INDEX

Creative Report # 4 | October 18, 2010 | investigating regeneration

through art

1. What are you thinking?* p. 2 Monika Vykoukal p. 17 interviews

some thoughts on reasons for and limits
of interviews by Monika Vykoukal

2. Activities Overview p. 3 What’s

happened in September and October,
including people met, information gathered,
places seen.

3. Further investigations and

findings: Anna Francis p. 4 the
second and final instalment of her interviews
with stall holders

Michelle Letowska p. 7 survey of

planner’s attitudes

Colophon: Photos and other images: Courtesy the

contributors.
Editor: Monika Vykoukal
Contributors to this issue: Anna Francis,
Michelle Letowska.
Contact: Monika Vykoukal, t 07967230880,
e m.vykoukal@wlv.ac.uk.
Graphic Design: Jens Strandberg and Pål Bylund.


 What are you thinking?
some thoughts on reasons for and limits of interviews by Monika Vykoukal

This is the fourth newsletter of the investigation phase of the two-year arts project ‘Black Country cre-
ative advantage’. The project is an investigation into ‘regeneration’ and focused on the centre of West
Bromwich. As curator, I am working with a lose group of artists and researchers to try and find ways to
explore the processes that come together in regeneration. This report is here to make our activities
public and to invite further contributions.

As I write this, the investigation phase of the project is ending. I am moving out of Stall 42 this com-
ing Monday. We’ve not managed to keep to the original plan. There are two more newsletters to be
compiled between now and March 2011. Many of the questions asked by passers-bye remain to be an-
swered, and some of the art work is still being finished. All of this will still happen, just from another
place, with some distance to think about the last months.

This issue of our newsletter is focused on the perspectives of those involved in the life of the town
and the regeneration processes, including Anna Francis’ interviews with several traders in the Market
Hall1 and Michelle Letowska’s photo-essay based on her time in the Planning Department of Sandwell
Borough Council. There are also some interviews I did during the summer in an attempt to under-
stand more about how different people see the developments and their roles in them.

I started this investigation into regeneration in the town centre here from the perspective of look-
ing at the relationship of the various types of information available in an attempt to learn more and
understand better what regeneration processes are and how they take place. I have tried to trace the
connections between institutions, individuals, policy documents, and actual events. This also meant
an attempt to figure out how what we say relates to what we do, and what potential our actions have in
the situations we find ourselves in.

Efforts at understanding of this kind, and perhaps this one especially, are, necessarily, fragmented
and incomplete. Now, with this project ending, the information we managed to gather and share, is,
in many specifics, superseded by new developments2. As one of the characters, a young security guard
at a factory in China, in the novel For the Win puts it, ‘...By the time he reached home -...- he knew
that the magical city was just a pile of concrete and a mountain of workers’ sweat and that it had all
the permanence of a dream’3.

-Monika Vykoukal

(1) See Creative Report # 3 for the first part of Anna’s interviews and her diary.
(2) Such as the recent cuts of Advantage West Midlands’ All Saints Development scheme as, for example, reported
in the Birmingham Post on 7 October.
(3) Cory Doctorow. For the Win. Harper Collins, London 2010, p. 101.


 Activities Overview
Meetings, research, discussions

20 August Meeting with Angela Swan, 27 September Actor and writer Suzan
Sandwell Arts in Queens Square Spence working on audio-
Coordinator recording, meeting with
23 August Meeting with Mel Glasby, Thomas Bratzke and Paul
Centre Manager, Queens Barlow
Square Shopping Centre 30 September Meeting with Dr. Dew
23 to 27 August Harrison and Andy Hewitt,
/ Wolverhampton
30 August to 2 September 1 October Manu Luksch workshop with
Michelle Letowska research students at Sandwell College,
visit hosted by Ray Truby
26 August Cody Lee Barbour research 2 October Zast Real Estate opens at
visit, meeting with artist Fred Stall 42, New Market Hall,
Barnfield and Michelle Letowska Kings Square
29 August The Sandwell Show 4 October Volunteering for Time2Trade,
31 August Meeting with artist Annie distributing leaflets for
Redfern, Wolverhampton Tantany Tenants & Residents
1 September Meeting with artist Sid Turner Association
10 September Meeting with Tim Pritchard, 6 October Collect models from
Urban Design Manager, Sandwell College, Smethwick
Sandwell Borough Council Campus
10 September Manu Luksch research visit, MY 8 October Leo Singer research visit
West Bromwich workshop 9 October ‘Working Together’
15 September Meeting with artist Paul Barlow, conference (see forthcoming
17 September Cody Lee Barbour research visit newsletter # 5 for details)
18 September Meeting with photographer Sat
Sehmbey, Wolverhampton The Research Centre is now
20 September Leo Singer research visit closed.
22 September Visit by artist Joanna Duncombe
and pupils from
Wolverhampton, Cody Lee
Barbour research visit
23 September conference call together with
Dr. Dew Harrison to Roddy
Gauld, Arts Council England/
Meeting with artist Andy
Britain
25 September Meeting with Chloe Brown
from Multistory to purchase
tools and materials for Zast
Real Estate West Bromwich


 Further investigations and findings:
The second and final instalment of Anna’s interviews
Interview with Ashok Kumar, of
T. Kumar, Stall 63, New Market
Hall, West Bromwich.
StallLocation:N52˚31.005
W001˚59.569
Anna: So Mr. Kumar, how
long have you been open?
Mr. Kumar: With this stall
for 3 years, we used to run a
children’s baby-wear stall for
12 years, then when I became
redundant my wife decided
to buy this stall. This had
been a very established stall,
so we took it over.
Anna: What do you sell?
Mr. Kumar: Mostly we sell
ladies fashion and jeans – yes,
jeans are our main attraction,
as well as tops.
Anna: Is your stuff mainly ca-
sual or more dressy?
Mr. Kumar: Both, people of
West Bromwich like things
which are flexible, they can
be dressed up or down – you
can wear them in the daytime
and then dress them up for an
evening out. People like flex-
ibility, casual and outgoing in
one item. We mix and match
to the needs of the people
which works really well – that
is our main concern rather
than our own profit, it’s im-
portant to understand the
customer’s needs. Flexibility
in style is important.
Anna: What’s it like, run-
ning a business in West
Bromwich?
By: Anna Francis
Mr. Kumar: The town used
to be really busy – now there
are no facilities for young
people. Things have really
gone down – people don’t
seem enthusiastic, especially
those who should be running
things.
Anna: What is your top tip
for running a business?
Mr. Kumar: Make it afford-
able! Here we create a rela-
tionship with the customer
– all of our regular custom-
ers are very good – we always
know what our customers like
and want. The customers will
tell us what they want, and we
will cater for that – this keeps
them happy, and keeps us in
business.
Anna: So the service is al-
most bespoke?
Mr. Kumar: Exactly.
Anna: How do you find run-
ning a market stall?
Mr. Kumar: The area is con-
gested – there is not really
any easy way to enter; there
are no clear entry points to
get to the market by road.
It would be good to have an
escalator tunnel to allow
people to enter. This town is
not for pedestrians – so peo-
ple don’t feel safe walking
around – cars are in charge
– it’s like a law of the jungle.
It’s hard to get to the Mar-
ket from the back – there are
just too many cars, and this
makes it really dangerous, it

is difficult to see where you
should walk, you would not
want to bring an elderly rela-
tive across here – it is just too
difficult to cross, and add to
that the bad smell at the back
of the market – it really is not
a nice place to be.
Anna: Who are your main
customers?
Mr. Kumar: We used to have
a lot of younger customers,
but because the town has
a declining population of
young people they are going
to other towns. This town has
no sitting and eating areas for
young people. There are only
cheap takeaways, no recre-
ational space to attract the
youngsters. Also since the
recession there is a lack of
parking. There is a blackmail-
ing attitude to parking here,
people are forced to pay high
prices to park, and this puts
them off coming to the mar-
ket. The Metro is there, but
it’s hard for the elderly as
there are no escalators.
Anna: Do you have any ideas
about how to improve things
here?
Mr. Kumar: We need to
modernise the high street to
attract the young back into
the town, otherwise they get
bored, and it becomes like
a ghost town. There are too
many financial buildings and
banks – and not enough sit-
ting down areas.
In order to bring back young people and elderly
people we need good, clear entry points, and
recreational activities for young people. Also
navigation around the town is very confusing
for pedestrians, something needs to be done
about this.
Anna: Any final thoughts on West Bromwich?
Mr. Kumar: Before, you could breathe West
Bromwich, you could smell West Bromwich,
but now… West Bromwich will not be West
Bromwich until people call it that, until people
believe in that!
Interview with Sonia, Genius, Stall Number 50.
New Market Hall, West Bromwich.
Stall Location: N52˚31.010 W001˚59.575
Anna: How long have you been open?
Sonia: Well, actually this is my second day
working here, the stall is new, but we have a
shop just by the entrance and it has been open
for 5 or 6 years. The shop belongs to my Auntie
and is called Jeune Diable.
Anna: What do you sell?
Sonia: Well, at this stall it is clothes for mature
ladies – English Clothes.
Anna: What’s it like running a business in West
Bromwich?
Sonia: It’s nice, people are really nice here.
Really lovely. They talk to you nicely, all of the
people in the market are so helpful and friendly.

Anna: Is that the customers or the other traders?
Sonia: Both, but the vtraders have been so wel-
coming and helpful.
Anna: What is your top tip for running a busi-
ness?
Sonia: Talk sweet – never get irritated, some
people just want to have a look, and that is
free!
Anna: What’s it like here in the market?
Sonia: People think things in the market are
just cheap things, but it’s not like that actually.
We have good stuff, quality stuff here! Like in
other shops in town. Some people don’t realise
that there are really nice things in the market
– this makes it hard to get new customers to
come in, if they knew the quality that we were
selling here, they would come.
Interview with Tina, Mastertackle Ltd. New Market
Hall, West Bromwich.
Stall Location: N52˚30.999 W001˚59.594
Anna: How long have you been open?
Tina: I think it’s about 7 years now.
Anna: What do you sell?
Tina: We sell fishing tackle, bait, anything to
do with fishing really.
Anna: What’s it like running a business in West
Bromwich?
Tina: It’s not my business – I just work here, but
it’s hard now. When we first started things were
easier – it has got harder the last few years.
Anna: What is your top tip for running a
business?
Tina: Treat people the way you want to be
treated, that’s all.
Anna: How do you feel about the developments
that are taking place in West Brom?
Tina: Well, I’m not really worried. Opening a
Tesco wouldn’t really affect me, unless Tesco
open a fish shop! Really, I am a specialist so it
won’t affect me. I have very regular customers
– some come back weekly, others come daily!
Some just stop for a chat whenever they are
passing.
Interview with Valerie. J.L Thomas and Sons. New
Market Hall, West Bromwich.
Stall Location: N52˚30.994 W001˚59.586
Anna: How long have you been open?
Valerie: Well, actually I just work here, and it’s
my birthday today!
Anna: Oh, happy birthday Valerie, and how
long have you worked here?
Valerie: I’ve been here twice, but this time
it’s four years, but J.L Tmonas has been here
since the market opened, but before that we
were in the old market on Paradise Street – so
J.L Thomas has been running for at least 60
years!

Anna: Wow! What’s it like running a busi-
ness in West Bromwich?
Valerie: It’s be alright if it was busy in West
Bromwich
Anna: What is your top tip for running a busi-
ness?
Valerie: Be obliging to customers – try to
please them – remember that the customer
is the priority, and be friendly.
At this point the owner takes over.
Anna: So what’s it like here in the market?
Owner: Well, it could all do with regenerating,
it’s be a lot better if we got some help from the
council.
Anna: What sort of help?
Owner: Well, the cleanliness of the building
for one thing – keep it cleaner! Also, why not
advertise this place in the town? Show people
where we are…at the moment there are no
signs telling people how to get here, and what
is actually here.
We worry that this could end up being a dead
end. There are some real issues, for example
there is no parking anymore – what was our
parking is now being turned into the college,
this has really affected footfall, and it doesn’t
help that there are traffic wardens everywhere!
 Michelle Letowska
Survey of planner’s attitudes

The workplace isn’t what it used to be.


Planners give people what they want.


When I’m planning a place, I’m always thinking ‘What would I like it to be like?’.


What we do here isn’t the RTPI definition of town planning. 1

10
You’ve got to ask, what is the Black Country character?

11
A good planner’s got to be sociable, a communicator, good at creating networks and negotiating conflict.

12
You say what you think but you do what you’re told.

13
Investment from central government came under the proviso that areas of the council be privatised.

14
To get to know the places they plan, planners need to walk.

15
I spent two weeks in the spatial planning department of Sandwell Metropolitan Council, talking to
planners about their working lives, their relationship to the area and their attitudes to planning. I was
introduced to their various roles, taken on site visits, given planning documents to study and work
space in the office. During my second week, I drew on various comments from my conversations with
the planners and fed these back to the rest of the department via a survey board which I set up in the
corridor. The planners were invited to comment on the opinions and attitudes of their colleagues by
adding their own responses to the board.

The survey board is ongoing in my absence and the results will be further discussed at
the conference.

(1) The Royal Town Planning Institute defines planning as follows: “Planning involves twin activities - the
management of the competing uses for space, and the making of places that are valued and have identity. These
activities focus on the location and quality of social, economic and environmental change. In setting out its vision
for planning, RTPI uses the term spatial planning to encompass these.”
http://www.rtpi.org.uk/what_planning_does/ [accessed 16 October 2010]

16
 Monika Vykoukal
Interviews with Annette Welch, Friends of Dartmouth Park; Graham Peet, The Public, Ram, Local Resident; and
Gerry Ritchie, Town Centre and Market Manager.
I decided to interview some individuals and
people from the range of organisations I had
come across in my research and who seemed to
me to be central to regeneration in West Brom-
wich and in some cases beyond.
I then emailed them a set of questions, and gave
them the option to answer the questions in writ-
ing, over the phone or in a face to face conver-
sation. I did not persist in calling or contacting
those who did not respond immediately. Ram, a
local resident, stopped by the market one day,
and was keen to share his views. The interview
with Graham Peet will appear in the next Cre-
ative Report.
Telephone conversation with Annette
Welch, Treasurer, Friends of Dartmouth
Park, July 2010.
For more information on Friend of Dartmouth Park
see www.friendsofdartmouthpark.org.uk, or con-
tact them at Friends of Dartmouth Park, New Street
Lodge, Dartmouth Park, West Bromwich, B71 4AS.
Monika: What is your role in regeneration?
Annette Welch: The Council would not have
gotten money without the friends’ group: Heri-
tage Lottery Money criteria to consult with the
community.
Monika: How do you define ‘regeneration’?
Annette Welch: Restoring the park to its for-
mer glory.
Monika: What is most important for the next
few years?
Annette Welch: Because there are currently
no facilities, people will not stay very long in
17
the park. Once it is refurbished people will
spend more time in the park. We want to see
that the project is completed and maintained
properly.
Monika: What is the biiggest challenge for the
next few years?
Annette Welch: The recession. The council
does not have a lot of money. How will the
council cope with a 25% cut, what will be the
impact on the park and on the region?
Monika: What is in your view the legacy of the
last 10 years of regeneration?
Annette Welch: Compared to e.g. Dartmouth
Park, the regeneration of the town has not
progressed at all. In regeneration in general,
for many years now the focus has been on big-
ger supermarkets, but they take trade from the
High Street.
Ram, Local Resident, The Public, 6 August
2010:
Ram has lived in West Bromwich all his life, the fam-
ily settled here in the 1960s. He likes that so much
is going on, but this used to be a working class town
with a lot of industry, people who are educated and
have a better income want to move away.
Monika: Did you feel the regeneration was
something quite new that started, or was this
kind of work and talk around since you can re-
member?
Ram: The regeneration started quite suddenly
and then dragged out. Lots of talk about new
things coming, which did not materialize as
fast as hoped for. With The Public there were
huge expectations that did not materialize.
Personally, I feel very posi-
tive, there is change here
and development unlike in
other areas elsewhere. Com-
munity life has become a lit-
tle impersonal, but opportu-
nities need to be provided.
The plan of The Public was
to bring people to the cen-
tre. They have really good
visitor numbers. We need
more communal places that
you can go and visit rather
than necessarily community
activity. Personally, I volun-
teer, but many have a lot of
pressure in work and family.
Given the right opportunity
people would be more ac-
tive.
Monika: The reason for the
negative perception of The
Public?
Ram: We are a pessimistic
society, people don’t like
change, they want to keep
things as they are. As far as I
am concerned a community
art centre is exactly what the
town needed.
Monika: What do you hope
will happen to change this?
Ram: It was, for instance,
a good idea to screen the
Worldcup in The Public. Foot-
ball is the one thing when
the country comes together.
It’s strong and about English
identity, with all the flags ev-
erywhere. Newcomers devel-
op the same unity and loyalty
to the system. They are big
on community. Yes, The Pub-
lic cost money, but personal-
ly I think it is worth it. There
have been mistakes because a
business project was put into
the hands of artists.
Monika: What do you think
about the Tesco develop-
ment, also in relation to The
Public?
Ram: Who is to say Tesco
is putting as much in as this
building? The Public was not
understood. The older popu-
lation are former foundry
workers and do not under-
stand the arts, they are not
embracing this. I was on The
Culture Show, being inter-
viewed about my views of The
Public before it was built.
Tesco could cause huge dif-
ficulties, potentially, there
will be a lot of change. I have
no negative reaction to that
at all, it will create jobs and
be cheaper, create a commu-
nal centre like Asda did for
Great Bridge, but this, The
Public, holds a different level
of importance.
People are overcoming the
negative and starting to come
here now. I got in touch with
The Public because they
originally wanted me to open
the coffee shop in here, and
with hindsight and more ex-
perience I would have done
it. People with money tend
to leave. For poorer young
people this is a cheap place
to live, it’s great for them.
But people tend to go shop-
ping in Birmingham, there is
a better selection.
Monika: What kind of legacy
to you hope the regeneration
will leave?
Ram: I would like to see this
as an active working town.
Things have gotten worse for
towns like West Bromwich
because of the loss of manu-
18
facturing. The main thing
that is needed is just more
jobs, that is the basis of ev-
erything, getting the econ-
omy running. Then there
will be more stuff to do. The
question is what kind of sec-
tors there will be? Manufac-
turing has moved to the East.
The town is now like a blank
canvas. The town needs good
retail, leisure and arts sector
that can attract bigger cor-
porations.
Tesco is a big name and a
consistent employer, but we
also need to keep small shop
owners, they have a personal
touch. I believe the Eastern
Gateway will provide for this.
The town could be revived
and attract people with mon-
ey to spend. The new col-
lege will probably bring this
about. Maybe there should be
more night-life again, but not
as it tends to happen, with a
culture of excessive drink-
ing replacing other forms
of entertainment. A cinema
or similar venue would be
good, as would a new library
and leisure centre. We need
to encourage entertainment
where drinking is not need-
ed to have a good time. The
swimming baths have been a
real loss,we need to rebuild
them. We need good sports
facilities. As far as I know
nobody was asked before the
Gala Baths were demolished.
Monika: What would be the
worst and best case scenarios
for the (near) future?
Ram: It can’t be any worse
than it’s already been, things
can only get better. The worst
case is that everything is
built, but not maintained and
the town is not able to grow
and develop despite all the
regeneration activity. Right
now expectations are low.
The worst case is that things
are not delivered. There will
be increasing negative and
hostile attitudes towards
planning and the council if
they don’t deliver and don’t
attract people. Because peo-
ple tend to be stuck in their
mindsets, we need to have
outside influence to create
change. We can’t have people
change by themselves, that
is not how evolution works.
Tesco got pots of money. Big-
ger corporations are more
powerful and influential than
government organisations.
The government is there to
administer.
Organisations like Tesco will
have to open their doors.
If they create a ghost town
without putting anything
back in, that would be scary.
There is this metaphor of
the archer, were things hap-
pen by both pulling and re-
leasing, I think this is a good
image for the regeneration
process: you need to take
actions, but also wait and
let things unfold, directions
develop over time. Not ev-
erything should be done by
this generation, the future is
yet to be decided. We don’t
know what’s around the cor-
ner.
Gerry Ritchie, Town Cen-
tre Manager and Market
Manager, the Research
Centre [stall 42, New Mar-
ket Hall], 29 July 2010:
Gerry Ritchie has been market
manager for 11 years, and town
centre manager for 3-4 years in
addition to his previous role.
The town centre manager is a
new role, created specifically for
the commercial side, the busi-
ness side, to the regeneration of
the town. It had become obvious
to him that this was necessary,
especially with the regeneration,
so he approached his director
at the time, who has since left.
Ritchie had just finished an
MBA (about council restructur-
ing etc.) at the time.
Monika: How the role of
Town Centre Manager was
developed:
Gerry Ritchie: The market
service brings an income of
ca. £ 400.000 profit for the
council per year. I proposed
to my boss, to use part of
this profit to fund the post,
providing for one staff, an
office and a marketing bud-
get to advertise the town
centre. This was not taken
on board, but I offered to
establish the function by
taking on the role in ad-
dition to my other duties
myself. My vision is that
eventually this will lead to a
full-time post. By now, this
has evolved into a proposal
for a full-time post in a part-
nership of the Council, the
Chamber of Commerce and
the Town Centre Partner-
ship group.
The proposal is that the coun-
cil funds the post initially on
19
a reducing scale over 3 years.
Then this will become a self-
funded post based on mem-
bership subscriptions of
town centre businesses. The
aim is to have this in place for
the end of the year. I will re-
tain my role part-time as the
new role will not be a coun-
cil position and will require
a liaison with the council.
The new person will be em-
ployed by the Chamber of
Commerce, but answer to a
board with members of all
organisations in the partner-
ship.
Monika: What is the bound-
ary of the town centre?
Gerry Ritchie: There are
various ways to define this.
There is the strategic plan-
ning view, there are varying
operational delineations
(street cleansing, etc.). Dif-
ferent areas of activity use
different delineations in
terms of how resources are
deployed. There is also the
regional view e.g. in the
Black Country Study, which
is the strategic vision for the
region, there are views on
West Bromwich as a centre.
The boundaries also shift
depending on scenarios.
For the role of town centre
manager the boundary is ini-
tially fluid. This is, for one,
because there are three dif-
ferent Traders Associations
in West Bromwich, one in
the town centre, pretty much
from Pizza Hut to the Goose
Pub, one from Pizza Hut to
the Motorway Roundabout
on the Birmingham Road;
and one, the ‘Greets Green’
one, down to Carters Green, about from the
Goose down to Clock Tower. Those three as-
sociations have distinct agendas and one of the
jobs of the town-centre manager will be to try
and get them to talk to each other. Historical is-
sues have been, for example, that Greets Green
had the New Deal for Communities, which
provided a separate funding stream from those
available in the other two areas. With the new
post there is also the aim to have radio links for
traders, to contact police and other traders.
Partially those already exist, but they are not
functioning well, and we would replace those
with a new scheme. Also, they currently only
cover the central area. The new scheme would
also initially mainly cover the ring-road area,
but then expand beyond this.
Monika: What is your role in regeneration?
Gerry Ritchie: My role is to generate income
through the market service. Initially I was
brought in to address a problem having oc-
curred under my predecessor, namely financial
irregularities, which were however not created
by that individual. A review of the service by au-
ditors led to an action plan and I was then em-
ployed to carry it out. This was a ‘fix the prob-
lem’ job, but I continued in the role beyond
that.
Around this time, the council started regen-
eration projects. As I was running the biggest
retail project in West Bromwich at the time, I
became involved in those issues, basically by
default. I also came to advice on some market-
related regeneration elsewhere in the Borough,
such as the development of Cape Hill in Smeth-
wick as part of the Windmills Shopping devel-
opment. The council wanted to have an indoor
market, and I was on the steering group, which
was partly created because the council found
the developer might be inclined to argue that a
market was not financially viable. I also assisted
with another initiative in Wednesbury, which
required the relocation of the market site. Re-
generation is, however, not necessarily about
physical regeneration, but about a change in
business, about transforming what is happening
and developing new types of businesses.
20
Monika: What is town-centre regeneration?
Gerry Ritchie: The need for it partly stems
from competition from other centres, as well
as fundamental changes in shopping habits and
the demographic, leading to a decline of West
Bromwich at a sub-regional level. In part, town
centre planning over the last number of years
in the UK has been constrained, in my person-
al view, by the dominance of larger multiple
chains. The offer is anchored on a small number
of large retailers such as Tesco.
This has risks as well as opportunities attached.
One risk is the size of the retailer, so they are
not just supplying to the local public but a wid-
er area. As a result this is displacing shoppers
from elsewhere and creates a competitive cycle.
For example, West Bromwich and other towns
in the region suffered as a result of the Merry
Hill Shopping Centre and also of the Bull Ring
in Birmingham. We are to some extent forced
into playing catch-up. Similar developments
are ongoing in the USA, and those are going
too far to create what is called the ‘Doughnut
Phenomenon.’ Everything is happening outside
town centres in malls. _So, we are partly trying
to catch up with the competition, but we can’t
go back to the previous model. As assessed by
their actions, even if they don’t say so, most
people want larger, one stop shops. We need to
respond to this demand of the shopping public
and to adapt to changes in how people shop and
interact with each other.
Monika: How do you see the role of The Public
in relation to those developments?
Gerry Ritchie: The Public is a victim of timing,
vision, and the lack of a champion. With regards
to timing, it was built before everything else. It
will have a role in the completed jigsaw. This
issue was exacerbated by the lack of a clear vi-
sion and a champion. The council continues to
stand behind it, but seems reactive in its com-
munication, trying to defuse criticism rather
than having a proactive PR approach. They have
not managed to turn around perceptions: if
that happens it would fulfil its role more fully
and achieve its potential as a hub in the town’s
regeneration.
Monika: How does the communication be-
tween all the various bodies and individuals in-
volved in the regeneration work?
Gerry Ritchie: It’s fragmented in the council,
which is a primary reason that I felt the need for
a town-centre manager post. The council has a
communications division, which has much im-
proved, but is still more reactive rather than
proactive. Much effort is expanded in reacting
to the local press. Also, PR has been seen as bad
by local government based on the risk of ap-
pearing ‘All Spin/No Substance.’ However, the
commercial community expands because they
know it is an effective tool. If the issue of com-
munication from the council outwards was ad-
dressed, communication inwards to the coun-
cil would improve as a result. There is a need to
gather perceptions and views to improve com-
munications. My own role is not full-time and
also fragmented. I need to deal firstly with any
crisis and any new initiatives. Sometimes I also
seek information through meetings, question-
naires and so on, as well as through more infor-
mal channels, mainly talking to people I would
consider barometers.
Gerry Ritchie: In terms of the job of manager,
this needs to evolve to the function being en-
hanced. Right now this is perhaps too big for
one role, and the market and town centre man-
agement should become distinct roles. The
role of the market manager is potentially very
important in preventing a two-tier town centre
occurring with the connected loss of social in-
teraction, street scene and social capital. Mar-
kets still provide a meeting place and personal
engagement through individual businesses.
The wider retail environment has moved away
from this, but the council could use the mar-
ket to bring a balance. This would also mean to
invest in the market service not only for busi-
ness but also for the sake of its social function.
If the market can provide meeting places and
social interaction and help to prevent the loss
of the high street environment that would be an
achievement.

Monika: What, in your view, is the worst and

best case of future developments, say in 5 years?
Gerry Ritchie: The best case is that we get the
buildings that are planned and the retail devel-
opment is completed as proposed, i.e. Tesco as
part of the Shopping Centre, Queens Square is
linked to Tesco, and that is integrated with The
Public and the new square fronting The Public.
There will be a supported full-time town cen-
tre manager with funds, and there will be more
proactive PR. In this scenario, as a result of all
this West Bromwich would fulfil its potential as
an attractive sub-regional shopping centre.
The worst case would be that Tesco build Tesco
and this results in a two-tier town. People go to
Tesco by car and drive away again, while other
parts of the town continue to decline because
of a lack of linkage.

Monika: What is the role of the market in the

town centre?

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 Blazon
Absent shield and tincture Or/transparent. 
An Ostrich feather, above shield, in crest.
To symbolize the legacy of William Legge, withdrawn from context, the feather in the
crest is a symbol of obedience and serenity. Charge to centralized position, content to
enfold around.

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