A declining UK city has been described as having”more rats than people.”
Traders and consumers have spoken concerning the “sad” demise of a once-bustling Black Country excessive avenue – now a ghost city the place vermin occupy empty outlets. Brownhills, located in Walsall, 13 miles northwest of Birmingham, was traditionally a thriving mining city till the Nineteen Fifties.
In current a long time, folks from all corners of the UK used to flock there to go to its market, earlier than it closed down in 2010. Ravens Court procuring centre has been empty for no less than a decade. Despite plans in 2022 for Aldi to take over the location, it stays barricaded, uninviting and off-limits.
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Andy Yeomans, who runs Stroker Fishing Tackle and Baits Ltd within the small precinct, advised Birmingham Live: “Brownhills was the place to be when Brownhills’ market was on. People used to return from all around the UK, they used to catch the prepare, it attracted that many individuals, tons of.
(Image: BPM Media)
“Once that went in Brownhills, it went to the dump. Look at Aldridge, Aldridge is nice now. They need to invest, they could do the same thing in Brownhills.
“Aldi was constructing a brand new retailer, what is going on on with that? Just down the street, some buildings have been empty for 10 years, what are they doing with them? Wilko shut down, that was one other large retailer that went.
“Places have problems with rats outside. Those shops up the road, there are more rats in them than people in Brownhills.”
He added: “We have knife crime, people are always poaching from Farmfoods and that area. Someone tried to break into a tattoo shop. You call the police, they don’t bother coming. Or they come two days later, when everything has happened. It’s not like it used to be. We used to have two resident police officers, walking and driving through here everyday.”
(Image: BPM Media)
Loki, 61, a tattooed biker, stated whereas sitting exterior a restaurant: “It’s s***. It’s a dying town, all the shops are shut. There is not much regeneration going on. They keep talking about the regeneration of Ravens Court, we are still waiting for that. Walsall is going the same way.
“You will not discover many people who find themselves joyful. It’s a struggling city, however you simply should preserve going.”
Cllr Adrian Andrew, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration at Walsall Council, said: “Over the final 15 years Brownhills has benefited from vital housing improvement inside and close to to the district centre and procuring space. In complete round £50million of funding has delivered 480 new or refurbished houses.”
He added: “The privately-owned Ravenscourt precinct is topic to a planning utility from low cost retailer, Aldi, for the demolition of the redundant constructing and improvement of a brand new retail retailer. Planning committee has resolved to grant planning permission for the scheme topic to situations.”
(Image: BPM Media)
In response to considerations about rats, a Walsall Council spokesperson stated: “The council has not been made aware of any widespread rat issues in Brownhills, and infestations in privately owned empty units would need to be addressed by the owners.”
Inspector Saqib Butt from West Midlands Police stated: “Officers from our neighbourhood team do carry out regular patrols in Brownhills and work alongside businesses to offer support and crime prevention advice. We work closely with our partners including Walsall Council, community groups and other stakeholders to implement long-term solutions aimed at reducing crime and improving public safety in Brownhills.”
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