Unlocking the Potential of a Black Country Town

Visualisation of town centre

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The Black Country was one of the most heavily industrialised regions of Britain in the late 19th century and the "thirty foot seam" - the thickest seam of coal in Britain - provided the name for the area and the foundation of its economy. One of its towns is Willenhall, former home of the UK's lock industry, which has been in decline for a number of years, leaving many derelict sites around the historic town centre.

Walsall Council and Walsall Housing Group are working together to drive forward a regeneration programme to bring up to 3,000 new homes, employment opportunities, parks, schools and a new railway station to the town. LDA Design was appointed to produce an Area Action Plan (AAP), the first in the Walsall Local Development Framework (LDF), as the local planning system will be crucial in delivering the range of land use and infrastructure changes to realise Willenhall's ambitions. The AAP establishes and communicates a new vision for the town, which was developed with local stakeholders.

We have adopted a distinctive approach to the project that blends place-making with innovative delivery mechanisms to enable a step change in the town's future fortunes. Leading a team of specialists, we are helping to create the visions, using a focused evidence-base, and translating it into deliverable development and infrastructure proposals. At the same time we are providing an AAP that meets all the statutory requirements required as part of the planning system.

A number of consultation events have contributed to proposals for the town and outline options for housing and employment development, supported by transport, social and green infrastructure, have emerged as a result. The AAP will be submitted for examination in early 2010.