£815k to return Wolverhampton city centre street to former glory
An £815,000 cash boost will see Wolverhampton's Queen Street restored to its former glory after business owners and landlords were encouraged to get involved in a major regeneration project.
The Queen Street Townscape Heritage Scheme will see a number of shops and business have new frontages and repairs carried out, with bosses planning on embracing a Victorian theme.
It is hoped the new look will make the street more appealing to visitors.
At the launch on Monday at Wolverhampton Art Gallery in Lichfield Street, councillors and project managers showed their vision to business owners and landlords from the street, in the hope that they would get on board with the scheme.
The Heritage Lottery Fund cash is available over the next five years, and applications for a slice of the cash could see businesses funded with 70 to 85 per cent of the cost of repairs and improvements.
Chris Bywater, chairman of the Townscape project, said: "We've had lots of interest so far and this is the official launch so hopefully more businesses and landlords like the plans.
"The money is available now, and we're hoping work could start at some shops within two or three months
"The city council has a good record for delivering these kind of schemes, if you look at what was done in Willenhall and Bilston."
Students from the University of Wolverhampton designed a scaled down model of what the street could look like if shops take up the offer.
John Healey, project lead, added: "There will also be apps which are being developed. They will show a digital version of the street, so people can look back in history on what used to be there. Hopefully this will restore a bit of pride in the area.
"It is an important part of the city, it is one of the first places that new visitors see."
Councillor Peter Bilson, cabinet member for city assets at Wolverhampton council, said: "We want this to make more people want to come and visit and come and shop in Wolverhampton. It is very much about preservation and restoring buildings."
Queen Street first came to be in the 1750s during a time of growth and prosperity for the city. The first phase of the street's construction, between 1754 and 1788, saw the north side of it built between Princess Street and Piper's Row. The second phase, beginning in 1812, saw larger, more prestigious buildings being constructed.
These included the Congregational Chapel, number 46, which is now Johnny Spice but was the town's first public dispensary for treating the poor and the post office which was later demolished and replaced with the Express & Star building.
Number 50, which was the town's subscription library before it became Assembly Rooms and then the County Court was built in the same period. The building was last used as a nightclub and is currently up for sale.
