Bilston Road will be closed in both directions from Sunday 17 September at 00:30am and will reopen at 7.00am later that same morning.

This phase of works will also include the closure of Eagle Street at its junction with Bilston Road until 23 December. Access to Eagle Street will be via Steelhouse Lane only. For access to Bilston Road please follow the diversion via Steelhouse Lane, Bilston Road, Bilston Island, Bilston Road.

Could we ask that you contact logistics / haulage companies in advance if possible, if you have any deliveries/collections during the times of this closure so that they are aware of the closure and appropriate diversion routes.

If you are unable to do this and encounter any problems with deliveries/collections during the closure, please do not hesitate to contact me via the details at the bottom of this email. To log any out of hours queries or concerns please contact 07920 216 223, and will aim to get any issues resolved as soon as possible.

Further Information can also be found on our website www.metroalliance.co.uk or on your Local Authority webpage.

Following the recent issues I informed you about in 2nd September about residents problems with a family of foxes. Here is an up date on that story.

Woodend Primary School has written to local residents and parents regarding the issue of a family of foxes living on their school site. The School informed residents and parents of the awareness they had regarding some concerns that had surfaced locally.

The School informed that they were working behind the scenes with a variety of agencies to address the foxes issues. These included Environmental Health, RSPCA, Health & Safety and the Local Police.

The Acting Head Teacher reiterated that the children’s safety would always come first.

In my view the School is doing all it can to ensure that the children within the school always remain safe. The school is waiting for the fox family to disperse as they do after the cubs have grown.The school ask that residents do not feed the foxes, as this adds to the reason for them to stay in this location.

Foxes are not vermin, they are classed as Wild Animals, the Local Authority has no legal duty to act against them.

I have had a meeting with the School, I recognise that they are working hard to protect the children, cleaning the school site regularly, and seeking the most appropriate advice to deal with the wild life they have on the site.

I applaud the School team for communicating the actions they are taking with such a wide body of the community. I support the Head and the Governors in the way that they are approaching the problem. Its not an easy issue to deal with. But the School leadership are taking that matter very seriously and really are doing all they can to ameliorate the problem as it affects the school. I will keep you up dated with events moving forward.

One of my constituents wants to warn residents to be very careful if you have a cycle and use it to visit the Bentley Bridge Retail and Shopping Park.

My constituent reported to me that they had their cycle stolen, and alarmingly there were four similar crimes recorded on the same day!

The Police have been informed, and I have had a conversation with WMP about the incident. I was concerned that there was a big problem around stolen cycles.

However that is not the case WMP said “I am pleased to say we have very little reports of theft of pedal cycle in the Wednesfield area. On this day we unusually had 4 bike thefts, 3 of which were unlocked/un-attended bikes, which is difficult to Police when sporadically people are willing to leave their possessions insecure and unattended.

I do appreciate however that the complainant in this matter had secured his bike.

When we are on duty and complete our patrols my officers will often have to advise people who leave bikes insecure.”

Therefore can I under line the advice offered by the Police…..No matter where you are please always make sure that your cycle is secure if you intend to leave it.

Residents, Shop Keepers, and Shoppers to the Ashmore Park Shopping Parade will have noticed now that the flowers paying tribute to Raj Kumar have now been respectfully removed having provided a splash of colour,as residents and friends a like, paid their respect to the memory of legendary Shop Keeper Raj!

I had when the tributes first started to be placed,requested that Wolverhampton Homes treat the flower memorial with care, and sensitivity. I am sure you will all agree that that they have done exactly that.

This is what this is what WH told me just before the weekend, “Wolverhampton Homes Estate Services caretaking team attended and removed the flowers in tribute to Mr Kumar. We ensured this was done in a sensitive and respectful manner.”

I had also requested that the raised Planters nearest the shop be attended too. The vegetation in the situation is currently unattractive and is seen by many to be uncared for.

In July I had a conversation with Andy at The Pet Store and subsequently with Raj on the day before the Ashmore Park Fun Day, about the Planters. The discussion was about giving the Shopping Parade Planters a bit of ‘Loving Care’ in time for next years ‘Wednesfield in Bloom’ bid.

The outcome is that those conversations have stayed with me throughout the Summer, and others since Raj’s death have also suggested that bringing the Planters back to a flowering position,would also be a fitting thing to do in the circumstances!

So I asked Wolverhampton Homes who owns the Shopping Parade to take a look at the Planters. Here is WH response.

“We have spoken to Wolverhampton Homes grounds maintenance partner Continental Landscapes regarding the planters on the shopping precinct. We have requested for the existing planting to be stripped out ready for re-planting. This is expected to be completed within the next fortnight.”

Now this action is in no way cutting across anything else that individuals or our community may want to do for Raj.

But I will be looking for a little help in getting plants together. Planting in the Spring, and help in maintaining the planters, as we can then as a community and in honour of Raj, play a part in the ‘Wednesfield in Bloom’ bids going forward.

I want to ask all you readers of this information to share it with your contacts. This is an important initiative and I am very keen that Business in Wednesfield and across the City is aware of what is taking place….Please tell your work colleagues and management at your place of work!

The City of Wolverhampton’s fourth annual Business Week takes place Monday 25 to Friday 29 September 2017 and aims to support the city’s economic growth.

The week offers a programme of events and opportunities for businesses of all types and sizes – shaped by business representatives in the City.

For details of all of the events taking place and how to book, visit www.investwolverhampton.com/bizweek.

Yesterday (Wednesday) City of Wolverhampton attended an event for the West Midlands Forum for Growth, held at the Vox Centre in Birmingham.

It was a one day conference bringing together public and private sector leaders to engage and discuss the key issues in driving the West Midlands economy forward. Wolverhampton joined with fellow Combined Authority Local Authorities, and their Chief Executives. Keith Ireland Wolverhampton’s Managing Director sat on one of the panel events to debate key issues around growing the region’s economy.

Addressing a full house, Mr Ireland discussed the opportunities and challenges and Wolverhampton’s collaborative approach to realising the potential of our City’s ambitions for the region.

The City of Wolverhampton presented on two major investment opportunities, the Interchange commercial quarter and the Canalside project. Both projects are a key part of Wolverhampton’s masterplan for the city and the event was an excellent platform to share our City’s ambitious plans to transform itself and enrich the lives of its citizens.

Councillor Phil Bateman said ” I didn’t attend the West Midlands Forum for Growth but I think it is immensely important that Wolverhampton takes a place on the top table for events like this.

I am particularly pleased that the City chose to highlight the economy and the Interchange Project and the Wolverhampton Canalside Quarter, as projects that are looking for private investors.

Today I attended the West Midlands Partnership of the Canal & River Trust in Sandwell, where I spoke about the importance that Local Authorities were placing on canals now. I spoke up about the potential that Local Authorities (including Wolverhampton) see in canals.

I told them about our own Canalside project,and I urged the partners in the room to take a look at the Black Country Core Study.

I urged The West Midlands Partnership and the CRT to play a full role in the current Black Country Study which was taking place. If canals and what they have to offer are to truly make an impact in the regeneration of our area. More has to be done to speak up about their potential, especially when it comes to regeneration and transport delivery.

Canals may have been around in excess of 200 years, but they are still very much an ingredient in developing a modern and welcoming environment for homes, business, and leisure!””

Sadly there is a report on the Ofsted site that informs that St Albans School has been declared as an Inadequate School by this Government body. The report relates to an Inspection that took place in June of this year.

Through the School Summer Holidays I have been taking residents concerned calls about a family of Foxes that have taken up residency in Woodend Primary School. I have been in touch with the City Council, and I am now in touch with the School.

There are issues surrounding the foxes, not just the damage that has been taking place to neighbouring gardens and property. But also to fears being expressed by residents with regards to the health and safety of their own pets.

The foxes appear to be in very poor health conditions, and this is also driving residents concerns.

I will keep everyone informed via my social media sites, as the effort to deal with this problem get underway.

Looking back over this last week, the information that i have placed on this page has reached 44,353 and has 8,175 engagements. It has been an emotional week with Raj Kumars funeral. Raj was a ray of sunshine on our shopping parade. I think it is true to say that I like many others were shocked and stunned when hearing the bad news. But even in death there have been surprises!

The turnout for the minutes silence on the 26th of August was huge, it was a gathering of hundreds, even thousands. The words of Rev Sam were indelible reminders of the life of Raj.

Then this week on Thursday the 31st of August 2017, we again witnessed the great community spirit, here on Ashmore Park when the funeral cortege turned into the Shopping Parade, to be met by another huge crowd who had come to make and wish their own goodbyes to Raj!

These have been amazing scenes of respect and community values.

The fact that the news and media have reported the events, in the way that they have on regional radio, in national newspapers, and through editions of our own Express and Star.

These media actions Informs us that what we have witnessed, (and many of us were part of both occasions!) have not really been seen before or lately. Certainly in the age we live in now, they haven’t been viewed before.

Our community’s actions became newsworthy because of an exceptional man, and an exceptional warm human being we had in Raj Kumar, and an equally exceptional community that has shown the strength it has and holds in the delivery of its own community values.

So with the passing of this week, full of emotion, full of thoughts and memories, we look inevitably at next week.

I know that there are many in our community, that wants to provide a long and lasting memory to Raj. I will through these pages report on the progress of those individuals who have spoken to me about what they feel is required to remember Raj by.

This ranges from raising money for a Defibrillator, through to providing a bench and a Plaque, and planting a memorial garden plus more!

Your Councillors Rita Potter, Mary and I have been at all the events, we have spoken to scores of you in our community about the out pouring of community love towards Raj Kumar and the values he displayed when serving our community through his hardware emporium!

We will of course work with our community, as we always do to ensure that whatever is chosen to become a memorial to Raj is achievable and deliverable.

So at the end of an emotional week, I do hope that you will have found the social media pages here helpful, and perhaps you could like them! And come back and visit them regularly. There is always lots of Wednesfield North and Community activities and information on them!