Willenhall residents living in anti-social behaviour hotspot speak of ‘hell’
Willenhall residents living in the centre of a huge regeneration project have spoken about the ‘hell’ of living amongst several derelict factories.
The area of Moat Street, Cemetery Road, Villiers Street and New Hall Street, just outside Willenhall town centre, was once a hive of industrial activity but it has fallen into dilapidation.
As previously reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, fires ‘twice a week’, motorbikes on the greenway and drug related activity caused misery for residents.
In 2023, BBC film crews chose the site when they were looking for a backdrop resembling The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
The Willenhall Masterplan project led by Walsall Council will see the derelict buildings demolished and turned into 109 homes by developer Keepmoat.
Demolition was first promised in January 2025 but works finally began last month. Residents neighbouring the project are pleased to see work finally start.
Neil Hathaway, 57, said: “It’s in a bad state at the moment, it needs something to do with it. The future has got to be better than what it is at the moment. It’s been a hell for a long time.
“We see a lot of things going on. Antisocial behaviour is a big problem. Buildings are always being broken into, they need CCTV desperately. If there’s some houses there at least it’s protected in some way.”
Resident Stephen Roberts has lived next to the factories for over 10 years. The 70-year-old said: “We’ve seen it all, we had the big fire, there’s been filming on the street, every year there’s something new. We just watch out the window seeing it all unfold.
“I think [the project] is good for the area. Willenhall needs to be brought back up. It’s been dropping a bit just lately. I think it’ll be a good thing.”
David Whitehouse, 71, added: “It’s a bit of a nightmare at times and the police aren’t very helpful either.
“The only problem I’ve got with the new houses is the parking. All the houses that are going up need catering for so they can all park their cars off the road.
“There was a car park here originally that we used to use, and they took it off us. Now we have to park on the road. My car’s been hit several times. It would be good if we could have some parking spaces here.”
Keepmoat said on-street parking will be ‘significantly reduced due to exceeded parking provision’ across the development.
Councillor Adrian Andrew, Deputy Leader of Walsall Council, said: “It’s great to see these derelict eyesores start to come down in Willenhall.
“They’ve been a blight on the community for too long and the demolition is a major step forward in laying the groundwork for a future that Willenhall truly deserves.”
