Proposals to curb the consumption of alcohol in public across the Town Centre are out for consultation today (1st February 2012).

The proposal to introduce a so-called "Designated Public Place Order" is designed to give the Police powers to confiscate alcohol being consumed in public if they believe that consumption is linked to anti-social behaviour.

The council’s Cabinet gave their backing to the plans last month and the proposals are now subject to a month-long period of public consultation which begins today (Wednesday February 1, 2012).

If introduced the order would restrict the drinking of alcohol in public within a wide area of the town centre bounded by Mountford Lane car park, Oxford Street, God’s Acre, Walsall Street car park, Batchcroft car park, Smith Street, part of Hartshorn Street, Thompson Street, Coseley Road, Prosser Street, Nettlefolds Way, Bankfield Road, the Black Country Route, Fraser Street and Bow Street.

Please download a copy of the plan showing the proposed area from the downloads page

Though the order does not on its own prevent people from drinking alcohol in public – and does not therefore create an “alcohol free zone” – but it does give police the powers to stop a person drinking or confiscate their alcohol because of their associated behaviour.

Incidents of anti-social behaviour linked to alcohol consumption have been rising steadily within Bilston town centre recently and tackling it has been made a priority of the police, the Town Centre Traders’ Forum and members of Pubwatch.

Traders, ward members and Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden attended a public meeting last year which unanimously supported the introduction of a Designated Public Place Order across the town centre.

Councillor Peter Bilson, Wolverhampton City Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration and Prosperity, said: “There has been overwhelming support for this move from residents, businesses and the wider community and I am sure it will prove very useful in helping the police to tackle any incidents of anti-social behaviour within the centre of Bilston.”

A copy of the proposed order can be viewed at the Civic Centre, St Peter’s Square, Wolverhampton, and on the city council's website at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk until March 1, 2012. Representations must be made in writing within 28 days and addressed to: Wolverhampton City Council, Civic Centre, St Peter’s Square, Wolverhampton WV1 1RG.

If there are no objections to the proposal, the Designated Public Place Order should be introduced in the next few months.

Bilston Town scoops a Silver Gilt Award - September 2011

Bilston is today celebrating a silver gilt award for it’s Heart of England in Bloom entry known as “Bilston in Bloom.”

Last year’s first entry in the competition saw a creditable silver award, so this year’s award reflects the positive on-going success and commitment to the town.

Judges commented: ’walking through Bilston it was good to see a very busy and vibrant town Centre with very few empty shops and a large number of shoppers’. The local ‘in Bloom’ team, comprising of representatives including the Town Centre Manager, Local Neighbourhood Partnerships, Heantun Housing and the local community, in only their second year of entering has gone from strength to strength.

This year the campaign was supported by Town centre traders and the local Pubwatch scheme. Raj Radhawa Chair of the Traders Forum commented: ‘this improved award shows that even in a time of economic decline Bilston is a vibrant town supported by involved and proud local communities. This is a wonderful achievement for the town!’.

Pictured from left to right: Back Row left to right: Cheryl Welsh Town Centre Manager, Mayor of Wolverhampton Cllr. Bert Turner, Mayoress Cath Turner, Brenda Drew – Heantun Housing. Bottom Row left to right: John Goalby Wolverhampton City Council, Karan Douglas Project Officer. For more information please call: Cheryl Welsh on 01902 571163 or John Goalby on 01902 551760

DECEMBER 2010 - AREA ACTION PLAN - ISSUES PAPER

The Bilston Corridor Area Action Plan forms part of the Black Country Core Strategy and will guide the transformation of the Bilston Corridor. It will identify the location of new development in the area and help make decisions on planning applications. It will also influence decisions about transport, community facilities and jobs.

Bilston Corridor, including Bilston Urban Village, is one of the main regeneration areas in Wolverhampton.

The Issues Paper identifies a range of key objectives and ways to achieve them. Some of the key issues include:

~ Improving and attracting further investment to Bilston Town Centre

~ Delivering 4,300 high quality new homes - the largest area of housing growth in the City.

~ Enhancing economic development potential - protecting and improving 282 hectares of employment land.

~ Creating an attractive environment with new green infrastructure and high quality locally distinctive design.

~ Overcoming the challenges of improving transport and accessibility.

~ Providing the right infrastructure and services to serve new and existing communities

~ Addressing and adapting to the effects of Climate Change.

~ Demonstrating how development will be phased and delivered.

The plan below shows some of the changes which are proposed. These include a significant shift from poor quality employment land to residential over the plan period.

The Issues Paper also identifies over 40 questions and invites responses on them. They are grouped within so-called \"Directions of Change\" which are:

Strengthening Bilston Town Centre (Direction of Change 1)

Bilston Town Centre lies at the heart of the AAP area and provides a range of retail, office, community and leisure facilities. The Black Country Centres Study (2009) concluded that Bilston is an attractive centre with a good quality retail and service offer which is performing well. It is the only shopping centre in the AAP area and is one of two town centres (the other being Wednesfield) designated in Wolverhampton through the Unitary Development Plan (UDP)and the Core Strategy.

The adopted UDP contains objectives, policies and proposals for Bilston Town Centre, many of which are still relevant.Bilston is identified as an \"important town centre at the core of strong local communities\". Opportunities are identified to extend the local catchment to cover south east Wolverhampton and nearby residential areas in Walsall and Sandwell. This would require a strengthening of the primary shopping area, a diversified range of activities and an uplift in environmental quality.

At present, there is significant capacity for extra convenience retail floorspace (providing everyday items such as food) in the Bilston catchment area over the Plan period. This could be met by extensions to existing facilities and/or by new food store provision.

There are a number of surface car parks in and around Bilston Town Centre, providing over 1300 spaces. There may be scope for remodelling some of these car parks to assist in regeneration and help create better pedestrian links.

Key questions in this section include:

Should the UDP character area and unimplemented policies for Bilston Town Centre be taken forward into the AAP?

Do you think that the Bilston Town Centre boundary, shown on the map below, should be amended or extended in any way.

How could the shopping and service facilities provided by Bilston Town Centre be improved? Should the AAP identify potential locations for extra convenience retail floorspace, that is, a new supermarket?

Should the AAP look at alternative use of car parking areas in and around Bilston Town Centre?

Climate Change (Direction of Change 2)

It is required by the Planning Act 2008 that all Development Plan Documents (including AAPs) include policies which contribute to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change. This means the development of policies and proposals which minimise carbon emissions and so help to slow down the rate and level of future climate change (mitigation), and to ensure that development is resilient to unavoidable climate change which is \"locked in\" due to past emissions (adaptation).

Mitigation

The UK Government is committed to an 80 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and a 26% reduction by 2020, compared to 1990 levels.

A key role for the AAP will be to support these commitments by realising opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas and C02 emissions. For example, emissions from transport could be reduced through the location and design of new development that seeks to reduce the need to travel by car, and encourages walking, cycling and public transport. Improvements to the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings could also make a significant contribution.

Such measures will need to be supported by policy requirements that include targets for renewable energy provision and minimum design standards for new development, such as the Code for Sustainable Homes.

The Core Strategy may set minimum targets that need to be met, for example, providing a certain percentage of renewable energy as part of new development. However, the AAP offers the opportunity to set more detailed, local targets for assessment through the Sustainable Planning Checklist.

So, one of the key questions relating to climate change mitigation is: What level of guidance should the AAP provide on climate change mitigation? For example, should the AAP set local targets for assessment through the Sustainable Planning Checklist ? Are certain sites identified on the map above suitable for particular types of renewable energy such as combined heat and power (CHP) to serve large developments?

Adaptation

The AAP will play a key role in determining how successfully the area adapts to the effects of climate change up to 2026 and beyond. In Wolverhampton, these effects are likely to include:

~ increased wind speeds and an increase in storm events

~ average temperature increase of 1-2.5 degrees celsius

~ drier and warmer summers

~ wetter and warmer winters

~ drier soils in summer and higher soil moisture levels in winter, increasing the probability of flooding.

Bilston Urban Village was used as a case study looking at resilience to climate change adaptation and the report is available on a CD. Please contact simon.lucas@wolverhampton.gov.ukif you would like a copy.

more to follow...

Bilston in Bloom

Bilston has achieved a "Silver" award in its first entry into the Heart of England in Bloom national campaign.

The judges commented:

“Bilston will blossom again!” this was the message conveyed in a short but attention grabbing introductory film for this entry into the “bloom” campaign. Cheryl Welsh, Town Centre Manager has harnessed the enthusiasm and energy of all members of the Local Neighbourhood Partnership(LNP) to produce an urban area which reflects the pride taken by Bilstonians in their local surroundings. The once derelict parks and church grounds have been transformed into popular public venues, enhanced by beautiful flowers, herbs and shrubs. Bilston has definitely blossomed again!

Areas of achievement:

• Bilston Methodist Church ground and conservation of native trees • The imaginative plastic trugs planted by local children around the church building • The traffic island beds well maintained and planted in a colourful attractive way, one with a piece of artwork created by Villiers Primary School • The creation of a wild meadow in Hickman Park • The Wildlife Trust working with local children in the Methodist Church ground • Clean streets virtually free of litter and graffiti • The prominent involvement of those with mental health problems, learning difficulties and those people unemployed in the “Bloom” project • The inclusion and encouragement of all the LNP members to do positive things for the project

Click on the video below to see the introductory film.

More images of the new Bilston Police Station

The new Police Station in Bilston is now nearing completion as these photographs, taken in August 2010, show. More details of the opening date and how the building will operate will be posted here in due course.

July 2010 Decision taken on car park changes

The council has moved to assure businesses and residents in Bilston that it will not introduce waiting restrictions on car parks in the town.

Having received an initial petition regarding problems of people parking all day and then using the Metro to travel to Birmingham, the authority undertook a consultation exercise into re-designating car parks in Bilston.

The proposal would have seen waiting restrictions introduced on selected car parks to protect the interests of people using Bilston Town Centre.

But having listened to the views of local people and businesses through the consultation exercise, the authority has opted not to re-designate any car parks in Bilston.

Councillor Barry Findlay, Cabinet member for Environment, said: “Not surprisingly the consultation exercise has initiated considerable opposition from local people and business to any re-designation of parking in Bilston.

“Having listened to all views, it has been decided that there should be no re-designation of car parks in Bilston and that on the completion of the Police Station development that the council will review again the use of the Oxford Street car park in relation to the Walsall Street, Piper’s Meadow and Hall Street car parks.

“The purpose being to understand if these car parks could be used in a different way to address the concerns about long stay parking registered in the earlier petition from the Church Street traders.

“But no changes will be made to any car parks in Bilston without the full consultation of all interested parties and a consensus is reached.”

New Bilston Police Station

As the photograph shows, the new Police Station will soon be a prominent building within the Town Centre. Designed to bridge the difference in levels which occur on the site, from Hall Street the Station will appear as a two storey building accessed across the "drawbridge" which is visible on the photograph - perhaps an echo of the moat built around the original Police Station in Mount Pleasant?

Consultation on proposed changes to Bilston car parks

Motorists, shoppers and residents are being invited to have their say about changes to car parking in Bilston.

Wolverhampton City Council wants to increase the number of spaces available to visitors throughout the day by making its car parks in Bilston either short or long stay. At present, there are no time limits at the nine city council-run car parks in the town.

The proposals will see the 536 spaces available at Pinfold Street, Batchcroft, Oxford Street, Hall Street, Pipes Meadow and Walsall Street designated as short stay with a three-hour time limit.

The 114 spaces at Mountford Lane, Bow Street and Short Street will be designated long stay for those who need to park for more than three hours.

Councillor Paddy Bradley, Wolverhampton City Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Enterprise, said: “We want to improve Bilston as a destination for shoppers and visitors and with major investment planned through the Bilston Urban Village including a leisure centre and Academy, the regeneration of The Orchard and the new High Street Link, we expect more and more people will come to the town.

“We have carried out parking surveys and we believe that the existing provision in Bilston could be used more efficiently.

“By providing dedicated short stay car parks we will be able to increase the number of spaces available to visitors throughout the day, encouraging more people to visit more often.”

People can discuss the proposals with officers at a special consultation event in Church Street, Bilston, on Thursday, 27 May, between 7.30am and 5pm.

They can also comment by calling Cheryl Welsh on 01902 571165, emailing cheryl.welsh@heantun.co.uk or filling in the form on the \"Your Views\" tab on this website. The closing date for comments is Friday, 11 June.

If approved, new car parking arrangements could be introduced later this year.

Please click here to download the consultation leaflet which gives more details including a map of the proposed changes.