🛑 Traffic & Roads: Next Week's Disruptions + Current Extensions
While some of the long-running disruptions are finally winding down, a fresh set of utility works are hitting Great Barr’s main arteries starting Monday. Plan your school runs and morning commutes accordingly.
⚠️ Incoming Works (Starting Next Week)
A4041 Newton Road (22 June – 26 June): Openreach is taking over a section of Newton Road for underground cabling works. Expect a lane closure and likely delays throughout the week.
A34 Birmingham Road / Walsall Road (23 June – 25 June): National Grid will be executing cable works near the Scott Arms corridor. Multi-way temporary signals and lane restrictions will be in place, which will heavily impact peak-hour traffic.
Queslett Road (24 June – 26 June): Severn Trent Water has scheduled utility maintenance near the main junction lines. A lane closure will be active, causing bottlenecking heading toward the Asda side.
✅ Works Winding Down
Hamstead Hill & College Road: The heaviest of the recent utility disruptions are finally hitting their final clean-up phase. Watch for brief off-peak restrictions today as temporary barriers and signage are cleared out, but traffic flow should normalize completely ahead of Monday.
🚨 Crime: £1 Million Counterfeit Raid in Smethwick
Sandwell Trading Standards and West Midlands Police executed a major raid on a local warehouse, seizing over £1 million worth of fake designer goods.
Officers recovered hauls of fake Rolex watches, Chanel perfumes, Louis Vuitton goods, Apple electronics and Nike trainers imported from China and Hong Kong. The counterfeit ring had been using TikTok to advertise and sell the goods locally before police tracked the operation down.
🏗️ Local Council: Perryfields Academy Rebuild Officially Green-Lit
Sandwell Council's planning committee has unanimously approved a multi-million-pound rebuild of Perryfields Academy.
Six old buildings on the site are being demolished and replaced with a new three-storey teaching block. The old site will become new sports pitches, a running track, and a widened entrance to ease school-run congestion on Oldacre Road.
🛡️ Safer 6 Campaign Hits the Borders
The 2026 Safer 6 campaign is rolling through the borough this week to tackle anti-social behaviour and run speed checks. West Midlands Police are ramping up vehicle enforcement and community speed watches. The Safe Place Scheme is launching at local libraries and Sainsbury's Blackheath this week.
🎒 The Weekend Lifesaver
If you're trying to burn off the kids' energy this weekend without spending a fortune:
Free RSPB Sandwell Valley Walk: Free weekly wellbeing walk every Friday, 11:00am–12:30pm. Meet off Tanhouse Ave (B43 5AG) at the RSPB car park entrance.
Men's Mental Health Free Walks: Free, open to all, just turn up. Saturday: Dartmouth Park, West Bromwich (meet at the War Memorial) 10:30am. Sunday: Lightwoods Park, Smethwick (meet at Lightwoods House) 10:30am.
YMCA Cycling Skills & Drumba: Free confidence-building cycling drills Tuesdays 6pm for ages 16+. New Drumba fitness class launching at Kings Business Park on Kings Road.
📅 Looking Ahead: Save the Dates
Sandwell Armed Forces Day (Saturday 27 June): Civic Square, Oldbury, 11am–4pm. Military parade, free climbing wall, market stalls, Sandwell Youth Bus activities.
Sandwell Pride (Saturday 11 July): Dartmouth Park, 12noon–6pm. Free tickets available online — live entertainment, drag acts, street food, Children's Zone.
The Blind Dave Heeley Colour Run (Saturday 1 August): Sandwell Valley Country Park, raising money for the Albion Foundation. £15 adults, £10 kids.
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