Wednesbury Town Centre Public Realm and Urban Greening Improvements: Your Views

We asked for your views on Wednesbury Town Centre both before and after the recent public realm and greening improvements.

147 people responded before the works (early 2024).
114 people responded after the works were completed (summer 2025).

In both consultations, Wednesbury residents formed the majority of respondents (78% and 83%), suggesting that the results reflect local views.

What has improved?

People feel more positive about the town centre

• Before the improvement works, 64% of people reported that the town centre made them feel unhappy or very unhappy, while only 11% felt happy or very happy.

• After the improvement works, the number feeling unhappy dropped to 24%, while those feeling happy or very happy increased to 36%. The percentage of people who said the town centre made them feel neither happy nor unhappy remained consistent. This shows a clear improvement in overall perception.

• 45% of people said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the results of the improvement works, 36% were neutral, and 21% were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. This suggests that while many people recognise the improvements, some opinions are still mixed.

What hasn’t changed?

Visit habits are similar

Before the works, around 65% of people visited at least once a week. After the works, visit patterns remain similar, with a slight decrease in very frequent visits and a small increase in occasional visits. Overall, there has been no significant change in behaviour. Respondents said the town centre was just as easy to get around before the works as after (67% and 64%).This shows that the town’s accessibility is unchanged.

Safety is still a concern

People reported feeling no more or less safe in the town centre following the works, with evenings still feeling particularly unsafe.

Lack of shops and activities to meet people’s needs and shops appearing poorly maintained.

Before the works, 76% said shops did not meet their needs and 31% said there was nothing to do. While these questions were not repeated in the same way, the high number of neutral responses (36%) suggests these issues still remain.

While the public realm and greening project sought to deliver some incremental improvements to the perception of safety through visibility, footfall and the installation of new lighting, further work has also been undertaken as part of the Levelling Up Partnership programme which includes new CCTV on Union Street, a new direct communication system between businesses and the police to reduce ASB, and new signage to reduce the likelihood of people getting lost.

The new paving, benches, trees, greenery, bins, lighting, CCTV and social spaces that were delivered as part of the improvement works and have been well received by respondents will provide a more attractive trading environment for existing businesses and attract new ones to the town. Several new businesses have opened in Wednesbury since their completion.

The Wednesbury Masterplan proposes to increase the number of people living in the town centre, providing new footfall on the high street to support businesses and improve the sense of safety.

The Levelling Up Programme has also provided funding for grants to improve shopfronts with 17 businesses making the most of the opportunity. It is anticipated that these works will be completed in autumn 2026 and will provide another lift the appearance of the town centre.