Overview
- Demos‑PwC’s Good Growth for Cities Index 2025 ranks Walsall last for overall performance over the past year.
- The study cites a struggling high street, rated second least healthy nationally, and a job market ranked third worst.
- The index compares places using 12 measures including job availability, workforce skills and housing affordability.
- Residents report more than two decades of decline, describing empty shops, rising unemployment and fears about safety.
- Walsall Council’s deputy leader Adrian Andrew calls to change the conversation and points to redevelopment already under way.