Levelling Up Partnership: more regeneration and opportunities on the way for Sandwell

2nd October 2023

Sandwell Council and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have agreed the programme to be delivered as part of their Levelling Up Partnership.

The Levelling Up Partnership will focus on the Wednesbury area of Sandwell. It will build on regeneration and plans already in place and add £20m in new funding to deliver ambitious projects for the community.

Sandwell Council is one of the first local authorities in the country to have a Levelling Up Partnership. This follows on from Sandwell gaining over £107m investment from funds including the Towns Fund and the Levelling Up Fund.

The partnership will help Sandwell Council to deliver much-needed new homes, help tackle crime and antisocial behaviour, improve green spaces and Wednesbury town centre, and expand the Millennium Centre in Friar Park so that more can be done to give people the skills they need to secure better jobs.

‘Lift up our communities’

Councillor Kerrie Carmichael, Leader of Sandwell Council, said: “We want everyone to be able to live well in Sandwell. That means providing the best education and training, creating opportunities to get a good job so everyone can achieve their potential, and to have good health from childhood into old age.

“We know our community in Sandwell and have hugely ambitious plans to help achieve this.

“Our new world-class community leisure facility, the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, shows what we can do, and that is just one of 66 projects in our pipeline to create these opportunities and lift up our communities.

“We welcome this investment in Wednesbury, and have worked positively with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to make the most of this funding in a way that complements our approach.

“We take this further investment from the government as a real endorsement on our track record to deliver improvements for our residents and I’m really positive about the future for Sandwell.”

Give your voice and insight

Sandwell Council is forming a Wednesbury Levelling up Partnership Board (WLUP Board). It will oversee the delivery of this £20m investment in Wednesbury over two years. The WLUP Board will ensure communities’ voices are involved in shaping design and decision making. Would you like to be involved? Read about the board positions available and submit your expression of interest by Wednesday 11 October.

Pictured left to right at Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery on the day of the agreement:
Chris Hinson, independent Sandwell Business Ambassador; Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands; Rt Hon Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Councillor Kerrie Carmichael, Leader of Sandwell Council and Councillor Peter Hughes, Cabinet Member for Sandwell Council – Regeneration and West Midlands Combined Authority.