What was the problem?
The area known as the Black Country includes encompasses the three Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and the City of Wolverhampton. By the end of the 19th century it was one of the most intensely industrialised areas in the UK, with coal, iron and steel as its primary industries. By the late 1960s all mining had ceased, and the region entered into a period of severe decline. The area now suffers from widescale unemployment, and some of the most economically deprived communities in the UK.
The Black Country Consortium was formed in 1999, with a view to spear-heading the regeneration of the Black Country over the next 30 years. Its members include Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, Sandwell Council, Walsall Council, Wolverhampton City Council, Black Country Business Link and the Black Country Learning and Skills Council.
Reversing the trend for economic and social decline
The Consortium came up with a vision for the regeneration, and named it ‘Urban Park’. It’s implementation is intended to transform the Black Country into a place where people will choose to live, work and invest. However, the scale of the challenge facing the Black Country is not insignificant.
Urban Park comprises plans for environmental, economic and community transformation and is the subject of a Big Lottery bid, known as the ‘People’s Millions’. Skilled work is required to navigate a large web of relationships and partnerships, including up to four local authorities and their private and voluntary sector partners.
RegenWM, the Regional Centre of Excellence in Regeneration, worked with the Black Country Consortium and the Academy for Sustainable Communities to provide a generic skills development programme designed to help introduce practical approaches to working effectively in partnerships.
What action was taken?
The Learning Lab began with a launch event for all partners, sponsors and participants and culminated in a Black Country Masterclass on taking the Urban Park vision forward.
Inbetween these two events, action learning sets allowed project partners to get under the skin of issues such as partnership working, roles and responsibilities, and problem solving around community involvement. Work was also done on winning the Big Lottery bid. Personal development was tackled in the action learning sets, as well as in one-to-one coaching sessions.
Topics associated with this project
Environmental, Partnership working, Regeneration, Skills, West Midlands