As we take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Black Country Day on Monday 14 July, Sandwell Council wants everyone to look to the future.
Black Country Day has been celebrated for over a decade to honour and celebrate the heritage, history, culture and uniqueness of the people of the Black Country.
Whilst inevitably the festival looks back on our proud industrial heritage, this year Sandwell Council looks forward to the future.
Our region cradled the industrial revolution which powered first Britain and then the world. So, what will our role be in the future?
That is the question we are asking in the Sandwell Story.
The new story for Sandwell is a campaign and programme of work to celebrate the people, places and partnerships that make this borough a great place to live, work, learn and visit. Our six proud Black Country towns are built on making things happen.
We are proud that the Sandwell Story is also an opportunity to showcase our thriving community. The support from local partners, our aspirational young people and hearing from some of our local talent who have already made it shows that Sandwell is a place where everyone can live well and achieve their potential.
As part of the Sandwell Story project, we have launched a video to share our vision of how our post-industrial towns can go beyond regeneration and look further to see how we can develop our local economies for the future.
View our Sandwell Story here and share our learning as we regenerate and build our local economy for the future.
Whether it’s £3 bn of pipeline investment in our borough; building Cradley Heath Skills Campus to provide a dedicated education and training centre; or opening the Midland Met Learning Campus in partnership with our region’s universities.
Leader of the Council Councillor Kerrie Carmichael said: “I am from here. I grew up here, I was educated here, and I work here in Sandwell. My family tree shows that my family have lived in Rowley Regis area since 1506 and I still live in Blackheath today.
“Over the years I have watched our borough grow into an amazing place to live and work. Its people are genuine, caring, and proper black country grafters.
“I was brought up in a typical Sandwell family. Everyone I knew had the same challenges, everyone’s parents worked locally in engineering or were labourers and everyone relied on the council for housing. Things have moved on, but in my role as Leader of the Council I make sure that the decisions we make today are always informed by our lived experiences in Sandwell – my Cabinet and I all want our council to be a caring council.
“Happy Black Country Day to you all, and let’s look forward to our exciting future.”