Blackwood Park was originally part of Foley Wood. In the 1920s there was a serious fire in the woods and people came from as far away as Dudley to help put it out. There was considerable damage to the trees and, due to their 'blackened' appearance, the area became known as 'Blackwood'. This piece of history is referred to in 'The Streetly Trail' by Charles Robertson, published in 1981 by the Walsall Local History Centre.

Pat Stockford,( Telephone 0121 353 8116 ) the Chair of "Friends of Blackwood Park, will provide details of meetings and who to contact see the Whats on & Events page

The Park has the following amenities:
Woodland
All weather multi-sports pitch
Children's play area for under 12s
Picnic benches
Tennis courts

The Park consists of all of the above plus a delightful area of woodland which attracts many different species of birds, butterflies and wildlife.

Access to the Park is pedestrian only via Blackwood Road, Cedar Drive, Lowlands Avenue and Larchwood Crescent.

Friends of Blackwood Park is a small Community group set up to help protect Blackwood Park which is Streetly's only registered piece of parkland. The group has the support of Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council and meets monthly. It undertakes improvements to the Park particularly in the woodland, and ensures that the paths are maintained.

The Friends were recently successful in gaining a grant to purchase bird boxes which have already been installed. Two further aplications have been made to fund improvements to the pavillion and the other is to undertake an ecological survey of the Park. A grant for external and security improvements has also been awarded.

In July, 2009, the Friends helped to organise a 'Picnic in the Park' with face painting, badge making, a bouncy castle, the animal man, a story teller - and an invitation from Streetly Health Watch to sample some fresh fruits. The weather was excellent and many local families attended.

The Friends work closely with members of the Parks Department and are always grateful for this support.

During 2009, much has been achieved:

A very successful and well attended 'Picnic' in the Park'.

Three workdays were held to improve paths.

A woodland survey was undertaken

Three further picnic tables installed

Grants awarded for bird boxes, and for making the pavilion more secure.

Information about the Friends and their meetings was better publicised in the library, on the community noticeboard next to Garys, in the Scan magazine, and on the community website www.streetly.org

Participation in Blackwood and St. Anne's Schools Xmas Fairs. Our stall sold photographs of the Park (still available) and quite a lot of interest was expressed in our group's work.

Sadly, in spite of everyones efforts and support, anti-social behaviour continues to be a problem and some of the recent improvements such as bird boxes, new litter bins and notice board and, in particular, the pavlion, have already been destroyed.

Several initiatives are underway to try and tackle this problem. In an effort to engage with local youth, the Safer Walsall Partnership held several events in the park during last summer with a bbq, games, health information etc. The Friends would like to thank all the volunteers who helped on these evenings.

A grant has been obtained to improve the pavilion. work started on 15th February, 2010 and improvements to the external security of the pavilion have been completed. A security fence was installed and then the pavilion walls and roof were re-cladded. Finally, the fascias, gutters, windows and security grilles were installed.

Results of the 2009 Park survey have now been issued. A copy is available in Blackwood Road Library together with the results of the tree and ecology surveys. Although, on the surface, there appears to be little interest in the Park, the high response to the Council's survey shows that this is not so.

The Friends are hoping to have tables at local school fairs and at the scout fair during 2010.

Streetly Pictures including Blackwood park.