£20m loan to help provide new houses

A £20m investment has been announced into a regeneration scheme which will create hundreds of new homes in Wolverhampton.

The Canalside South scheme will provide more than 530 new energy-efficient homes, including 109 affordable plots, according to City of Wolverhampton Council.

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has provided the loan to Wavensmere Homes for the £150m project.

The scheme will see homes delivered across the former British Steel and Crane Foundry site and land off Qualcast Road, which has been derelict for 15 years.

The 17.5-acre former industrial site established by the council and the Canal and River Trust is located within the city centre, with frontage onto the Wyrley & Essington Canal and the Wolverhampton branch of the Birmingham Main Line Canal.

Wolverhampton Council said the scheme was one of the biggest regeneration projects of its kind in the region.

The investment was announced by the Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker, who said: "It's exciting to think that this huge derelict site – the size of 10 football pitches – will soon become a place where people can live, raise families and thrive.

"The investment announced today is significant because this scheme has a vital role to play in the ongoing regeneration of Wolverhampton, providing hundreds of badly needed new homes, more than 100 of them affordable, within a stone's throw of the city centre."

Wavensmere Homes received planning approval from the council for the project at the end of September 2024.

Ground preparation works will commence on-site imminently, followed by the four-year construction programme.

Wavensmere Homes will be constructing 378 two and three-bedroom townhouses, as well as 145 one and two-bedroom apartments. There will also be 10 co-living units, each containing 6 bedrooms.

Councillor Stephen Simkins, Wolverhampton Council leader, said the project was fundamental to the council's "brownfield first" strategy.

"Bringing life back to the redundant sites along our canal network is critical to boosting footfall into our city centre," he said.

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