Businessman's £30,000 bid to save fading Wolverhampton centre blighted by empty shops
A Wolverhampton businessman is stumping up £30,000 to commission an independent review in a bid to revitalise the dilapidated city centre.
Henry Carver, who is funding the report, said businesses wanted a “completely fresh look” at the city centre, which is blighted by empty shops.
The entrepreneur, who runs Carvers Building Supplies, said the proud and historic city needed to look at how other areas had “regenerated themselves successfully”.
It came as Wolverhampton Business Forum accused Wolverhampton Council of presiding over “years of neglect” in the city.
Chairman Sham Sharma, who closed his own city centre business down last year due to falling trade, said the council had “killed off” the city centre and had “no interest in listening to businesses”.
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He said: “There’s more activity in a morgue than there is in Wolverhampton city centre.”
Council chiefs have defended their plans, saying their "blended approach" of events, attractions and retail, will see visitors flocking to the city.
The council has come under fire over its controversial long-running pedestrianisation scheme down Victoria Street, which has killed off a number of businesses including Toni & Guy.
It comes after the collapse of the Westside scheme, the council’s £50m vision featuring a cinema and restaurants that failed to attract the necessary investment.
It has unveiled plans for a £6 million ‘box park’ leisure development and also revealed how it intends to pedestrianise Lichfield Street alongside the city’s art gallery.
Mr Carver, a former Wolverhampton Chamber of Commerce board member, said: “I am commissioning an independent review to take a completely fresh look at Wolverhampton city centre.
“We need to look at how other towns and cities – both here and abroad – have regenerated themselves successfully.”
He said he hoped the review would incorporate market research to find out why people were “not coming to Wolverhampton”.
