Wolverhampton to approve revised £20m eco-tech scheme
The University of Wolverhampton is set to lead an £11m scheme to kick-start work on the city’s green industry hub – if plans are given the go ahead next week.
Under proposals set to be discussed by City of Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet on 10 December, a total of five schemes will get under way as the authority puts £20m of central government funding to work on the city’s Green Innovation Corridor project.
The project is a long-term plan to support the growth of new “green” industries across the city, initially focussed on linking the university’s Springfield Campus with the Science Park, with project bosses hoping the scheme will add around £225m to Wolverhampton’s economy.
In a revised programme, drawn up in response to a looming government deadline to deliver the scheme by March 2028, the city council is now set to move up “deliverable, high-impact components” of the project.
The university will be allocated £11.1m to take the lead on three components of the £20m programme, including the university-led refurbishment of around 9,500 sq ft of a vacant heritage building on the former Springfield Brewery site.
A 3,300 sq ft new building will also be constructed next door, with the new facility set to become the home of the UoW Green Biofuel Racing Team and the UoW Aerospace programme – also expanding links with the adjacent School of Architecture and Built Environment at the nearby Brownfields institute.
The Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills training facility will undergo a £2.2m refurbishment and retrofit as laboratory, offices and conference spaces as part of the building’s transition to become a green electrical materials manufacturing centre.
The city council will deliver a £5.1m scheme of public realm improvements between the UoW Springfield Campus, Molineux area and the city centre, with around £3.2m also earmarked for the purchase of three undisclosed sites intended for future development.
Other planned improvements include upgrading an electrical substation at Wolverhampton Science Park to make it suitable for power-hungry laboratory operations.
Combined, the scheme will deliver around 19,000 sq ft of new or renovated floor space for enhanced research and development facilities, the cabinet report says.
The report will be discussed at a meeting of the city council’s cabinet on 10 December. The revised scheme is recommended for approval.
