Growth strategy in focus with Wolverhampton a ‘city on the rise’

Wolverhampton Business Week is under way and highlighting schemes set to reinvigorate the city’s canalside and brownfield sites in the city centre – delivering more than 6,500 new homes and creating 4,000 jobs through £2.6 billion investment.

The collective impact of 6,500 new households from long-term regeneration schemes like Canalside South, City Centre West, St George’s, The Royal Quarter and Sunbeam is potentially worth £79 million to the local economy in Wolverhampton.

On Thursday, Wavensmere Homes and Glancy Nicholls Architects will offer a virtual tour of the Canalside South regeneration scheme, at the National Brownfield Institute, Cambridge Street, with sessions at 10am and 12pm.

This is ahead of the annual Business Breakfast, the following day, where key figures from all the major regeneration schemes will tell delegates why Wolverhampton is the place to invest and why they are working collaboratively with City of Wolverhampton Council to make things happen.

Councillor Chris Burden, the council’s Cabinet Member for City Development, Jobs and Skills, said: “This is not just about housebuilding, although we do have some tough targets in that respect. This is about the creation of quality, affordable and eco-friendly homes and communities for the future and the evolution of the city.

“City centre living and creating communities is a vital part of creating a vibrant place and a thriving economy and we have been working hard for many years to ensure that Wolverhampton continues to be a city that we can all be proud of, standing tall alongside other cities in the region and indeed the UK.

“What we have been doing is creating the right infrastructure and conditions to make it an easy decision for developers and investors to consider Wolverhampton. “Connectivity – physical and digital – is key and we have seen over £150 million invested in our transport interchange, while we have 96 per cent gigabit and 83 per cent full fibre broadband coverage. The proximity to Birmingham is important with residential values there very high. The regional ripple effect is so important to Wolverhampton, and the city is benefitting as Developers are keen to create much-needed homes and communities in our city.

“It means that we are doing something right and I think it is a significant statement and endorsement of Wolverhampton as a city on the rise.”

Aligned to this is the city’s Green Innovation Corridor (GIC), which will match these high-quality neighbourhoods with high-quality workplaces and jobs.

The GIC forms part of the West Midlands Investment Zone and is a partnership with the University of Wolverhampton, with the first phase of the project focused on the university’s Springfield Campus.

In the long term the corridor will present further opportunities for businesses and residents at Wolverhampton Science Park and further north up to the i54 business park.

The Council and the University are therefore seeking a private sector developer to join them to further develop the vision for the GIC, by refurbishing existing Research & Development space, and developing new commercial, innovation, and mixed-use accommodation over the next decade.

It builds on the city’s key assets in skills, research and innovation relating to metals, additive materials, advanced manufacturing, green computing and construction, and supports business growth in high-growth, innovative sectors.

It will also contribute to the UK’s ambition to achieve net zero by 2050 by helping to develop and implement new technologies for the efficient use of rare minerals and materials.

Councillor Burden added: “Our economic plan, the Good Growth Strategy, talks about a sustainable city with quality neighbourhoods and workplaces and collaboration with businesses and academia.

"Projects like the Green Innovation Corridor will help us achieve our priorities and will bring high-quality homes and jobs in high growth sectors – jobs for the future.”