Last weekend I visited the South Staffordshire constituency. For once it wasn’t raining and I managed to explore many aspects of this fascinating area.
I’ll be posting several articles on this subject, ranging from my discussions with local farmers on the prospects facing their industry, to chats with young adults trying to secure a job in the middle of the recession and comment on local business initiatives such as the i54 business park.
Two main issues struck me while I toured around the area. The first centred on the balance across the rural/ urban relationship (South Staffs wraps around the western edge of Wolverhampton) and the second concerned the trend in demographics (South Staffs will have the highest proportion of over 80 yr-olds across the country by 2020).
The local Conservative Cllrs that I spoke to were highly focused on these issues. The South Staffs District Council, in partnership with organisations such as the now Conservative-run County Council, has been developing innovative programmes to enhance the quality of life for local residents – through this blog I hope to explore the potential that some of these projects may have for the wider problems we face across the country.
If anyone is considering visiting the area, I can recommend the Mount Hotel located in Tettenhall Wood on the outskirts of Wolverhampton. The staff did a great job in balancing service for overnight guests like me, while running several wedding and Christmas party functions over the weekend. My only gripe concerned the efficiency of the cleaner – she disposed of my research papers which I had carelessly left scattered on the floor! I’m not sure what she’d make of my office desk…
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