Introducing your Wednesfield North Councillors from Left to Right Councillor Mary Bateman, Councillor Rita Potter, and Councillor Phil Bateman.
We want you to know that as Wednesfield North Councillors, we are working hard continually to help support and identify resources to provide valuable funding for all sorts of groups, and individuals, that are active in Wednesfield North.
As we go about Improving Wednesfield North and Wolverhampton – We want to be seen to help create the strong resilient and healthy communities that our own Wolverhampton City Council Plan 2019-2024 calls on us as a community to do. We have set out from day one, to assist residents and groups, as a way forward to improve our part of the City of Wolverhampton. We want to play our role in creating a green vibrant, Wednesfield North and a City that we can all be proud of.
Over the last three years, in progressing this policy, we have been active in helping to provide for a huge range of individuals volunteers, and community groups with actions and performances that have brought fun and happiness to our community.
Music, Fun, History and Cultural Events. Wednesfield North Councillors have contributed towards the Music and Culture in Wednesfield, by supporting in a modest way from our funding pot, the following events. The Wodenstock Festival of music and events held over a day in the Wednesfield Amphitheatre, this was amongst the first of our funding actions. The Lancaster War Memorial on the Lichfield Road, where we again made a financial contribution helping – Wednesfield History Society to deliver a memorial that remembered a Lancaster Bomber that crashed with loss of life here in Wednesfield during the Second World War. Wednesfield History Society, is a rigorous and energetic community action group, that supports the history of our Village. Educating how the name of Wednesfield came about, and how the Village has changed over the centuries. Without losing all its local character.
Our actions of support using our Ward Funds helps to retain, and explain the rich history our Village and our Ward of Wednesfield North has. Our funding support also helped the unique Saragari War Memorial be placed in Wednesfield. This is an important Military statue which helps to explain acts of bravery, by forces loyal to the British Army during the battles that were waged at the time in India under Empire. Our modest financial support, has helped to deliver an imposing art work that has international, national and local importance. It is for actions like these in a multi-cultural cohesive city that makes Wednesfield the welcoming place it is. We have been instrumental in the #Stuff4Steph Fundays held on Ashmore Park for Wednesfield people. Creating rides, stalls, exhibitions, music and supporting #ShopLocal events. Attended by over a thousand locals it has become an annual event.
Our Ward Funds also help the Wednesfield Canal Festival take place, again it’s a voluntary Festival, and it majors on our Industrial heritage, the 230-year-old canal, The Wyrley and Essington Canal. This Wednesfield Canal Festival has grown into the largest of its kind on canals in our City. More than 4,000 people turned up for the two-day event when it was last in action. There will be another Canal Festival on the 13 and 14th of August 2022 at Bentley Bridge. In which your Councillors are again heavily involved with.
We also made a contribution to add Christmas Lights on the Ashmore Park Shopping Parade., The #ShopLocal campaigns to deliver, and help retain these important local businesses and stores. Our actions in 2019 as Ward Councillors created the Wednesfield North Community Excellence Awards. It was a huge success so we repeated the action again in 2021. Where we identified and rewarded more than 50 individual persons and voluntary, community groups and organisations, who delivered good causes to individuals, programmes, community, and environmental activities. It was in 2021, the second of such events were held in The Ashmore Inn, helping to build a pride in the community which was extraordinary on the night. With the Mayor, and Mayoress attending along with the Leader of the City Council. It was an evening to be proud of. All the individuals and Groups honoured received a certificate charting their good deeds and the activity they performed in our community.
Infrastructure Development – Your Councillors have provided street furniture through the financing through our Ward Funds of environmental infrastructure developments like the Remembrance Day Bench -placed on The Ashmore Park. The Remembrance Day Bench- placed on the Green Open Space at Coppice Farm, and the Remembrance Day Bench in the front garden of The Hub on Ashmore Park.
We have also funded a Waste Rubbish Bin at Measham Way to help dog walkers, the Waste Rubbish Bin located near the Nicket on Kitchen Lane. Both popular walking routes for dog owners and the general public. We have also supported the Wednesfield in Bloom project supporting the volunteers in their planting and the purchase of the flowers. Wednesfield in Bloom has been a very important community event. It has brightened Wednesfield and Wednesfield North. As well as it contributed to the winning of the Heart of England Gold Medal in recent years, plus a community award for its work in bringing the Wednesfield Community together.
Your Councillors have also contributed to the ‘Litter Pick’ which was organised by the Ashmore Park Community Association and the St Albans Church on Ashmore Park. As part of an objective to improve the environment.
Education – Also we have supported our young people and their families so they can make the best possible start in life. During the period of time, we were faced with the Covid-19 Lockdown situation. We assisted our children and young people helping them to receive the tools they required to assist them in following their learning at home. We provided additional modest funds to all our schools in Wednesfield North which allowed the purchase of digital technology devices, allowing education to continue at home. We also have supported the local School Uniform Project which helps families cope with the high cost of school uniforms in Wednesfield. We achieved this via a project run by a voluntary group run by Sara Rutter.
Hands on Wednesfield Volunteers – As local Councillors we see all the success that our voluntary and community groups have, as they themselves deliver projects and proposals which enhances community values here in Wednesfield North. We have covered a range of support costs for Hands on Wednesfield including a contribution to Public Liability Insurance that (HOW) use to support for individual voluntary and community group events taking place in Wednesfield. We also were pleased to support the first digital Art Map recording and Locating Art that has been placed in and around our Village and surrounding areas.
Sport – We also have supported Wednesfield Aces Cycle Speedway with a modest financial contribution as they continue to offer young people sporting opportunity. They have been in existence for more than 60 years, and we have recognised their contribution to the locality by providing access for young people who want to get into this sport. Their international recognition in producing Champions at all levels (including veterans) and continued National recognition of Wednesfield in their sport. We also supported Wednesfield Aces 60th Diamond Jubilee celebrations
Building Community and family resilience – Is a key priority for our city, and in Wednesfield North that is very much a statement that underpins what we are trying to achieve. We have vibrant and multi- cultural community which we are trying hard to support and encourage. We have recently made a contribution to Methodist Homes Waterside Residents Amenity Fund. Which will enable them to develop their gardens as a place for residents and visitors a like to use, when visiting the Home. At the start of this new Municipal Year 2022 -2023 we have also entered into a unique partnership with Ashmore Park Community Association and Social Sanctuary with an agreement to have funded from our Wednesfield North Ward Funds a project that will see – Free summer holiday sessions for 11 – 16-year-olds delivered at The Hub with the Ashmore Park Community Association.
This is exciting to be partnering with the APCA and The Social Sanctuary Project to fund a series of free holiday activities for these young people this summer. We very much see this as your Ward Councillors, as a way to strengthen relationships with our residents. Developing this link with young people and their parents, will we hope be seen as an improvement for activity for young people here in Wednesfield North.
Summation – Finally, we are hoping to continue throughout the 2022-2023 Municipal Year to be innovative and continue to support our communities with a view to developing an even more cohesive set of solutions. As we face up to what looks like being a real difficult year for our local economy. Wednesfield has a thriving voluntary and community sector, and there are key individuals and groups. We want to support these leaders, that do much to provide many of our neighbourhoods with energy and drive.
As Wednesfield North Councillors we are dedicated to ensuring that we will seek to source and identify resources that will help in making sure that no part of our community is left without help. I hope that you will see from this information provided, that we have used the £30,000 we have had from Ward Funds over the last three years and distributed it in a balanced way across our Ward to date.
Councillors Mary Bateman Councillors Rita Potter Councillor Phil Bateman
