'Disruptive' roadworks set to finish in March

Controversial roadworks in Willenhall town centre are set to be completed by the "end of March at the very latest", officials have said.

The work first began as part of construction of a new railway station for Willenhall in Walsall - a project delivered by Transport for West Midlands, part of West Midlands Combined Authority.

A month later, further roadworks commenced in the area for the Noose Lane, Pinson Road and Rose Hill cycle scheme. The two projects combined were affecting footfall in the town, traders said.

Daniel Grealey, a construction manager from City of Wolverhampton Council, had said the project would be finished in February but he since revised it to March amid adverse weather.

He was one of the officers quizzed on the matter by members of a Walsall Council scrutiny committee.

Matt Crowton, group manager for transportation strategy at Walsall Council, highlighted disruption at a committee meeting on 20 January.

"A lot of residents and businesses have been disrupted," he said.

"We want to make sure we learn from that experience and we apply that learning as we develop future schemes."

Councillor Adrian Andrew, added: "In the long run, these improvements that we've made in Willenhall will be there forever, whereas the upheaval was there for a few months."

Grealey said most of the remaining works were weather dependent, and as such, would be completed "sometime in March or at the end of that month at the latest".

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.