:52:01

V70: Ron Cattle (Midland Masters AC): 00:44:23

V75: Peter Chilton, 00:53:32 

 

Veteran age category winners,  women:

V40: Sally Forrest, 00:48:20

V50: Tracey Boxley (Birchfield Harriers), 00:51:01

V60: Beverley Ward (West Bromwich Harriers), 00:57:41

V65: Margaret Thomas (Sneyd Striders), 01:00:07

When Aldridge Running Club isn’t organising its annual community race, its volunteers arrange club nights for runners of various ages and abilities. For those who can’t run, there’s also a walking club!

For more information, check out the official Aldridge Running Club website.

The QBar in Walsall Wood is going all out this summer to promote snooker to youngsters and cater for junior players of all abilities across the UK and beyond.

Believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, youngsters worldwide aged 7-17 are invited to a Summer Snooker Residential with coaching provided by skilled WPBSA coaches who follow the WPBSA curriculum and the white-to-black scheme.

Qbar juniors in practice mode

As well as meeting like-minded young players, attendees will benefit from the expertise of Dan Buskin and Andrew Highfield with a series of on and off-the-table lessons to improve their game with an emphasis on learning while having fun.

The schedule includes motivational talks, strategy work and tips to improve technique, mini-tournaments, challenging exercises (streamlined by ability) and interactive TV sessions.

The sessions run from Monday, 21 August, each day until Thursday, 24 August and cost £25 per day with a special offer of £95 if booking all four days. The week ends with an open tournament, which costs £15 per player on Friday, 25 August.

The Summer Snooker Residential follows some great successes for the Walsall club after making the finals of the 2023 Community Club of The Year awards and attracting nationwide acclaim for an international residency partnership, which saw children from a professional Polish snooker academy fly over to train with the players from the Qbar earlier this year.

Families of players from further afield interested in joining the residential and training with the UK’s largest junior academy can also benefit from staying at the Baron’s Court Hotel opposite the Qbar.

For more information, check out Qbar on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Qbarwalsall/

The Pelsall Community Centre has benefited from a donation of over £16k from ASDA in Bloxwich.

Presented to the volunteers at the centre by the ASDA Foundation charity, the money will be used to help pay towards a kitchen refurbishment to benefit the community.

The Pelsall Community Centre runs as an independent charity and hosts numerous community-minded events and activities, including “Knit & Natter”, baby sensory sessions and a friendship café.

The centre also hosts popular live shows, including tribute acts and soul nights.

The funds will contribute towards three-quarters of the needed money for the kitchen refurbishment, with plans to raise the remaining amount with fund-raising initiatives over the coming months.

You can find out more about upcoming events at the official website – https://www.pelsallcommunitycentre.co.uk/

After an eight-year absence, an outdoor aerial adventure course in Sandwell Valley Country Park is back.

Originally destroyed by fire in 2016, Sandwell Ropes has been rebuilt with multiple levels designed for families and children aged five or above.

Kent Reeves, General Manager of Sandwell Ropes said: 

“We’re delighted to bring the high ropes attraction back to Sandwell Valley Country Park, offering a great day out for families around the West Midlands and beyond.”

Councillor Laura Rollins, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for housing and the built environment, said:

“This new adventure course is just one more reason to visit Sandwell Valley Country Park. I would encourage local residents and visitors from further afield to come along to try it out and perhaps make a day of it by visiting our farms or taking parting in one of the many activities and events that make the park a great place to visit.”

Sandwell Ropes can be found on the main path as you enter Sandwell Valley where professional instructors are on hand to show you the ropes.

This weekend, a unique performance at Walsall Arboretum will see a touring dance company bring along a giant wheel to entertain the crowds.

Autin Dance Theatre will head to the Arboretum on Saturday, 24 June 2023, with performances at 1pm and 4pm. A 15-foot giant wheel will be driven by five performance artists and accompanied by live music.

Named ‘Parade-The Giant Wheel’, visitors will witness a moving performance inspired by the beauty, power and impact of people coming together from all walks of life.

According to the website, “Autin Dance Theatre uses their unique blend of contemporary storytelling, striking physicality and innovative large designs to transport audiences and communities along a carefully choreographed procession.”

A £30 million project to bring rail services to the town for the first time since 1965 can now be finalised with a design and development phase.

The project, led by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE), will see plans drawn up for a station on the outskirts of Aldridge centre with road access from Westfield Drive.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: “With diggers already in the ground working on three new stations on the Camp Hill line alongside Darlaston and Willenhall stations on the Walsall to Wolverhampton line, Aldridge will be a very welcome sixth addition to our region.

This is another step forward as we rebuild and reopen many of the railway stations closed by the Beeching cuts of the past – all part of our plans to better connect communities and give local people a genuine alternative to the car.

We remain steadfast in our commitment to public transport and so we will continue to seek to revive even more stations and passenger services in the months and years ahead. “

When built, it’s proposed that the station will run a diesel shuttle service every half an hour into Walsall, which will take six minutes.

The former Walsall FC club shop that was situated on Bradford Street next to the Victorian Arcade is set to open this month as a cut-price charity shop.

Compton Care, which offers support for families living with incurable conditions, will open at 10am on Friday, June 23, and will sell pre-loved and new items at low prices, including clothing, books and toys. Each item will cost £2.99 or less.

The charity’s mascot Custard the Bear will be in store for the grand opening to greet new customers.

Compton Care are currently looking for volunteers to help out in the store. You can find out more here > https://comptoncare.livevacancies.co.uk/

A public vote to name the 2022 Commonwealth Games’ ‘Raging Bull’ has opened today.

Over 2,000 residents of Birmingham put forward names for a new title for the much-loved Birmingham mascot, and judges have now shortened the list to just four.

Currently, the bull, which made a spectacular appearance at the opening of the Commonwealth Games last year, is in London, where special effects company Artem is providing some finishing touches before relocating to Birmingham New Street Station for the first anniversary of the Games.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “So the time has come for people to have their say and choose a name for the iconic Bull that so wonderfully captured the spirit of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Will it be Ozzy, Brummie, Bostin or Boulton? The choice is yours.

“I cannot wait to see what the public decides they want tourists and local people to call the Bull as they marvel at it in the brilliant setting of New Street Station in the months and years ahead.”

The four names that have been whittled down from all entries by the judges are:

• Ozzy
• Brummie
• Bostin
• Boulton

You can cast your vote here. Voting closes on June 20 and the result will be revealed shortly afterwards.

Plans to turn the former premises of the Walsall Advertiser on Bradford Street, which has stood empty for over seven years, are taking shape with developers planning to undertake substantial work to convert it into a HMO.

The Grade II listed building, which was built around 1830, also housed The Midland Business Management College until it closed in 2015, and now developer BAC Property Investments Limited wants to create a three-storey building consisting of 18 bedrooms.

These rooms will be available to rent individually.

Agents PUUC Architecture Limited said: “The HMO will be finished to a very high standard and will provide much-needed, affordable and quality residential accommodation.

“Given the nature of the accommodation, it appeals to occupants with limited disposable income who are not likely to own vehicles.

“Therefore, the demand for on or off-street parking is likely to be greatly reduced and there will be no significant increase in noise, traffic, or general activity associated with the use of the property.

“A detailed Heritage Statement also details the restoration process to save this important building from further deterioration and restoring it to provide residential accommodation and a visually acceptable Grade II Listed Building once again.

“Buildings in disuse immediately damage the character and quality of an area.

“Returning the application site to permanent use, and specifically a use where no unreasonable noise levels, trade waste or anti-social behaviour is likely to cause concerns for neighbouring residents and businesses, is expected to be an overwhelmingly positive development for the local region.”

A HMO is a property rented out to multiple people and consists of shared facilities, such as a bathroom, toilet or cooking facilities, and offers an affordable housing option for tenants.

An initiative introduced in 2014, allowing Walsall residents to land cheaper energy bills, is back for 2023.

The ‘Big Community Switch’ is a scheme that allows pre-vetted energy suppliers to compete and submit the best deals to residents.

Currently, 3,500 residents have signed up for the scheme, and the deadline for registering for this year’s auction is Wednesday, 21 June 2023.

Whichever supplier offers the cheapest tariff then gets to contact the residents with an offer in July showing how much they can save in bills. They then have the option to accept or decline the offer.

The scheme claims to have saved residents an average of £115 per household year since it began.

“Walsall Council is committed to helping residents reduce their energy bills and through our Big Community Switch scheme we are helping residents take control of their energy costs through a collective energy switching scheme,” said Councillor Adrian Andrew,
Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration at Walsall Council.

“Switching energy suppliers can be a daunting task but taking part in the Big Community Switch makes it easy. Taking part is free and it’s a great opportunity for residents to take control of their energy bills and secure a competitive tariff with a trusted supplier. “