Masterplan for future of Wolverhampton

Public squares, scores of shops and a supermarket on Stafford Street also feature in the 12-year regeneration masterplan.

The council wants to breathe new life into the city centre and surrounding areas with a Canalside Quarter stretching from Horseley Fields to Fiveways Island and Molineux Quarter around the stadium with a public square for football fans and students to enjoy.

All Saints, Blakenhall, Graiseley, Chapel Ash and West Park will also be improved as part of the City Centre Area Action Plan (CCAAP).

• Gleaming public squares, a city centre cinema, thousands of new homes and a bustling Canalside Quarter – the ambitious future of Wolverhampton was today laid bare in a new multi-million pound plan.

• Council bosses and MPs say they would do all they can to make the 12-year masterplan a reality as they gear up to discuss the document in more detail on Wednesday.

• They say it will regenerate the city and make it a vibrant and safe place for families, residents and visitors alike.

• Under the proposal, a Canalside Quarter stretching from Horseley Fields to Fiveways Island will be built, giving the city a continental feel.

• A Molineux Quarter around the Wolves ground will be created with a public square for football fans to gather, relax and enjoy good weather.

• A cinema would also be built near Penn Road Island and Ring Road St Mark’s.

• There would be a supermarket at Stafford Street’s Peel Centre, and new shops and offices would be created.

• Around 2,000 homes would also be built around the city centre and surrounding areas including in All Saints, Blakenhall, Graiseley, Chapel Ash and West Park.

Councillor Elias Mattu, cabinet member for leisure and communities, said the authority was 'committed and determined' to making the scheme a reality.

"This needs to be delivered for the sake of our city," he said. "Any development is most welcome and while this is an ambitious one, it is essential to look forward in this way.

"We are committed to making sure that the whole programme is delivered.

"This is our vision for the city and we are absolutely determined that it will come together as we hope. The city is coming out of a difficult time and we need to remember that as we look to our future."

As part of the proposal, 2,123 homes will be built across the city by 2026, with 630 of those in the new canalside development.

There would also be shops and leisure facilities around the Springfield Brewery site, which will be taken over by the University of Wolverhampton next year, as well as a supermarket on the Peel Centre on Stafford Street.

The CCAAP also mentions shops, offices and 170 homes for Penn Road Island and Ring Road St Mark's.

"Within this area, a high-quality civic space or sequence of spaces will be laid out that will form the setting for large-scale leisure such as a new cinema with ancillary retail and some commercial office development," the document states. "This area is currently the preferred location for the indoor and outdoor markets."

The draft action plan will go before Wolverhampton City Council's cabinet on Wednesday.

Other proposals being considered are high-rise apartment buildings and offices on the corner of Waterloo Road and Ring Road St Peter's.