The council’s Cabinet Resources Panel approved in March a major scheme to free up 7.5 acres of brownfield land for more than 200 new homes in the city.
The proposal will see council services in older buildings at the former Loxdale Primary School site in Bilston and Stowheath Day Training Centre in East Park relocated to new purpose built facilities at the Hickman Avenue Depot in East Park - improving service operation and efficiencies, as well as create jobs.
Site clearance and remediation of the land will then be carried out to enable the sale of the land to development partners for the delivery of new energy efficient homes by modern methods of construction.
Local residents can feed into the plans at an early stage and help shape the initial designs for these important housing developments at the following respective community events:
- Friday 19 May (3pm to 6pm), outside the former Loxdale Primary School, Chapel Street, WV140PR
- Saturday 20 May (3pm to 6pm), outside Actor’s Wardrobe, Stowheath Lane, WV1 2TW
It is hoped, subject to planning approvals, construction of the new units at Hickman Avenue will start during 2024, with the relocation of services and land remediation of the former Loxdale Primary School and Stowheath Day Training Centre sites being completed later that year to pave the way for the new homes.
The Council’s Cabinet Member for City Assets and Housing, Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, said: “We want residents to really get involved in the design process and have their say - and I would urge them to get along to these community events.
“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 supports our plans to regenerate the East Park Gateway along the Willenhall Road.
“Hundreds of construction jobs and apprenticeship opportunities will also be created, and the aim is to develop a net zero carbon scheme that supports the council’s climate change agenda.”
