Brownfield scheme to pave the way for new homes

Proposals to free up 7.5 acres of brownfield land in Wolverhampton to provide more than 200 homes look set to be approved.Plans involve council services in older buildings at the former Loxdale Primary School site in Bilston and Stowheath Day Training Centre in East Park being relocated to new purpose-built facilities at the Hickman Avenue Depot, East Park.Site clearance and remediation of the land would then be carried out to enable a sale to development partners for the provision of energy-efficient homes by modern methods of construction.The majority of funding for the scheme is expected to come from external grants, with the government’s One Public Estate (OPE) initiative supportive of the plans.It is hoped, subject to approvals, construction of the new units at Hickman Avenue will start during 2024, with the relocation and land remediation of the other two sites being completed later that year to pave the way for housingThe report will be discussed at the next cabinet resources panel meeting on 22 March.Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for city assets and housing, said: “This is an exciting scheme that makes the best use of council assets and aligns with our policy of developing new homes on brownfield land.”More importantly, it will enable the development of more and better affordable homes for key workers in the Bilston and East Park areas of the city.”It also supports our plans to regenerate the East Park Gateway along the Willenhall Road.”Hundreds of construction jobs and apprenticeship opportunities will be created, and the aim is to develop a Net Zero carbon scheme that supports the council’s climate change agenda.”