£100 million Springfield Brewery revamp gets go-ahead

The sprawling site off Cambridge Street will house three major developments.

It will feature the University of Wolverhampton's School of Architecture and Built Environment, a manufacturing training centre and the West Midlands Construction University Technical College (UTC.)

Planning permission for all three schemes has now been approved and they are scheduled to be open by September 2018.

Professor Geoff Layer, University of Wolverhampton's Vice-Chancellor, said: "The vision for the Springfield Campus is to make it into a world leading hub for construction and the built environment.

"It is an integral part of our strategic investment, as well as acting as central part of our efforts to support economic growth and regeneration plans for Wolverhampton and the Black Country.

"It is a project that has people in the University, our partners and the industry itself, tremendously excited with the potential it has."

Springfield Brewery was operated by Mitchells and Butlers between 1873 and 1991. The University of Wolverhampton bought the 12-acre site in 2014.

The University's School of Architecture and Built Environment will form the largest phase of the redevelopment and could eventually be home to more than 1,200 students

Plans include the demolition of a number of existing buildings which have fallen into disrepair while others will be refurbished.

Features include design studios, workshops, research space, lecture theatres and student services.

The training centre – which will be called the Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills – will be an employer-led facility designed to improve productivity and growth in the high-value manufacturing sector.

It will feature an L-shaped brick building which was constructed in the early 1880s.

The West Midlands Construction UTC has been built ahead of the other developments near the brewery's iconic entrance archway.

From November 9 it will cater for 14-19 year-olds specialising in education for careers in architecture, civil engineering, surveying and similar fields.

The historic outer brick façade on Grimstone Street and Cambridge Street will be retained.

Prof Layer, added: "The new campus will go some way to start addressing the skills gap in a sector which has a big shortfall in the right people with the right skills to design, create and build new homes, offices and infrastructure that are needed."

"Springfield will provide a unique setting with the latest cutting edge technology to ensure a collaborative research environment, innovative teaching and cross-working with businesses to make it the place where the workforce to tomorrow will be formed."