WMCA unlocks brownfield site for housing

More than 250 new homes will be built in Walsall after the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) stepped in to unlock disused land for development.The WMCA has awarded £3.6M to property developer St Francis Group to “remediate” brownfield land on Goscote Lane, which will see the company create 263 new homes on the 17.1hectare site.The development forms part of the Goscote Lane Corridor scheme – which will see 700 homes built in the area as part of Walsall’s biggest residential regeneration project.The funding awarded to St Francis Group comes from the Black Country’s £53M land remediation fund, part of £200M secured by the WMCA for housing and land in the first devolution deal which transferred powers from central Government to the Combined Authority.The collaborative approach to unlock land at the Goscote Lane Corridor has involved Walsall Council, the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership and Homes England, alongside the WMCA and the City of Wolverhampton Council, which will act as the accountable body to ensure the funding is used and accounted for appropriately.