Awards celebrate unique side of Wolverhampton

The new scheme will recognise independent shops, cafes and other independent enterprises which city bosses believe will give the city 'character' as well as reward entrepreneurs.

The announcement was made during the state of the city address by Wolverhampton leader Roger Lawrence at Wednesday's full council meeting.

He said many large towns and cities, having the same shops and coffee houses, were in danger of looking like clones of each other.

"That is not true of Wolverhampton where we have a lot of independent retailers and we ought to recognise and celebrate their work," he said.

"So we are launching an annual award for individual enterprise that will reward retailers, new and existing, and help give Wolverhampton its own character and make us different from other centres."

In his address, Councillor Lawrence referred to both the challenges the authority faces and its hopes for the future.

He said: "The challenges we have faced have been extremely difficult to manage but we have come through them and we are still providing services in the way people traditionally wanted them.

"There are now very major visible improvements taking place around the city as a result of our endeavours and those of the private sector."

He highlighted important developments such as Interchange 10, the £35 million revamp of the Mander Centre, new investment in the Grand Theatre, the refurbishment of the civic halls refurbishment, the new University Technical College on the site of the former Springfield Brewery and finding a new owner for the former Royal Hospital site.

He described the recently opened youth zone, The Way, as 'unrivalled' in the West Midlands. Elsewhere in the city, Pantheon Park in Wednesfield and Bilston's Urban Village and Wiggle warehouse were bringing jobs and new homes, while schools across the city were showing improved results.

The New Horizons programme, the city's vision for Wolverhampton in 2030 launched this week, was an 'aspirational' statement of where the council hoped to be in 14 years' time, he said

"We have a huge amount to be proud of and much more we need to do but I am optimistic we will turn the vision into a reality. Wolverhampton is a city that 's going to be an enormous success over the next 10 years."

Councillor Wendy Thompson, the Conservative leader, said the Black Country LEP has been vital in getting important investment into Wolverhampton, while working with the private sector and a 'healthy' national economy had also helped.

She welcomed investment in the Mander Centre but said there was still too little choice of shops.