Campaigners suffer blow over Walsall care centre future

Tempers flared at a full meeting of Walsall Council as the future of Broadway North Centre was thrown further into jeopardy.

Residents handed over a petition with 1,568 signatures asking the authority to scrap plans for a health centre on the site of the former Jabez Cliff Factory in Lower Forster Street and instead deliver a 'health and community facility' at the Broadway North Centre, Broadway North - in a bid to save it.

Councillors said that residents had concerns over access to the proposed Jabez Cliff site for elderly people and added that they wanted the Broadway North Centre, which is currently set to be sold.

Leaders said that it was out of the council's remit to scrap the plans, while those opposed to the plans said members of the public felt they had been given 'no say' as to where the health centre would be located.

Deputy council leader councillor Lee Jeavons said at the meeting on Monday: "You are asking for us to do something that is outside of our remit.

"I am a bit miffed as to why this has been brought here.

"We take on your concerns and can relay them to the CCG but the fact is that they are involved in these plans more than us."

The borough's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has revealed that the idea of a new health centre is 'being explored' by GP practices.

The CCG's preferred site for the centre is the old Jabez Cliff factory on Lower Forster Street in the town, which has sparked outrage.

The decision was passed after a named vote that the petition's request that the Jabez Cliff plans be scrapped and the health and community facility delivered at Broadway North could not be supported.

The vote was split with 25 in favour of supporting the petition and 27 against doing so.

However, the concerns will be passed on to Walsall CCG and NHS England.

Councillor Peter Washbrook, who represents the Paddock ward, said that the site was unsuitable due to its location and added he had concerns about the level of public consultation before it was made clear that the Jabez Cliff site was being strongly considered for the centre.

He said: "This is not in the heart of our residential community, it is an isolated site.

"People have concerns that accessing it by car will be impossible because of the large volume of traffic, one way system and its location on a ring road next to a school.

"We also believe that the consultation from the CCG and even the council has been a joke, we feel as though we are being told that it is Jabez Cliff or nothing.

"We are obviously happy to have a flagship health centre coming to Walsall but it needs to meet the needs of the residents and so far this will not do that.

"This is going to affect around 30,000 people so why has there not been a proper consultation."

Conservative leader Mike Bird said: "We don't want to turn the money away, we want a new site but at the end of the day people do have to be spoken to about this plan because it affects them."