Wolverhampton Council submits final bid for £20m of high street funding
Wolverhampton Council has submitted its bid for more than £20 million of Government funding to help transform 38 acres to the west of the city centre.
The council has applied for help from the Government's Future High Streets Fund to help deliver a multi-million pound makeover of the city centre the authority says will create 450 jobs.
The plan focuses on Victoria Street, Bell Street, Fold Street and the public areas around the Civic Halls and the Westside developments, which used to be part of the city's retail core.
Victoria Street, Skinner Street, Salop Street and School Street would all be made traffic free, as would the space outside of the Civic Halls which are due to reopen next year.
The council's project to revamp the halls was already five years behind schedule and four times over budget before the coronavirus pandemic brought work to a halt.
The final plan to regenerate Victoria Street has been put together with input from city partners and businesses following an outline case which was sent to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government in January.
In January the council said it would be submitting the plans in April. The outcome is expected to be announced in the autumn.
If the bid is successful, it could create 450 new jobs and provide opportunities to deliver hundreds of new city centre homes, a new 150-bed hotel and an event zone.
The council said the bid could attract a further £185m in private investment.
Wolverhampton Council leader Ian Brookfield said, if the bid is successful, the money would make a real difference to residents and businesses through transforming the city centre.
He said: "Support through the Future High Street Fund will build on the strong delivery that is already underway in the city centre.
"It will enhance and connect an area of the city centre that has, over recent years faced a number of challenges.
"We have developed with partners bold and ambitious plans to reimagine and transform our wider city centre area with better jobs, better skills, better entertainment and a better city."
