Yesterday, I had a great email from Lee Bragginton, leader of the First Walsall Wood Scout Group. I have a lot of time for the Scouts and the work they do with the youngsters, and this seems like a wonderful community project. I trust the local councillors – Dopey, Grumpy and Sleepy are onto this and helping. If not, they should be. Walsall Wood desperately needs this facility, and this would have been an ideal project for the regeneration money rather than the pile of rusting tat we seem to be blessed with currently.

Please help if you can, and do fill out the survey. Folk – especially the older generation – are always moaning about the kids. Lets do something for them for a change. The Walsall Wood Yoot are a decent bunch of kids, by and large and they don’t get much from the community. Let’s rectify that, eh?

Hi Bob

Firstly, thank you for doing such an interesting blog. I read it daily (and occasionally comment!), with continued interest and often surprise on the history of the area. While I only moved to the area in 1989 aged only 9, things have changed such a lot in this short space of time.

I was interested to note in one of your posts of your previous involvement with 2nd Brownhills Scouts. I can report that the Group is still going and operating from their HQ in Barnetts Lane.

As you will have perhaps gathered, I run the neighbouring Group in Walsall Wood, currently based at Shire Oak school (sorry Academy!). We are I believe a successful Group and have grown substantially in recent years.

The reason that I have e-mailed you is that while our neighbours in Brownhills have their own HQ, we have never been so fortunate. Therefore a few years ago, we embarked on a project to rectify this; proposing to build a community centre, both to provide our Group with a home and also to provide a venue for other community groups. While progress is slow, we are currently negotiating on some land and have some plans for a building drawn up.

As part of our project, we need to establish and hopefully demonstrate the demand for such a facility. To do this we have devised a community survey regarding facilities in Walsall Wood/Shire Oak.

I would therefore be grateful if you could publicise this survey to your readers in the hope that we can get an increased response to support our cause.

The survey can be found at www.walsallwoodscouts.org.uk/cccquest.html

Similarly, if any of your readers can help in any way we would be please to hear from them: ccc@walsallwoodscouts.org.uk

Thank you in advance for your support.

Regards,

Lee

Group Scout Leader

1st Walsall Wood Scout Group

www.walsallwoodscouts.org.uk