Work to reconstruct a damaged retaining wall on Church Street in Brierley Hill have got underway after “10 long years” of eyesore blocks and restricted access to parkland.

The works will see the damaged wall which is located above Lawyers Field recreational space, between Church Street and Delph Road, completely reconstructed. New vehicle restraint and pedestrian protection infrastructure will also be installed to ensure the safety of the public using the field below.

Once the works are complete, the walkways leading down from Church Street to Lawyers Field and through to Delph Road will also be reopened after being closed off and blocked by temporary concrete blocks since 2013.

Local councillor Adam Davies has been pushing for the “long overdue” works since he was elected in 2021 as Brierley Hill ward’s first Conservative councillor since the 1970s. Cllr Davies said:

“Residents told me how much they missed having this access to the field, and that they were fed up with no-one doing anything about this eyesore of concrete blocks blighting Church Street – especially as it is the main road into Brierley Hill from the Amblecote and Wordsley end of our ward.

“That’s why this was one of the first big infrastructure projects I began to push for when I was first elected in 2021, so it’s absolutely brilliant to see the works finally get underway.”

The reconstruction works are expected to last into April.