Pride in Sandwell: Community Investment
Stronger Together: How Labour-Led Sandwell is Rebuilding Community from the Neighbourhood Up
Sandwell’s six towns have always been places where people look out for each other. But looking out for your neighbours takes more than goodwill — it takes investment in the institutions, services, and public spaces that make collective life possible. Over the past two years, Sandwell’s Labour-led council has put that investment where it counts.
A transformed council putting neighbourhoods first
In January 2026, an independent Local Government Association peer review team — speaking to more than 200 council officers, residents, businesses, and partner representatives — found that Sandwell Council has undergone a “remarkable and profound transformation”. The council, the review found, has “evolved into a fundamentally different council — one that partners, staff, and members now consistently describe as rejuvenated, functional, and ambitious.” Central to this is a new neighbourhoods model designed to better connect services to residents in each of the six towns
This is not rhetoric. It is the verdict of independent, professional reviewers with no political stake in the outcome.
New homes and a new community for Wednesbury
In Wednesbury, Labour-led Sandwell is helping turn one of the West Midlands’ largest brownfield sites into a new 600-home community. The Friar Park Urban Village scheme will include at least 25% affordable homes on land that has been undeveloped for more than 40 years. As Cllr Peter Hughes said, this is “another step forward in our ambitious plans to regenerate Sandwell” — delivering “more jobs, homes, green space and infrastructure” for residents (Source: sandwell.gov.uk news).
The project is about more than housebuilding. It is about creating, in Cllr Hughes’ words, “a real asset to the Borough” that “improves quality of life” — with Sandwell Council, the WMCA, Keepmoat and local residents working together to build a thriving new community in Wednesbury (Source: Express and Star).
Community safety: a shared responsibility, properly resourced
Residents have consistently told the council that anti-social behaviour affects how safe and connected they feel in their neighbourhoods. Labour heard that — and acted. The council is investing over £1 million in a strengthened borough-wide anti-social behaviour service, more than doubling dedicated officers from 17 to 39. The new service operates as a single point of contact, with end-to-end case management, a restorative approach focused on repairing community relationships, and a direct commitment that no community is left behind.
Alongside this, £1.5 million in CCTV investment across Wednesbury and West Bromwich is already underway, and the 2026/27 budget approved 62 new CCTV cameras borough-wide.
Protecting shared space: fly-tipping, recycling, and neighbourhood pride
The majority of Sandwell residents recycle responsibly and take pride in their neighbourhoods. The council is backing that majority with 34 new pop-up recycling hubs, expanded Recycling Support Officers for face-to-face help, and a dedicated fly-tipping enforcement team issuing £1,000 fixed penalty notices. Since October 2025, 20 fixed penalty notices totalling £12,200 have been issued and six cases are pending prosecution. This is enforcement shaped around fairness: protecting the many by holding the few to account.
£3.5 million for roads your community actually uses
In 2025, the council opened a Community Road Safety Concern Programme after 57 sites across the six towns were nominated by residents, councillors, and MPs. Of these, 44 sites were assessed and prioritised for delivery — with additional funding secured through developer contributions and the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement to expand the programme beyond what was originally planned. The total investment: £3.5 million. The principle: if your community has raised a concern, it deserves a proper answer.
Regeneration built on community voices
In Smethwick, the council and the Smethwick Partnership Board — working directly with residents, businesses, and community groups — submitted a 10-Year Regeneration Plan and 4-Year Investment Plan to government in December 2025, backed by up to £20 million through the Plan for Neighbourhoods programme. The priorities came directly from community engagement: regeneration, community cohesion, health and wellbeing, safety, and education. This is what it looks like when a council builds with communities, not just for them.
A balanced budget — not in spite of these investments, but because of them
The 2026/27 budget of £464 million is balanced. Sandwell’s average household pays the lowest Council Tax in the West Midlands. Two thirds of spending goes directly to adult social care, children’s services, and education. The difficult decisions — on trade-offs and priorities — have been made transparently, with a consultation engaging 2,500 residents. This is responsible collective governance: making hard choices openly, protecting the services that bind communities together, and keeping public finances sound.
Sandwell’s Labour council does not govern for a favoured few. It governs for all residents — and the record shows it.