Covid memorial garden and trail plan for Walsall is approved

Walsall Council cabinet agreed to build the lasting tribute and provide a place for reflection for visitors to the Arboretum at a meeting on Wednesday.

Members also urged people to keep on taking measures to stay safe as they warned Covid hasn’t gone away.

Councillor Oliver Butler, portfolio holder for clean and green, said the memorial will be placed in the Arboretum extension between the Grange car park and the play area alongside the brook.

He said: “The benefit of this is it will provide a facility for residents to visit for relaxation and remembrance of loved ones who sadly died during the pandemic.

“Sadly, 1,021 people have lost their lives in Walsall due to Covid as of March 6. That is a huge number of people and we will remember their loss.

“We all know green spaces during lockdown were a haven for us to go to when we only had an hour’s exercise to get out and about, along with shopping or if you were working.

“So it is quite right that is the place we have a memorial. The Arboretum was chosen because it is a central place to visit. It also has a footfall of a million people so it is a popular site.

“The scope of the work will involve more trees, spring bulbs which signify rebirth and benches along the trail. We hope this will help people in terms of their mental health and wellbeing.”

“We will also looking to see what we can do in district centres with regards plaques and benches as some people have said the Arboretum might be too far for some people to go to.”

He added a public consultation will be held to finalise the design of the memorial trail.

Councillor Stephen Craddock, portfolio holder for health and wellbeing, said the memorial trail was “an excellent proposal”.

But he added: “Covid hasn’t gone away. What we are seeing at the moment is falling rates of cases but that’s not the reality.

“What we are seeing is a falling rate in testing  and people reporting they’ve got Covid.”