West Midlands development land loses nearly half of its value

Almost £180 million worth of derelict land earmarked for much-needed development has plummeted in value by around 45 per cent, it emerged today.

The 44 pieces of land - owned by doomed quango Advantage West Midlands - include 20 across Birmingham and the Black Country, such Castle Gate Park in Dudley and Wolverhampton's i54. They were worth a total of £177,083,373 when bought but now have been valued at just £100m. AWM said it could not release the current market value of each plot of land as it is "commercially sensitive".

The amount originally paid for the land was released after a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

The most expensive piece of land was the i54 site in Wobaston Road, Wolverhampton. It cost the regional development agency £17,416,500 to purchase - but currently has just one confirmed tenant, Moog, for its "strategic business park."

The cheapest piece of land bought by the agency was the James Bridge Copper Works in Darlaston Road, Walsall - bought for £1.

Castle Gate Park in Birmingham Road, Dudley, set them back by around £1m, while the purchase of the Sandwell College site in West Bromwich High Street cost just under £3.5m. AWM is currently awaiting the result of an audit by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, which is examining each piece of land to identify which are profitable and which are considered "liabilities".

Plans for a Black Country LEP, along with others from Birmingham, Solihull and East Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Coventry and Warwickshire, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, and Shropshire and Herefordshire, were submitted by the deadline of September 6.

What the sites cost to buy

• Bilston Urban Village, Bilston, Wolverhampton - £3,510,000.

• i54, Wobaston Road, Wolverhampton - £17,416,500.

• iCentral, Wolverhampton Science Park, Stafford Road, Wolverhampton - £1,400,000.

• Castle Gate Park, Birmingham Road, Dudley - £1,155,000.

• Former Dog & Partridge and Bar 148, High Street, Brierley Hill, Dudley- £395,000.

• Walsall Waterfront, Wolverhampton Street and Marsh Lane, Walsall - £4,735,000.

• James Bridge Copper Works, Darlaston Road, Walsall - £1.

• Sandwell College, West Bromwich High Street - £3,460,000.

• Pebble Mill, Pebble Mill Road, Birmingham - £4,000,000.

• Eastside Learning and Leisure Quarter, Birmingham - £15,695,120.

• Bristol Street South, Matthew Boulton College, Sherlock Street, Birmingham - £13,750,001.

• Icknield Port Loop, Freeth Street and Icknield Port Road, Ladywood, Birmingham - £8,385,000.

• Longbridge, Bristol Road South, Birmingham - £16,600,001.

• Land at Serpentine Road and Aston Road, Birmingham - £7,310,000.

• Former Corus Site, Wharfdale Road, Tyseley, Birmingham - £1,825,000.

• Golden Hillock Road, MacDermid Plc, Birmingham - £3,400,000.

• Quinton Business Park, Quinton, Birmingham - £6,500,000.

• Aston East RIS, Aston Hall Road and Priory Road, Birmingham - £4,050,000.

• Lanchester Building, Montgomery Street, Sparkbrook, Birmingham - £650,000.

• Edgbaston Programme County Ground, Edgbaston, Birmingham - £3,000,000.