Wolverhampton Council tsar: I want people to be proud of this place

Pride.

The word comes up numerous times as Keith Ireland explains how he's going to steer Wolverhampton City Council through turbulent times and unpalatable austerity while also trying to revive and regenerate the city itself.

The new managing director at the city council wants Wolverhampton to be more prominent on the national stage and get its 'fair share' of grants. He is pleased that the city got funding to revamp the Grand Theatre and the Civic Halls.

"We're always optimistic. There were a lot of shock waves when austerity hit in terms of the savings the council had to make," Mr Ireland says. "Councillors have worked extremely hard to come up with solutions.

"The council will change its shape and size. We've got to use technology more to deliver services to people."

But then comes the word: "The city has to take more pride in itself," he says. "We're doing a lot of work around pride in the city. We need to push that. If we're negative as a council, as an employer then obviously that will have an effect.

"It's desperately sad that we're having to lose up to 2,000 jobs. But we've got to deliver changes."

It is a difficult pitch. On the one hand, Wolverhampton will only have a better reputation nationally, shaking off the derision of travel bibles like Lonely Planet if the people who live there fight its corner. But the council is strapped for cash. It did not take part in the annual Heart of England in Bloom contest due to cuts. Parking charges have been imposed on Sundays and during the evenings.

Meanwhile last year it was revealed fewer primary school children attend outstanding or good schools in Wolverhampton than anywhere else in the country.

Mr Ireland says a huge amount of work is being done around skills, working with schools and colleges.

"We need to make sure young people are being educated to a high standard and can go from school to college or university in Wolverhampton and be proud of their city.

"We need to do as much as we can about the environment. We're passionate about street cleansing and grounds maintenance to make it as nice as we can.

"We're renewing signs that are dated. There's a lot of stuff, some you can see and some that's a state of being. We need people to feel pride in the city and the way they will feel positive in terms of the council is if they get a good service from us."

The Sunday charges are here to stay, however, at least for now.

"Councils are having to make decisions they don't want to make," Mr Ireland says. "Charges for parking are a sensitive issue. But there's a market out there. Wherever you go you're likely to incur charges. We've held off as much as we can. We don't want to put in disproportionate charges."

He has, however, spotted an opportunity to use the charges to help promote the city.

Once the Civic Hall refurbishment is complete, the council plans to set up an online service where people can buy a package of services.

"You'll be able to book your parking online, book a hotel, Civic Halls tickets, etc.

"We're also looking at an app to bring together all the eateries in the city. We don't really push ourselves enough and some of these things, they're not expensive. On the one hand we're doing things the administration doesn't want to do. On the other we're leading the way. Sometimes it can be a small vision. An app could be really important for people who aren't residents but want to visit the city. It's what they will look for."

He believes the council's senior management has been scaled back as much as possible. "Senior management is at a point where we're going to struggle if we have any fewer in the council," Mr Ireland says.

The council will spend £18.4 million revamping the Civic Centre. In the climate of cuts it has been heavily criticised.

But Mr Ireland says it will save £500,000 a year by allowing the council to shut or even sell off some of its other offices.

"The heating and electricals are exhausted. They are 40 years old. The vast majority of money is to do with that. I don't apologise for wanting to improve the environment in the offices. Our staff are going to have to work an awful lot harder to deliver quality services.

"When this building was built 40 years ago there were two or three computers. It was not built for the amount of electricity and computers we need in this building."

See also: Wolverhampton Council boss to step down due to ill health.

He also sees it as an important boost for the building trade while the work is taking place.

"One of the things that happens is if you believe in yourself, others believe in you. We want people to know we're confident about the city. The city needs to believe in itself."