Wolverhampton Capital City of the Black Country?

7.18.00am GMT Wed 14th Mar 2007

According to last night's Express and Star the Government has backed plans from the Black Country Consortium to create a number of zones specialising in different things in the four boroughs that cover the Black Country (I don't want to get into a debate about the specific geographical limits of the Black Country). Wolverhampton would be the 'Capital' City of the Black Country and the education centre, Brierley hill would be the shopping centre, West Bromwich and Walsall would both specialise in culture, arts and entertainment and Dudley would be cast as the Black Country tourist attraction.

What utter rot! By doing this and suggesting each area should specialise in one thing will surely lead to less shopping in some areas, less arts or culture in another and so on. There is a historic, and current, rivalry between the towns (and City), this plan will not help reduce them but only increase them.

As much as I love Wolverhampton, and I do, I could never imagine a situation where people from West Bromwich, Walsall or Dudley would ever consider it to be their City, Capital or otherwise.