The leader of Walsall Council, representing the Reform party, has emphatically promised that the council will not lease the 13.7-acre woodland area within Reedswood Park for any form of development.
Councillor Elaine Williams made a clear and unequivocal statement that she would never agree to handing over the land for the construction of the proposed £50 million Windsor Apollo Academy or any other project.
This woodland has faced ongoing threats of clearance to make way for the new academy, a scheme funded and led by the Department for Education under Labour government. Initially, the plan was supported by the previous Conservative administration of Walsall Council.
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In February 2026, the Conservative cabinet approved an initial payment of £1 million to the government and agreed to a 125-year lease that would permit the development on the woodland site. However, following local elections in May that brought about a leadership change, the Reform party withdrew this £1 million commitment.
Furthermore, in September, the council’s planning committee rejected the Department for Education’s application to build on the woodland area.
At a council meeting on 28 September, Councillor Khizar Hussain, deputy leader of the Walsall Community Independents, requested a definitive guarantee from Councillor Williams that the land would remain protected.
He addressed the leader directly, saying, “Can the leader give the people of Walsall, particularly residents of Beechdale, Birchills, and Reedswood, the assurance and a guarantee that she will refuse to sign the 125-year lease for this land?
“Will she commit, on behalf of the Reform council, to never signing any lease for building a school or any other form of development on this green space?
“Over 2,050 local people have signed petitions opposing this scheme. We seek an ironclad guarantee from your administration that, under your leadership, the woodland will remain untouched.”
In response, Councillor Williams stated, “I can categorically state that while I am leader of the council, no lease will be signed for the former Reedswood Golf Course area for a school or any other development.
“My administration has no intention of proceeding with such arrangements.”