Mayor Andy Street to set up Black Country base as he aims to tackle homelessness
Andy Street will set up an office in Wolverhampton as part of his pledge to become the most transparent Mayor in the country.
The former John Lewis boss was elected as the West Midlands first metro Mayor last week after he edged a closely fought battle with Labour's Sion Simon.
Conservative Mr Street has vowed to 'hit the ground running' in his new post. He has committed to being as mobile as possible and will open an office in Wolverhampton city centre in the coming days.
Other offices will open in Birmingham and Coventry, giving Mr Street three bases from which to oversee operations across the region.
Meanwhile he has also revealed his first commitment in office - tackling rough sleeping and homelessness in the West Midlands.
Earlier this week he visited a homelessness charity in Birmingham and started work on forming a taskforce with the aim of tackling the issue.
The group's first meeting is due to take place before the end of the week.
Mr Street said: “It became increasing clear during the seven months on the campaign trail that the issue of rough sleeping in our towns and cities is something everybody considers unacceptable.
"It was even more clear that they want to see the Mayor lead our response.
“Frankly, it’s a situation that shames us as a region. Although it is not directly in the powers of the Mayor, I want to make this an early priority.
“The first thing we need is a co-ordinated approach to the challenge and that is what I plan to offer. We need organisations and people to be working together much better than they currently do.
“Second, we need more and I will be looking for different ways to fund the solutions, not just through the public sector, but also through alternative giving systems which would enable the public to donate quickly and easily to organisations who provide support.
“And thirdly, we need to look at other preventative measures, most obviously the supply of appropriate accommodation and work opportunities.
“In the meantime, I will be talking to the leaders of the councils across the West Midlands, demonstrating my commitment to working for the entire region.
“Of course, we won’t achieve everything overnight. But we must make early and visible progress so that people can see the value of the Mayor and the West Midlands Combined Authority.”
Last Autumn an official rough sleeping count found almost 300 people on the streets of the West Midlands.
Mr Street has also met with the interim chief executive of the WMCA, Martin Reeves, to talk about how early pledges in his manifesto could be delivered.
Other manifesto pledges include getting 25,000 new homes built before his first term ends in 2020, and spending £200 million to clear contaminated former industrial sites ready for new housing.
