We need YOU to help us win a £50 million grant from The People’s Millions BIG Lottery Fund......

TEN REASONS TO VOTE FOR BLACK COUNTRY AS AN URBAN PARK!!!!!!

1) 40% of the population live in the 20% most deprived areas in England - this equates to 429,000 people or 102,010 people below the age of 15. Our aim is for these individuals to directly benefit from this project.
 
2) Over 980 ha of accessible natural greenspace has been improved for accessibility, biodiversity and geodiversity to the benefit of local communities. This should encourage exercise, education and enjoyment in healthy, safe surroundings and will help to conserve this delicate environment.
 
3) 800,000 people will live within a 15-minute walk of this accessible natural green space - this project will have an immeasurable effect on the day-to-day life of people within the Black Country.

4) 7.9 million people live within an hour’s drive of one of the Urban Parks and access to the greenspace will be absolutely free!

5) A 12-mile path will be opened between the Arboretum in Walsall and Dartmouth Park in Sandwell, passing through Sandwell Valley Park.

6) Over 650 types of fossil are known to be from the Wren's Nest.
 
7) 186 of which were first discovered and described there.

8) 86 are found nowhere else on Earth - a heritage we need to share with the rest of the world.
 
9) There are 177km (110 miles) of canals in the Black Country - a pivotal network for communication, travel and enjoyment.
 
10) Our place in world history is as important as the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, the Pyramids and our close neighbour - Ironbridge. The birthplace of geology - we sit above 400 million years of the Earth’s history. Centuries ago, we exploited this and led the world in industrialisation. We need to share our story and bring tourism, business and prosperity into the Black Country.

This project will change the lives of people who live within the Black Country and create an interesting, vibrant centre that visitors and businesses will want to be a part of.

We can't do it without you....VOTE BLACK COUNTRY URBAN PARK NOW AND HELP US TO ENHANCE THE LIVES OF MILLION'S OF PEOPLE!

Now's your chance speak UP! Click on this link and let us know why you are voting UP for the Black Country!

Here's what some celebrities have to say about STANDING UP for the Black Country

Toyah Wilcox (Actress and Singer) “I’m a Black Country girl born and bred so the Urban Park project means a great deal to me. This grant would transform a huge area and give today’s Black Country population, and the rest of the UK, the opportunity to appreciate the region’s rich heritage and continues to do so for years to come.

Lenny Henry (Comedian) – “I grew up in Dudley so anything that will boost tourism for the town has to be good thing”.

Jamelia (Singer) – “I love the idea of them opening up these caverns under Dudley - I’m sure people will be shocked when they realise what they have been walking over for all these years”.

Alan Smith (Comedian) – “It is a marvellous idea and it will bring visitors which means work for people in the Black Country”.

Jasper Carrott (Comedian) – “It is wonderful that miners created these tunnels by hand. In fact I might include that in my stage routine”, “Obviously people were so keen to get out of Dudley they were taking desperate measures and chiselling away the rock by hand”.

Carl Chinn (Historian)– “Attractions like the Seven Sisters demonstrates the toil and hard work which made the Black Country what it is today”.

Tommy Mundon (Comedian) – “I would find an attraction like this very interesting and would queue up with everyone else to see it. Dudley has a rich heritage, which needs to be explored. Youngsters should be educated about the Black Country and the hard work that went into creating these underground caves”.

David Bellamy (World-famous Naturalist) - “This is a really fantastic project to heal a damaged urban landscape – it will bring wildlife back into the lives of a million people”. “The Living Landscape project is such a terrific idea. Go for it”. “When completed, it will be a wonderful, vibrant patchwork quilt of nature in which the Black Country can take great pride. The Black Country has wonderful green teeth – we just need to brush them up a bit”

Noddy Holder (Singer) - "With all my travels around the world I have yet to find a friendlier place than the Black Country. Anything that helps the region's continuing success is thoroughly deserved! BOSTIN'!" 

Tessa Sanderson (Olympic Medallist) - "Although I was born in Jamaica, I moved to Wolverhampton at a young age and consider this my home. I am incredibly proud of my Black Country roots and give my full support to the Big Lottery Fund’s The People’s £50 Million Contest. This is such a worthwhile project, which will transform the region in so many ways bringing with it both investment opportunities and employment growth. The work being done in Wolverhampton to improve the canal network is just one of the many fantastic projects, which will have a positive impact on the people who work and live in the city. The Urban Park project will bring communities within the Black Country together in much improved surroundings. I hope that businesses and the wider public everywhere will stand UP for the Black Country bid and help lead it to success when voting opens....."

Clare Short (MP Ladywood) - "As MP for Ladywood, I totally support the Black Country as an Urban Park in the Big Lottery Fund’s The People’s £50 million Contest. Should the bid be successful, this will greatly speed up this essential project, which will be of huge economical and social advantage, creating new employment opportunities, tourist attractions and the ‘greening up’ of this wonderful region."

Globe-trotting Suzi Perry (Presenter of the Gadget Show and Superbike presenter) - "I’ve filmed all over the world but am always happy to get back to Wolverhampton and the Black Country. The place has so much to offer and the schemes to reopen the caverns, improve the canals and create new places to walk and cycle will make the Black Country even better. We so need to win this money and we won’t do that unless people vote for it. So please, please take a few minutes of your time to vote online or by phone.”

Prof Burland (Emeritus Professor and Senior Research Investigator at Imperial College, London) - "The work will do far more than make Wren’s Nest safe. It will make it a stunning site of immense historic and geological importance. The site will attract visitors from across the UK. But just as importantly it will be an educational facility for engineers and geologists worldwide, as well as local students and schools.”

Frank Carson (Comedian) - The funny man could not resist a small gag as he said: “I have spent over 50 years touring clubs and pubs in Wolverhampton and the Black Country – I’ve appeared in everything except the Christmas crib. I know the area and love the people so the least that I can do is lend a helping hand to this bid.”

Vikram Solanki (England Cricketer) - “I’d like you all to support the Black Country bid for £50 million for green space for our youngsters so they can get involved in sport and all in all make the Black Country a better place”.

Gareth Batty (England cricketer) - “I’m standing UP to vote for the bid for the Black Country. Please support..... it’s a great cause for green spaces for children to pursue their sporting ambitions and make the place better”

Nick Gillingham (Double Olmypic Medallist MBE) – “As a boy who grew up and spent the 25 years of his life in the Black Country.... I stand up for the Black country and sincerely hope businesses across the region will also offer support.”