Spring Vale is a district and former
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of
Wolverhampton City Council
City of Wolverhampton Council is the local authority for the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, England. Wolverhampton has had an elected local authority since 1848, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has be ...
,
West Midlands, England. It is situated SSE of the city centre, on the city's border with the
Metropolitan Borough of Dudley
The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England. It was created in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972, through a merger of the existing Dudley County Borough with the municipal boroughs of Stou ...
. The population of the ward at the
2011 census was 12,243.
It now forms a part of the
Ettingshall South and Spring Vale ward, the new boundaries taking effect from the May
2023 Council elections.
Geography
As well as
Dudley
Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...
, Spring Vale borders the
Blakenhall,
Ettingshall and
Bilston East wards, and forms part of the
Wolverhampton South East constituency. It contains the suburbs of Ettingshall Park,
Woodcross (which is actually part of the
Bilston
Bilston is a market town in the City of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. It is in the Black Country, south east of Wolverhampton city centre and close to the borders of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough, Sandwell ...
township) and
Lanesfield.
History
The area has seen some regeneration in recent years, as a result of the closure of the Bilston Steel Works in 1979 by
British Steel Corporation
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...
. The works were a major employer for the area and the location where the first
Bessemer blast furnace was installed, which allowed the invention of
Tarmac using burnt coal residue. The closure resulted in the loss of 2,000 jobs and significant damage to the local economy.
Places of interest
In 1994, Blue Lamp and Tarmac Industries developed the land building Springvale Retail Park, providing new employment. In 1995, Blue Lamp Business Parks Ltd. commissioned a landmark sculpture called 'Roll Down', designed and created by sculptor
Robert Erskine FRSS.
'Roll Down' stands on the exact location of where the number 1 Bessemer Blast Furnace, known as Elizabeth to the steel workers, was sited. At a height of and wide, 'Roll Down' is made of wrought stainless steel.
It was nominated for the Anderson Sculpture Prize. The sculpture was unveiled on 19 October 1994 by
Labour MP
Dennis Turner, who had worked as a steelman at the Elizabeth blast furnace.
Past steel workers were invited to the ceremony and reception. 250 children from the adjacent Springvale Primary school buried memory capsules beneath the sculpture. This was after a tour organised by Robert Erskine to the works in Derby where he was creating 'Roll Down', and involved the children in the project. The capsules contain stories of the children's families experiencing unemployment, but also messages of thought for the future. Many children provided artifacts and objects from their relatives, which in time will be revealed and preserved for future generations. 'Roll Down' is designed to last a minimum of 500 years.
Also located in the area is Spring Vale Library on Bevan Avenue.
See also
*
City of Wolverhampton Council elections
References
Wards of Wolverhampton City Council
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