The New Invention and Short Heath Liberal Democrat Focus Teams have been busy again over the past week delivering Focus talking to residents and dealing with the issues that really matter to local residents.

We’ve already reported back to you on the issues of fly tipping, in particular on and around The Clay Hill on Allens Rough and the footpath leading through to the Wood Lane Estate off the Lichfield Rd.

On Saturday a Coppice Farm resident stopped for a chat about the play area in Coppice Farm Way opposite Hebden Grove, he’d been talking with a some of his neighbours who have young kids and was wondering if it would be possible to improve the play equipment for the younger age groups. Discussed this with Carol Fletcher and we will be looking at what might be able to be done through the Public Health budget.

The play area is not far away from the Lib Dem inspired Green Pathways Health Trail which takes in the Coppice Farm Neighbourhood Park. At one time it was feared that the new Labour administration in Walsall was going to axe this project altogether. In the end Labour had to have a re think thanks to a concerted campaign by the Lib Dem Focus Team. Even so Labour has reduced its effectiveness by slashing around £30,000 off the original budget for the project.

Sunday saw us discussing with a number of residents who live on the Broadway Estate the condition of the shopping precinct on Nottingham Drive. The issue here is that it’s in private ownership and to make matters worse it would appear that the buildings are owned by different people to the land around it. Gates were installed to prevent anti social behaviour at the back of the shops thanks to a grant from the Area Partnership. The state of the forecourt still remains a blot on the landscape!

Roads across New Invention are still a major source of complaint from residents and rightly so since Labour took control last August the Council seems to have reverted back to the ” chuck in a dollop of tarmac and jump up and down” method of repairs. The Lib Dem Focus Team will be reporting in further deterioration of roads on the Broadway Estate, Coppice Lane, Snowdon Way and the Wood Lane Estate. “Since Labour took over the running of Walsall Council last year work on repairing our roads has become a slow laborious process” said Carol. “There have a been a few successes like at the Kewstoke Rd/Druid Park Rd junction but in the main many schemes appear to be being held up awaiting the introduction of a new points system. A clear example of this is the much needed resurfacing of the road and footpaths in Sneyd Lane where Staffordshire has done the section within its responsibility whilst Walsall’s section continues to deteriorate” added Cllr Ian Shires.

One of the big issues in Short Heath has for a long time been the future of the Former Cavalcade Pub site along with the former Meadow House site. Consultation on plans for a new nursing home plus three pairs of semi detached houses on the latter doesn’t end till Wednesday, too late for the Planning Committee on Thursday. Our Short Heath Councillors Dan Barker and Doreen Shires have picked up on concerns about parking spilling over into nearby residential streets and have asked officers to look at ways of addressing this.

On the former Cavalcade pub site; it was hoped to get this to Thursday’s Planning meeting but concerns about parking and lack of amenity space means that it’s likely to go before the June Planning meeting. As always we will keep you in touch with progress.