Wolverhampton City Council produced this action plan for Wednesfield, which is still being worked on after pressure from City Councillors last year. The plan is still a live document. But with the interest that is taking place in the Wednesfield economy, I thought it appropriate to publish on my web site the document that is acting as the base for the work taking place now within the City Council.
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Stronger City Economy
Scrutiny
21 November 2017
Report title Wednesfield – Local Economic Development and Growth
Corporate Plan outcome An environment where new and existing businesses thrive
Wards affected Wednesfield North; Wednesfield South;
Accountable Director Keren Jones, Service Director, City Economy
Originating service
Heather Clark,
Julia Cleary
Service Development Manager, Systems
and Scrutiny Manager
Tel Tel: 01902 555614, Tel: 01902 555046
Accountable employee
Email heather.clark2@wolverhampton.gov.uk,
julia.cleary@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Report to be/has been
considered by
Recommendation(s) for action or decision:
The Stronger City Economy Scrutiny Panel is asked to consider how can the Council help to
support the development and strengthening of the local economy in Wednesfield?
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1.0 Purpose
1.1 To provide an overview of the local economy in Wednesfield and ask the Stronger City
Economy Scrutiny Panel and witnesses to consider how the Council can help to support
the development and strengthening of the local economy in Wednesfield:
What is the vision for Wednesfield?
How can the Council work best in collaboration with partners and what information do Councillors hold to help with this process?
What do the witnesses invited, who work in partnership with the Council, believe can
be done to improve collaborative working?
How can the Council’s existing approach help with external partners plans and what
is missing to achieve the vision for Wednesfield?
2.0 Background – local economic development
2.1 Local Economic Development (LED) is an approach towards economic development
which allows and encourages local people to work together to achieve sustainable
economic growth and development thereby bringing economic benefits and improved
quality of life for all residents in a local municipal area.
2.2 The Centre for Local Economic Strategy (CLES) resilience model examined the
importance of all parts of the economy: the social; commercial; and public economies to
ensure an economy is resilient to external forces or change. The commercial economy is
often seen as the priority for economic development, but the resilience model
demonstrates that the public sector can have considerable influence on a locality through
procurement spend, planning and employment opportunities. Likewise, the social
economy does not regularly feature in economic development strategies but plays a
crucial role in providing the foundations for any healthy and effective economy both
directly through local employment, local supply chains, volunteering and social
enterprise, but also indirectly through development of social capital and promotion of civil
engagement and participative democracy.
2.3 Wednesfield is made up of two wards Wednesfield South and Wednesfield North. Both
wards have a population of 22,646 (census 2011). Outlined below are the key statistics
for Wednesfield. Economically active residents are those residents who are employed or
actively seeking employment. Economically inactive residents are not available for work
and include retired people, students, those looking after home or family and residents
who are long-term sick or disabled. Unemployed residents are those without a job but
who are available for work.
Economically Active: 75.9% of Wednesfield South population are economically
active, higher than Wolverhampton but lower than England and Wales.
Unemployment is also lower than Wolverhampton but higher than England and
Wales.
77.2% of Wednesfield North population are economically active above both
Wolverhampton and England and Wales. See Graph 1 Appendix 1. Unemployment
is also lower than Wolverhampton but higher than England and Wales.
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Economically Inactive: 24.1% of Wednesfield South population are economically
inactive, lower than Wolverhampton but higher than England and Wales.
Wednesfield South has a lower proportion of students but higher proportion of longterm
sick or disabled. 22.8% of Wednesfield North’s population are economically
inactive, lower than Wolverhampton and England and Wales. See Graph 2 Appendix
1. Wednesfield North has a lower proportion of students but higher proportion of
long-term sick or disabled.
In employment: Wednesfield has 9441 residents in employment, 943 of which are
self-employed. Wednesfield South has a higher proportion of residents in full time
employment than both Wolverhampton and England and Wales but a lower
proportion in part-time employment. In contrast, Wednesfield North has a lower
proportion of residents in full time employment than both Wolverhampton and
England and Wales but a higher proportion in part-time employment. See Graph 3
Appendix 1.
Employment tends to be concentrated in lower level occupations: the highest
proportion of Wednesfield South residents are in elementary occupations (15.6%)
followed by skilled trades at 14.1% and administrative & secretarial at 12.9%. These
proportions are higher than for Wolverhampton and England and Wales. Wednesfield
North has the highest proportion of residents working in skilled trades at 15.2%
followed by elementary occupations at 14.7% and administrative & secretarial at
12.5%.
Educational: Wednesfield High School is a specialist engineering academy and hub
school for Jaguar Landover through Business in the Community.
Low skills profile: Wednesfield South and North have a relatively low skills profile
with 24% and 23.8% respectively having no qualifications above Wolverhampton
(22.1%) and England and Wales (15%) and only 16.4% and 15.6% respectively
having Level 4 qualifications below Wolverhampton (21.7%) and England and Wales
(29.7%).
Claimant count in Wednesfield South and North at 3.4% and 3.1% respectively is
less than Wolverhampton and Black Country average (4.2%) but above GB average
(1.9%)
(Source: NOMIS 2011 ward labour market profile)
Sources of employment: Health is a very important employer in Wednesfield North
employing 47.8% of employees whereas in Wednesfield South, manufacturing is the
most important source of employment employing 20% of employees, followed by
retail at 14.6% and wholesale at 10.2%
Sector strengths: Wednesfield has 490 businesses, the majority (360) of which are
micro businesses (0-9) with the largest number of businesses in retail (55) followed
by construction (45), business and administration (45) and manufacturing (40).
Wednesfield has 110 small businesses (10-49), majority of which are manufacturing
(25), retail (20) followed by wholesale (15). Wednesfield has 20 medium sized
businesses, majority in manufacturing (10) followed by motor trade and transportation
& storage.
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(Business Register and Employment Survey NOMIS 2017)
3.0 Wednesfield Local Economic Development
3.1 Wednesfield’s economy is concentrated around Bentley Bridge, Wednesfield village
centre and the employment area to the south of the village which contains a number of
development opportunities including Pantheon Park and Bowmans Harbour. In addition,
New Cross Hospital on the boundary of Wednesfield is an important local employer.
Wednesfield has a self-contained village centre including a supermarket and post office.
The High Street hosts a High Street market organised by the Council and charity markets
where charity organisations are invited to have a stall to promote their charities. Bentley
Bridge Retail Park has undergone major expansion, which has attracted many national
retailers including Argos, TK Maxx, Costa Coffee, Boots and Next. The site also houses
many restaurants and leisure facilities which include a cinema, bowling alley, gym and
swimming pool.
3.2 Business Support: Businesses across Wolverhampton are supported through the
Growth Hub. Business navigators, funded by European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF), undertake reviews to identify business needs and broker support that will help
businesses grow. Navigators are currently working with a few companies in
Wednesfield, mainly in the Neachells Lane area, including Total Construction Supplies,
Pemberton Engineering, NDT Ltd.
3.3 City Development: the employment area to the south of the village centre is one of the
largest and better quality employment areas in the City and there are a number of
development opportunities available including Pantheon Park and Bowmans Harbour.
The City Development Team are progressing an Industrial Sites Strategy which seeks to
bring forward a portfolio of sites across the City including Wednesfield. Recently £3.7
million has been awarded from the West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA)
Collective Investment Fund to construct six units on the Steelpark Trading Estate worth
£6.2 million aimed at providing dozens of new jobs once construction is complete at the
end of 2017. Recent investments include GTG Training Academy (part of the Arnold
Clark Group) invested £10 million into a new West Midlands Regional Training Academy
in Wednesfield.
3.4 Skills and Employment: a range of support is available to local residents to get into
employment, education and training including Wolves at Work and European Social Fund
and Youth Employment Initiative funded Impact programme. Wolves@Work, a
partnership between the Council and DWP, provide support for Wednesfield residents
including a drop in at the Hope Centre. To date, 15 Wednesfield residents have been
supported by the Council’s work coaches. Impact, which supports young people
between 15 and 29 into education, employment and training deliver support from
Wednesfield Strengthening Families hub and a dedicated Impact Key Worker works with
Wolverhampton Homes tenants. Impact has supported 52 Wednesfield young people.
3.5 Local and Cultural Economy: Wednesfield have a strong network of community
voluntary organisations who are very proactive at organising events and activities that
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add vibrancy to Wednesfield. They aim to improve the economy by putting Wednesfield
on the map and increasing footfall of high street through events such as the Christmas
Lights switch on and Bentley Bridge via the canal festival. Wednesfield in Bloom also
aims to attract people to the village.
3.6 Hands On Wednesfield is a volunteer community group formed from the former
Wednesfield & Fallings Park Local Neighbourhood Partnership. The group organise local
community events and fundraise to improve the community cohesion and lives of the
local area. Events include:
1. Summer events
2. Christmas Lights event and Christmas Charity Market
3. Annual Christmas carol service
4. Wednesfield Canal Festival
5. Lich Avenue community garden project
The group also support all local initiatives such as the Wednesfield in Bloom entry, and
promote all the local organisations within the area via promoting and supporting their
events through social media and website links.
3.7 Wednesfield In Bloom Volunteer Committee bring together various organisations from
around Wednesfield to enter the England in Bloom initiative. They work together to raise
funds to support groups to put their project ideas into action. In September, Wednesfield
scooped a Gold Award in the Urban Community Category of the Heart of England in
Bloom awards. They receive lots of support from local organisations such as
Wolverhampton Homes and the Council. The Council’s involvement is through improving
the landscape and street furniture it is responsible for and removing graffiti to keep a
vibrant feel. The Council also contributed six four-tiered planters, and help with grass
cutting, street cleaning and painting street furniture. Their ambition for 2018 is to get best
in category.
3.8 The Christmas lights switch on are run by the Council’s events team who organise
activities such as Signal 107 and the Fairground. The local community organises a
charity market event and Christmas carol service which incorporates all the local school
children. Hands on Wednesfield are raising additional money for new lights on
lampposts, storage and installation. They are keen to work with Council to buy more
lights and columns and get businesses involved.
3.9 Wednesfield Canal Festival held at Bentley Bridge Moorings by the Nickelodeon pub is in
its third year. The festival sees a number of canal boats trading at the pop up market, an
extended live music line up and children’s activities and entertainment. The festival
resulted in an uplift in sales at Bentley Bridge from customers attending the canal festival
with footfall up 9.38% vs the same week in 2016 attribute approximately 4,300 visited the
site for the canal festival. Going forward, additional support is requested to publicise the
event through for example what’s on events.
3.10 The Council has recently secured European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) on
resources on behalf of a broader Black Country partnership to improve Wednesfield
canal as part of the proposed Local Nature Reserve (LNR). The LNR will cover the
length of the Wyrley and Essington canal, and adjoining land owned by the Council. The
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City Council is to enter into a collaboration agreement with the Canal and River Trust and
Walsall MBC to manage the LNR for at least 21 Years and to designate the LNR in
Wolverhampton as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC).
3.11 Wednesfield History Society was founded to keep history of Wednesfield alive including
celebrating the historic battle of Wodensfield. The group is chaired by local historian Ray
Fellows who has written several books on the history of Wednesfield. The founders of the
group have been involved in visiting Schools to deliver sessions on the history of
Wednesfield and held several events to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II visit to
Wednesfield and the Lancaster Bomber Crash. The group also hold historical day trips to
various locations linked to the history of Wednesfield. Recently the Group have been
involved in the renaming of Albion public house on Lichfield Road to The Lancaster is
remembrance of the Aircrew killed in the Lancaster Bomber crash of 1945, the group are
currently working towards a permanent memorial for the Aircrew.
3.12 Wednesfield have a range of other local statutory and community resources including:
Ashmore Park Hub is run by volunteers and supports the local community in holding fund
raising events and local family fun days for the local community. Volunteers manage the
community café which is a great asset to the local community. The Hub is managed by a
group of volunteers and hold regular committee meetings consisting of the Hub users
and groups who hire the rooms. This group is chaired by Anne Wood. The Hub have
recently won the 2017 Queens award for voluntary service.
Wednesfield Community Hub, run by a committee of volunteers, holds many community
fun days annually and hire out the community rooms to many local groups. They hold
regular committee meetings consisting off the Centre users and community
groups/organisations.
Long Knowle Community Hub, run by volunteers, hire out their rooms to many
community groups and hold annual community fun days for families. They hold regular
committee meetings consisting of Hub Users and community groups.
Wednesfield Rotary Group fund raise throughout the year and support local groups in
giving donations to improve their organisations. They also hold an annual Christmas
sleigh route around the Wednesfield Area and donate Christmas gifts to Children within
the area.
The GEM centre, situated in Neachells Lane, offers a set of specialist services for young
people of all abilities to support with mental health, emotional and psychological
difficulties
Wolverhampton Homes Office, Alfred Squire Road houses both the Housing Office and
the Head Start team.
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Police Station, Alfred Squire Road houses the Local Neighbourhood Police Team which
support the local community at local community days and hold regular PACT meetings
and visit local schools to deliver safety messages.
The Children Centre on Graiseley Lane have a nursery and family support teams working
from the Centre and offer a variety of support services.
3.13 In the past, the partnership developed the Wednesfield Art Trail, a community led public
art project encapsulating what the area means to local people. The trail comprises four
figures in cast iron, produced at a local foundry in Willenhall, on granite plinths distributed
around the green space in front of Wednesfield Community Hub – the Readers, the
Shoppers, the Bus Stop and the Market Stall. The fifth piece is a striking stainless steel
signpost with decorative arms called The Wayfinder which points out key locations in
Wednesfield including the community hub, canal and the Bentley Bridge retail park. The
Wednesfield Art Trail was delivered by the City of Wolverhampton Council and local
community group Hands On Wednesfield thanks to a grant of £35,000 from the owners of
the Bentley Bridge.
3.14 Challenges emerging from this report include:
Supporting Wednesfield businesses to grow and thrive;
Ensuring Wednesfield residents benefit from local jobs and opportunities;
Supporting Wednesfield key local employment areas including the High Street to prosper
and grow;
Supporting local groups to increase vibrancy of Wednesfield including promoting events
and encouraging local spend.
4.0 Financial implications
4.1 The report provides an update on the current Wednesfield economy, as yet there are no
further proposals and current financial obligations are stated, therefore there are no
financial implications arising directly from this report. [HM/26102017/X]
5.0 Legal implications
5.1 As there are no actual proposal yet, there are no specific legal implications arising from
this report. When proposals have been formulated, a new reflection as to legal
implications will be required. LW/26102017/A
6.0 Equalities implications
6.1 There are no equalities implications arising directly from this report.
7.0 Environmental implications
7.1 There are no environmental implications arising directly from this report.
8.0 Human resources implications
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8.1 None.
9.0 Risk implications
9.1 There are no risk implications.
10.0 Corporate landlord implications
10.1 There are no corporate landlord implications
11.0 Schedule of background papers
11.1
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Appendix 1: Key Partners and Stakeholders
Local businesses and employers
Bentley Bridge
High Street Retailers
Local businesses and developers – GTG
Employment and opportunity sites – Pantheon Park, Bowmans Harbour, Steelpark Trading
Estate etc
New Cross Hospital (as local employer)
Local community and voluntary organisations
Hands On Wednesfield
Wednesfield in Bloom
Wednesfield History Society
Support Agencies
Black Country Growth Hub and Chamber of Commerce
Wolverhampton Homes
City of Wolverhampton Council
City Economy – Enterprise, Wolves@work, Impact, City Development
Markets
Events
Environmental Services
Canal and River Trust
West Midlands Combined Authority Collective Investment Fund
Local community assets and facilities
Ashmore Park Hub
Wednesfield Community Hub
Long Knowle Community Hub
Wednesfield Rotary Group
GEM Centre
Wolverhampton Homes office including Headstart
Police station including Local Neighbourhood Police Team
Children Centre
Local schools
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Appendix2: Wednesfield Statistics
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