Ever since I invited the Secretary General of the Commonwealth to visit Wolverhampton when I was Mayor of the City. The date of that important visit by the then Commonwealth General Secretary, Mr Don McKinnon was the 3rd March 2006 . I believe, he was the first Commonwealth Secretary General to visit Wolverhampton whilst serving in Office.

I feel very warm towards the Commonwealth, its aims and the good work that the Commonwealth undertakes to improve the lives of children and communities across the World.

This years focus is very much on its 75th Anniversary, and the Commonwealth Service to be held in Westminster Abbey today.

Mary and I wish it well, as I am sure Wednesfield and the City of Wolverhampton does as well! Mayor Hardaker our current Mayor with Wolverhampton City Council will be raising the Commonwealth Flag over the City Centre this morning.

City of Wolverhampton Resilience Team has just issued a weather warning to Wolverhampton Councillors . They say
“Just a quick update on the current forecast. There is a Yellow Thunderstorm warning in place locally between 11:30 this morning until 19:00 tonight. Please see below a snapshot from the latest update from our Regional Met Office advisor (received today, 11 May):
“It is going to be another showery day across the West Midlands with clouds building and a scattering of heavy showers and thunderstorms breaking out during the late morning into the afternoon and first part of the evening. In the drier, sunny interludes it will feel pleasantly warm with temperatures reaching 16 or 17 Celsius, but considerably cooler if caught out in some of the heavy downpours. Winds will be light and so some of the showers will be slow moving and last some time.

This is likely to lead to some surface water issues with some local flooding in places. There is also the risk of hail and some lightning strikes with more eastern counties most at risk (Staffordshire, Warwickshire). Some of these showers will be slow-moving and 10 to 20 mm of rain is likely to fall in less than an hour in some places whilst a few spots could see as much as 20 to 50 mm of rain in 2 or 3 hours. Showers fading away during the evening and fewer showers on Friday but a breezier day.
Potential Impacts:
 There is a good chance driving conditions will be affected by spray, standing water and/or hail, leading to longer journey times by car and bus
 Delays to train services are possible
 Perhaps damage to a few buildings and structures from lightning strikes
 Some flooding of a few homes and businesses likely, leading to some damage to buildings or structures
 Some short term loss of power and other services is likely
 Probably some damage to a few buildings and structures from lightning strikes“
Councillor Phil Bateman added ” Please Wednesfield take care and prepare for the Thunderstorms if you live in an area that is prone to flooding.”

The situation has a possibility to change, so please visit: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings for the most up-to-date information on weather warnings and please visit https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/warnings to view the latest on any Environment Agency flood alerts or warnings (there is also an option on this page to sign up directly for the free flood warning notification service).

Good Morning Wednesfield – Wednesday 10th May 2023. Councillor Phil Bateman said “This seems to be a story that will shock many, and has huge implications for the whole Country. It is a surprise to me that this Tory Government and its Ministers have allowed such a key department and its service, to fall so far behind modernising their approaches, when there is so many global challenges to our health and food protection.
Following a weekend of flash floods here in the Midlands, it doesn’t fill you with confidence to read a report which is so dismantling in the key areas of policy you want your Government to be confidently addressing!”
‘Complete overhaul’ needed at Defra
The House of Commons public accounts committee has called for a “complete overhaul” of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), issuing a damning report after hearing that the department is still using paper forms to handle around 14m transactions a year, is relying on “outdated” IT systems in areas like flood protection, and is struggling to recruit staff and obtain funding for a £726m modernisation programme.
Committee deputy chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said: “We are facing down rapidly spreading animal diseases, maybe the next pandemic, with systems that may rely on moving paper forms around. This cannot continue.”
This story is reported in these two newspapers.- Financial Times I Yorkshire Post

https://www.police.uk/west-midlands/WV008/crime/stats/

This is the latest crime figures as compiled by the Home Office for Wednesfield.

This is just a reminder that it isnt just the seven Cornfields near Sedgley that are facing a battle to save the Green Belt. We will also be pitched into a similar battle. It is anticipated that South Staffs will publish a document in Mid October 2019 which will uncover more information on this issue which we broke to the public originally back

We are fighting for your Green Belt! This will be a battle – It will be a tough one to win!

This Wolverhampton City Council election on Thursday 3^rd May 2018, is very much about having strong representation here in Wednesfield North. We want you the Voter to be able to rely on the strongest team and the strongest representation there is.

Wednesfield North Labour Party were the first to break this story about how 2,500 homes are being made ready to be constructed on Green Belt land locally, and we are pleased that we did!

It wasn’t the Councils of South Staffordshire District Council, Essington Parish Council, or even Staffordshire County Council that told the public about these proposals first. It wasn’t the Express and Star, or the Local Radio stations that told the public about the enormous interest the developers were showing in this Green Belt Land!

It was Wednesfield North Labour Party and it’s Councillors who were vigilant and found the information buried deep in a regional report. It was our team that went public, and told you. It was twenty four hours before the Government confirmed their plans on housing in the House of Commons!

We have made our opposition to the proposals for the construction of 2,500 homes a major part of Wednesfield North Labour Party’s Local Election Campaign, in the run up to the City Council elections on the 3^rd May 2018

The proposals that will go to South Staffordshire District Council to build 2,500 homes on this agricultural land within the Essington Green Belt is strongly opposed by all three of Wednesfield North’s City Councillors.

Councillor Mary Bateman has been telling residents on the doorstep and in her election literature “SpeakingUp4WednesfieldNorth” that has been distributed to homes right across Wednesfield North that – “We will strongly object against the loss of Green Belt and the loss of any further agricultural land, North of Linthouse Lane and Kitchen Lane.

We will strongly object to the reduction of these Green Field sites.”

Your City Councillors have spoken with Officials at Wolverhampton City Council and the information is becoming clearer by the day. The key to the development is what South Staffordshire District Council does with their Local Plan Review.

It will be down to South Staffordshire who will make the initial decision probably in this Autumn on how they designate their land.

Wednesfield North Labour Councillors are already collating information that will need to be used to argue against these proposals. The homes may be constructed on South Staffordshire land. But we suspect that the infrastructure for its delivery in terms of highway capacity, beefing up local road networks will be off our own Local road network here in Wednesfield. We suspect that the extra homes will add to the problems we have here in Wednesfield around health delivery, education, and where we look to replace the valuable amenity that we lose under bricks,tarmac and mortar.

Halting or ameliorating proposals will revolve  around how we oppose the proposals. Your Labour City Councillors are already making their own plans to defend the Green Belt.

We recognise how valuable the current site earmarked for construction is for wildlife, how rich and diverse the site is in flora and fauna and what significant heritage and historic interest would be lost if the site was designated for construction. Your Councillors have already contacted South Staffordshire politicians to seek and meet with them to understand where they stand. We have opened up lines of communication with interested local naturalists to see what help with their expertise that they can bring.

There is a lot yet to find out about the process, and how elected members and the general public will have their say, and how that say is then reflected in decisions.

Your Wednesfield North Councillors are already looking closely at the Authorities time table

• South Staffordshire District Council start a Review of their Local Plan in the Autumn of 2018
• Followed by a decision of that Council in 2020 of next year
• Proposal then for an issues and options stage in 2021.

Wednesfield North Councillors also set an on-line survey and the information that was returned is very valuable.

• 257 people responded to the survey on this housing announcement.
• 143 persons who responded were from Wednesfield North – and the next largest cohort of responders were from South Staffordshire.
  
• 143 who responded were from Wednesfield North Ward. That is 56% of the Poll. Of all the responses received, irrespective of whether they came from, Wednesfield North or South Staffordshire –
• 95.7% said the Greenbelt was important.
• 91% or 236 people either living in Wednesfield or Essington didn’t think the proposals were a good development for either Wednesfield or Essington.
• 60% of those surveyed believed that local people needed homes. But the info suggested that it should not be at the loss of this Greenbelt!
• 89% or 231 of the people responding to the survey agreed that the site being earmarked for housing is rich in Wildlife and Heritage. They agreed that the Housing Development should not take preference over this important Green Belt.

We will be using this information on what your views are in our campaign going forward.

Wednesfield North residents have a simple task to make now.

A Vote for Mary Bateman Labour at the City Council elections will be a very strong indicator of what you – the Wednesfield residents want!

Voting for Mary Bateman Labour will keep our team intact as we go into battle with the planning authorities in the Autumn.

Voting for Mary Bateman Labour will signal that the residents of Wednesfield North are fully behind us in this battle.

I know that the residents of Wednesfield North recognise that together we are a very strong team. We are not just here at election times, we are here the year around. None of the other candidates have either the experience or the public awareness required to win this argument.

My plea is that you use your vote on Thursday to return Mary as your Councillor for another term! That will be a significant move that can only help our cause, and help you in the battle to save our Green Belt.

Vote Mary Bateman Labour – Thursday 3^rd May Wolverhampton City Council Election.