Wolverhampton logo branded a 'waste of money'
The £19,000 cost of a controversial new logo for Wolverhampton has been branded as a ‘waste of money’ by Express & Star readers.
An online poll found 81 per cent of 1,800 voters thought the branding cost too much.
Consultants were paid the sum to go to Wolves matches and travel in taxis to capture the ‘essence of the city’.
The logo appears to be four overlapping Ws followed by ‘City of Wolverhampton’ in capital letters. It was launched as part of Wolverhampton Business Week.
Labour-run Wolverhampton council, which used taxpayers’ money to fund the work, said the brand would be used by organisations to represent the city.
But it does not feature on the 25 new ‘Welcome to Wolverhampton’ signs installed this year around the city at a cost of £23,000. The council says the brand has not been formally rolled out yet. Commenting online, one reader said: “They spent all that cash to get a feel of the essence of Wolverhampton and they came up with a grey dismal image for the town. Says it all really.”
Another added: “What has happened to “out of darkness cometh light”. This motto is known around the world and is synonymous with the City of Wolverhampton and our beloved football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. As for the four overlapping Ws, it looks like a toast rack.”
On Facebook Kully Dhadday said: “How pathetic they best not be increasing council taxes to recoup the money back!”
Claire Louise Haywood said: “And yet they can’t afford to keep libraries open and important public services. I’m astounded at this complete and utter waste of money. There are definitely more important things to spend the public’s money on.”
Carl Cox added: “The branding looks absolutely appalling. Talk about casting Wolverhampton back to the early 70’s, because that’s precisely what this design does.”
And Sarah Scooky said: “What even is it? Should’ve given it to a local primary school to come up with something.”
The cost was discovered by the Wolverhampton Liberal Democrats using the Freedom of Information Act.
Wolverhampton council says consultants ‘undertook very thorough research over a number of months’ speaking to residents, ‘partners, stakeholders, investors and businesses’.
Wolverhampton economy boss, Councillor John Reynolds, said: “Partners from across the City of Wolverhampton – including the university and prominent local businesses – were united in wanting to develop a new positive, strong and consistent brand to enhance the reputation of the city.
“The city council, acting on the wishes of partners, commissioned consultants to carry out extensive research to look at what makes the city unique and special.
“They attended matches at Wolverhampton Wanderers to speak to fans and went on taxi rides speaking with the drivers to really get a feel for the essence of the city. The overall cost of this research was £19,000 and part of the project involved using the research findings to develop a logo.”
Wolverhampton Economic Growth Board chairman John Wood said: “If this piece of work helps put the city of Wolverhampton on the map, bringing in further investment and jobs for local people, then it is money well spent.”
