Tree clearing work to pave way for Enterprise Zone jobs

Four major junctions and two bridges are being upgraded in Darlaston and Pleck as part of the wider scheme.

The project has now reached the stage where trees on Richards Street can be cleared, paving the way for the eventual widening of the junction of Bentley Road South and Heath Road to reduce congestion.

The tree clearance works will take place from next Tuesday until September 1.

Richards Street will be closed during this period from the junction of Bentley Road South and Heath Road, heading south to the junction with Batchcroft. Diversions will be in place.

During the tree clearance the junction of Bentley Road South, Heath Road, Richards Street and The Green will operate using temporary traffic signals which will be manually controlled during peak periods.

Heath Road will be subject to a lane closure during the works.

Walsall Council leader Councillor Mike Bird said: "In Darlaston and Pleck we're improving the road network so that parcels of land can be unlocked for development.

"This will enable us to help businesses create jobs and opportunities in Walsall and we're helping Walsall people find work.

"Later in this project we will be widening this junction, which is already heavily congested and trees will need to be cleared now to facilitate that."

A replacement railway bridge is due to be the first piece of work in the long-awaited road scheme, designed to unlock vacant industrial land in Darlaston and Bentley and create thousands of jobs.

The roads will help unlock land in the Black Country Enterprise Zone which can be readied for development more quickly through a simplified planning process.

As well as the junction of Bentley Road South and Heath Road, three other junctions will be upgraded.

Works will also see significant improvements to the full length of Bentley Road South, with the demolition of the rail bridge alongside improvements to Bentley Mill Way.