Wolverhampton: The Millennium City 20 years on

“It would be like an OBE for the whole town,” he said back in 1998, announcing Wolverhampton’s intention to bid for the coveted honour for a sixth time.

This week marks the 20th anniversary of Wolverhampton finally receiving the recognition its leaders had craved for so long. The people of Wolverhampton had finally got their metaphorical gongs.

It had been a long time coming. The borough council had first applied for city status to mark the Queen’s coronation in 1953, and tried again in the 1960s. Further applications were made during the Silver Jubilee in 1977, Wolverhampton’s 1,000th anniversary in 1985, and then during the Golden Jubilee in 1992.

The letters patent that confirmed Wolverhampton’s new-found status were finally confirmed six weeks after it was announced Wolverhampton would finally become a city, just before Christmas, 2000.

Resident Jan Kellond recalls contacting Wolverhampton Council on the day of the announcement to find out if there was any news. “I had recently been to Brighton where my daughter attended an open day at the university, and thought ‘how can we compete with this place for city status?’,” she says. “On the day the announcement was due, I rang the local authority number and asked if they had heard anything. The lady on the switchboard asked if I was from the Press. I assured her I wasn’t and she said: ‘We’ve got it!’.”

The Express & Star had championed the town’s bid for city status, and on hearing the news, then-editor Warren Wilson expressed his delight. He said: “We have known for a long time that this is a great place with a wonderful past and a vibrant future. This announcement confirms this to the rest of the nation.”

Since then, Wolverhampton has gone through many changes, some positive, others less so.

The present leader of Wolverhampton Council, Councillor Ian Brookfield says the city’s profile has grown on both the national and international stage.

“We remain hugely proud that Her Majesty the Queen chose to honour Wolverhampton in this way,” he says.

Councillor Brookfield acknowledges the past 20 years had been difficult, but says the area is now being reinvented to combine residential, employment and leisures uses. “Our university continues to go from strength to strength, we have a Premier League football team ensuring our city’s name is seen and heard all over the world,” he says. “The past 20 years have been far from easy, the Great Recession hit us hard and the Covid-19 pandemic is also having a huge social and economic impact which will take many years to recover from.

“Our motto is ‘out of darkness cometh light’ and throughout our history we have always overcome any crisis by looking after our own, combined with the innovation and unparalleled work ethic and enterprise of Wulfrunians.”

Ask Wulfrunians about city status and there is pride, but also inpatience to see improvements.

Dianne Hughes was born and raised in Bilston, and has lived in Penn for many years. But she is not convinced that the 21st century city is any improvement on the 20th century town.

“My earliest memories of Wolverhampton are of the old arcade, where we went to buy my sister’s wedding dress,” she says. “I loved Beatties. It was a treat to be taken there and the staircase was like something from a film.

“As I grew up, Wolverhampton provided my entertainment. I saw Stevie Wonder and other Motown acts at the Gaumont. I went to the rollerdrome and then to the Catacombs and the Lafayette, plus other venues.

“When I wanted clothes or shoes, I could always find them in Wolverhampton. I remember meeting up with friends at the Mander Centre on Saturday afternoons, then going home to get ready to return for the nightlife. There was nothing you couldn’t get from Wolverhampton.

“Now it is dreary. On the rare occasions I have to go, I can’t wait to come away. It almost has a cloud of sadness hanging over it, especially for those of us old enough to remember what it was like in the past.”

Her sentiments are echoed by Wulfrunian, Tracey Russell. “Growing up in the 60s and 70s it was always lovely to go to town with my parents,” she recalls. “As a teenager it was nice to go on the bus and meet friends. It’s now rundown, not safe and lots of areas are eyesores. To me it’s still a town, but not the one of my youth.”

Kevin Jones paints a mixed picture. On the one hand, he says the diverse community has provided some excellent restaurants, and Wolves’ return to the Premier League and new housing have given the area a lift.

But he says the abandoned Summer Row shopping development was a disappointment, particularly as it displaced many existing business from the city.

“I love my city but there have been many false dawns,” he says. “The centre is currently empty and left behind other local city and town centres like Telford, Shrewsbury and Birmingham.”

Steve Bradley says Wolverhampton has declined over the past 20 years. He says this is in part down to government spending cuts, but also says the council has been ‘behind the curve’ when it comes to keeping up with retail habits.

Mr Bradley says the approach to the city by rail is also unattractive.

“Although I understand that area is now the focus of a tidy-up, it’s years too late, and doesn’t suggest the kind of swagger you’d expect from a new city. The Civic Hall revamp has been a total fiasco. Without that jewel in our crown, the night-time economy has plummeted.

“A mixed picture, then, but I’m still proud to call it my home.”

Louise Mills believes Wolves’ promotion back into the Premier League has done far more for the area than city status.

“Premier League football brings sponsorship and improvements to the stadium which has a knock-on impact on the image of the city,” she says. “The university would then be the next thing that I feel improved the city centre.”

Martin Bristow also questions whether city status has made any impact.

“Wolverhampton has become less inviting simply because it is relatively economically unsuccessful,” he says. “Our schools are in the lower quarter of performance measured by Ofsted and the city centre is laid waste by lack of access and commercial decline.

“Wolverhampton needs better schools, improved lifelong learning opportunities and a far more pro-enterprise culture. City status is not the key to any of this.”

Tina Mccheyne adds: “I love my city, but I still think of it as a town. I loved it more in the 70s I guess, but then I was young and it was a vibrant place of clubs, cinemas, pubs and individual boutiques.

“I still love Wolverhampton but feel it is kind of stuck. It needs venues. A cinema was promised when we lost the Gaumont, and that’s a long time ago. The students have their places but there’s nothing for people of other ages. It’s a great shame.”