Bid for almost £50m to transform city and town centres to be submitted

A final bid for almost £50m to transform Wolverhampton city centre, Bilston and Wednesfield is to be submitted.Wolverhampton’s Town Deal Board is behind the push for up to £48m of government funding.The board was established in January and consists of key partners from across the political and business spectrum to advise on the development of the city centre and the two town centres.It includes senior councillors and council officers, the city’s three MPs, the University of Wolverhampton, the West Midlands Combined Authority, chief executives of key companies and representatives from the city’s Youth Council.The Towns Fund bid will be submitted on Friday 31 July 31 with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government expected to announce the outcome in late September.If the bid is successful, the funding will be used as a catalyst to accelerate the ongoing transformation of the three locations and attract further investment and development.It focuses on five core themes: employment and skills; changing perceptions of the city; regeneration and renewal; connectivity (digital and transport); and vibrancy and footfall.The bid seeks to support education and skills and bolster enterprise culture through the City Learning Quarter, National Brownfield Institute, 5G application accelerator, and Wolves at Work employment programme.