Brewery eyesore transformed in 'game-changing' university site
New aerial images have revealed the transformation of disused brownfield land into a £120 million university campus in Wolverhampton.
The former Springfield Brewery site in Wolverhampton was once a shadow of its former self – with buildings either fallen down or on the brink of collapse.
But it has since been revived – and transformed – into the University of Wolverhampton’s sprawling £120 million Springfield Campus.
Now, following the completion of a £45m School of Architecture and Built Environment, the focus is now on building a research centre.
Work is now under way to build the £17.5m National Brownfield Institute (NBI) on the site after it was backed in December last year.
The NBI will be a world-class institute which provides the facility to develop modern methods of building through innovation and partnership with the construction industry,.
It will focus on the practical application of future brownfield regeneration – and remediation – through the work of research teams and other professionals. Wolverhampton Council leader Councillor Ian Brookfield, who spoke at the ground-breaking ceremony at the site, said: “This is a game-changing moment for the city as we break ground on the National Brownfield Institute development.
“Our planning team worked tirelessly with the university to ensure this important project for our city got on site on time at the European-leading Built Environment education Springfield Campus. Once the NBI is built, it will enable Wolverhampton to secure its position as a world leader in sustainable construction, circular economy and brownfield development and will deliver new skills, jobs and opportunities for local people in the city.
"It is yet another sign of the confidence being shown in Wolverhampton as a place to invest, as our regeneration plans change our city and help it recover and relight from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The scheme has benefited from £14.9m of funding from the Government’s Get Building Fund for the West Midlands. Wolverhampton Council worked closely with the Black Country LEP and West Midlands Combined Authority to secure the funding. The remainder of the funding required is set to come from the city’s Towns Fund award.
The research centre, designed by Birmingham-based Associated Architects, received planning approval in December – with building contractor ISG carrying out the work.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: “One of the real strengths of our record housebuilding in the West Midlands over the past four years has been our use of derelict brownfield land. By using Government cash to pay to clean-up these polluted old industrial sites, particularly across the Black Country.
“We’ve made great progress with these plans, but there is still so much more brownfield land to be unlocked and developed.
"That is why it is so exciting to see the National Brownfield Institute at Wolverhampton moving along at such pace, as the NBI will help improve our remediation techniques using state-of-the-art construction techniques. Not only that, but the site will also help to further establish Wolverhampton and the wider West Midlands as the global leader in brownfield remediation and modern methods of construction.”
The 12-acre Springfield Campus is already home to the Thomas Telford University Technical College, Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills and the recently opened £45million School of Architecture and Built Environment.
The NBI is expected to be completed by February next year.
