Sandwell: Where wildlife fends for itself
For decades, Sandwell has lived under a political dynasty [Labour - Ed] that prides itself on “stability,” “continuity,” and “looking after our communities.” In reality, what we’ve experienced is something far less poetic: managed decline, administered slowly, consistently, and with surprising commitment.
Environmental governance, the care of our parks, pools, wildlife and green spaces, is one area where this long-term complacency now shows most clearly. Despite repeated promises, consultations and strategy launches, the basic building blocks of environmental stewardship simply aren’t working.
Below is a clear, honest, and slightly satirical look at the reality.
A Partnership Agreement That Partnered With No One
In 2022, Sandwell Council unveiled a fresh partnership model with Friends Groups. It promised:
Quarterly meetings
Transparency
Joint planning
Published minutes
Recognition of volunteers.
In practice, the last recorded meeting was March 2024. Since then, the Council has adopted a bold new strategy: complete silence.
Meetings are essential for coordination, volunteer support and environmental planning. Yet they appear to have vanished into the same void that has swallowed many other Council promises over the years. Some might call it “strategic engagement.” Others might call it “ignoring the people who do the actual work.” The truth is likely somewhere in-between.
Wildlife Welfare: A System Built On Hope and Very Little Else
Wildlife across Sandwell’s parks and pools has had to toughen up. Recent examples include:
Broken aerators at West Smethwick Park left untouched for long periods
Food shortages across several pools, repeatedly reported by volunteers
A complete absence of ecological monitoring
The Stoney Lane pollution incident, exposing a multi-agency response so chaotic it could have been scripted.
Wildlife welfare shouldn’t rely on luck or volunteer intervention. Yet here, it seems to depend on whether nature can endure long enough for the next maintenance round.
Water Body Governance: A Policy That Doesn’t Exist
For a Borough with numerous pools, ponds, wetlands and watercourses, one might expect a robust Water Body Management Policy. There isn’t one. And without it, Sandwell has:
No routine water quality schedule
No published water testing results
No clear maintenance framework
No strategic plan for habitats or biodiversity.
The Water Bodies Team, supposedly responsible for these areas, has all the visibility of a rare nocturnal species: occasionally mentioned, rarely sighted, and almost never documented!
Angling Rules from 2003: A Time Capsule of Governance
The last known Angling Policy dates back to 2003, the era of Nokia phones and dial-up internet.
In the twenty years since:
Visitor numbers have risen
Wildlife pressures have increased
Angling has expanded
Habitat needs have changed.
Yet Sandwell’s approach remains suspended in time, preserved like a historical curiosity. Modernisation is long overdue.
Pollution Response: Slow, Opaque and Consistently Underwhelming
When pollution occurs, residents expect swift action, clear communication, and transparency.
Instead, Sandwell’s usual sequence is:
1. Slow response
2. Minimal communication
3. No published water quality results
4. No explanations
5. No enforcement against responsible bodies.
It’s remarkable how consistently this pattern repeats.
Enforcement and Oversight: Missing in Action
Environmental Protection Officers and the Wildlife Crime Officer should be central to safeguarding wildlife and responding to issues. Any yet:
No caseloads are published
No enforcement summaries exist
No wildlife crime data is shared
No engagement framework with volunteers is visible
Residents are left unsure whether enforcement is occurring or simply being quietly shelved.
Volunteers: Valued in Words, Ignored in Practice
Sandwell’s volunteers:
Visit sites every day
Monitor wildlife conditions
Identify hazards early
Provide on-the-ground knowledge.
Yet they have been excluded from formal engagement for over a year due to missing meetings and inactive communication channels. It is a curious approach: excluding the very people who provide the most reliable information. Some might see this as symbolic of a political culture more interested in control than collaboration.
A Political Note: Fifty One Years of “Leadership”
For over half a century, Sandwell Labour Group has shaped the Borough’s environmental systems, management structures and decision-making. Their defenders call this “experience.”
Their critics call it “monopoly.” The environmental outcomes speak for themselves.
Failing infrastructure.
Non-existent of unenforced policies.
Lack of monitoring.
Opaque decision-making.
Declining public trust.
At some point, long-term political rule stops being an asset and starts becoming a liability, especially when the systems being defended no longer function.
What Sandwell Needs Now
The solutions are not complicated. To restore trust and protect wildlife, Sandwell needs:
A Wildlife Welfare Policy
A Water Body Management Policy
An updated Angling Policy
Regularly published water quality reports
Clear pollution incident transparency
Reinstated Friends Group engagement
A functioning enforcement model
Leadership that delivers, rather than deflects.
Conclusion: Time for Renewal
Sandwell’s wildlife, parks and pools deserve better than accidental, reactive management. They deserve:
A functioning governance system
Transparent decision-making
Respect for volunteers
Modern, evidence-based policies
Leadership that listens and adapts.
After decades of slow and steady decline, Sandwell’s residents and its wildlife are right to demand change. The Borough’s environmental future depends on it.
After fifty years of Labour running Sandwell, the only thing they’ve successfully managed is the decline, and even that’s starting to look like it needs an upgrade.
If Sandwell Labour put as much effort into wildlife welfare as they do into congratulating themselves, every duck would have its own security detail.
Image added by The Skidder & thank you Darryl.
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