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'They're keeping it a secret!' - Anger as protestors accuse council of hiding £20m Darlaston regeneration plans

Protesters gathered in Darlaston yesterday against Walsall Council’s ‘hidden agenda’ of how to spend a £20million government grant.

By Rachel Alexander
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Councillors, rival board members and residents of the town gathered outside the library on King Street where a private meeting was being held about the Plan for Neighbourhoods programme.

Last year, the government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities awarded £20million to Darlaston to be spent over 10 years.

A board of decision makers has been set up by the council, made up of professionals from a local school, faith groups, WHG, Walsall Council, the local MP and West Midlands Police, chaired by Manjit Jhooty.

The choice of members on the council-led board faced fierce backlash, and a rival community-led board was set up.

WALSALL COPYRIGHT NATIONAL WORLD TIM THURSFIELD -09/10/25Protest against how the \u00a320 million Darlaston Town Fund is being handled. Protestors gathered outside Darlaston Library, where the board meeting was taking place.
WALSALL COPYRIGHT NATIONAL WORLD TIM THURSFIELD -09/10/25Protest against how the \u00a320 million Darlaston Town Fund is being handled. Protestors gathered outside Darlaston Library, where the board meeting was taking place.

The community-led board, chaired by Joyce Gibson, is made up of those who had registered their interest to be on the council’s board, but ‘never heard back’.

Members from the rival board, along with a few dozen others, gathered outside the library on Thursday morning to protest about the lack of transparency around the council’s plans.

Several police and community protection officers were deployed to the town, with many protesters saying they had never seen such a strong enforcement presence in Darlaston before.

Community board member Peter Burton said: “There’s no intention to invite anybody from the public into the meeting.

WALSALL COPYRIGHT NATIONAL WORLD TIM THURSFIELD -09/10/25Protest against how the \u00a320 million Darlaston Town Fund is being handled. Protestors gathered outside Darlaston Library, where the board meeting was taking place.
WALSALL COPYRIGHT NATIONAL WORLD TIM THURSFIELD -09/10/25Protest against how the \u00a320 million Darlaston Town Fund is being handled. Protestors gathered outside Darlaston Library, where the board meeting was taking place.

“Everybody who applied to go on the board were never ever contacted following those interviews. Except for the last few days where the council has been ringing people up to come on the board. They’ve struggled to get any representation whatsoever.”

Another community board member, Alison Humpage, said: “The council have been scrambling round to get residents on the board because they need representation. Whereas our rival group is all residents.

“We feel that the money will not be spent in Darlaston and it will not go to the residents at all. So we’re protesting against the board. It’s not democratic, and it’s not transparent.”

WALSALL COPYRIGHT NATIONAL WORLD TIM THURSFIELD -09/10/25Protest against how the \u00a320 million Darlaston Town Fund is being handled. Protestors gathered outside Darlaston Library, where the board meeting was taking place.Cllr Paul Bott and Cllr Adrian Andrew confront each other.
WALSALL COPYRIGHT NATIONAL WORLD TIM THURSFIELD -09/10/25Protest against how the \u00a320 million Darlaston Town Fund is being handled. Protestors gathered outside Darlaston Library, where the board meeting was taking place.Cllr Paul Bott and Cllr Adrian Andrew confront each other.

Darlaston resident David Wyer said: “Why have they got that much security? They’re keeping it a secret, they’ve got people in there who haven’t even been voted in. They should have a committee where locals are voted on.”

Stuart Chapman, another Darlaston resident, added: “I used to be chair of Darlaston Town Centre Partnership and we had things that benefited local businesses and the local community.

“Since I stepped down in 2016, all meetings moved behind closed doors, there were no more events and no more community initiatives. And it’s been like that ever since.”

Ward members for Darlaston South, Councillors Paul and Chris Bott, were also at the protest. The pair have long-advocated for the board of decision makers to be made up of people from the community.

Councillor Paul Bott said: “It was pleasing to see the amount of people that turned out for the protest. There were more police in Darlaston town centre then there has been for years, and there was a security team in the library.

WALSALL COPYRIGHT NATIONAL WORLD TIM THURSFIELD -09/10/25Protest against how the \u00a320 million Darlaston Town Fund is being handled. Protestors gathered outside Darlaston Library, where the board meeting was taking place.Walsall Labour Group leader Matt Ward is confronted by protestors.
WALSALL COPYRIGHT NATIONAL WORLD TIM THURSFIELD -09/10/25Protest against how the \u00a320 million Darlaston Town Fund is being handled. Protestors gathered outside Darlaston Library, where the board meeting was taking place.Walsall Labour Group leader Matt Ward is confronted by protestors.

“We’ve seen a political board set up by the Conservative Party at Walsall Council. It’s a business-led board that’s going to dictate to the people of Darlaston what they can and can’t have.

“We feel there’s a hidden agenda. This is the start, it isn’t the end. People want to determine where this money gets spent, not businessmen.”

Councillor Chirs Bott added: “It shouldn’t be private but that’s how all the meetings will be, closed to the public. The government stated it would be community led but it’s not being community led, people will have no say on it.

“The majority of the people on the board should be from the community. They should have people guiding them from the council, but the community should have the final say. Not business people who don’t live in the area.”

Also at the protest was Wolverhampton ward member for Penn, Councillor Celia Hibbert. She said: “When we hear that there’s millions coming in, it should be to the benefit of the actual residents who live in the communities. It shouldn’t be for contractors, it shouldn’t be for shareholders, it shouldn’t be for directors, and this is what happens time and time again.”

WALSALL COPYRIGHT NATIONAL WORLD TIM THURSFIELD -09/10/25Protest against how the \u00a320 million Darlaston Town Fund is being handled. Protestors gathered outside Darlaston Library, where the board meeting was taking place.
WALSALL COPYRIGHT NATIONAL WORLD TIM THURSFIELD -09/10/25Protest against how the \u00a320 million Darlaston Town Fund is being handled. Protestors gathered outside Darlaston Library, where the board meeting was taking place.

A spokesperson for Walsall Council said: “The Darlaston Town Board is made up of representatives across local schools, businesses, health services and law enforcement as well as residents and councillors.

“The board has been set up to best represent local needs and priorities whilst meeting government requirements.

“Future board meetings will be made available for public viewing via the council’s Youtube channel in the same way that the Walsall and Bloxwich Town Deal board meetings are.”

In order to ensure that local voices will be heard as Walsall Council has announced plans for Darlaston, Manjit Jhooty, Chief Executive Officer at Jhoots Group, has been appointed as independent chair.

Manjit Jhooty, said “I am honoured to have been appointed as chair of the Darlaston Town Board and I am committed to working together with local leaders and the wider community to ensure this investment benefits local people. 

“I have assembled a strong group of community leaders that I believe best represent the interests of the Darlaston community, and I look forward to working with them to deliver a programme of investment that will revitalise Darlaston and create opportunities for local people.”

The board must submit its plan to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government by the end of November 2025 to unlock funding for delivery starting in April 2026.