Bulldozers set to clear eyesore

Walking through the battered old site of the former Wolverhampton Royal Hospital in All Saints, it is as though time has stood still.

Though the only occupants of the derelict main building are pigeons, every nook and cranny of the site serves as a reminder of what used to be.

Today, Tesco instructed contractors to finally start work on demolishing parts of the crumbling complex to make way for a £50m housing and development scheme, signalling the start of what promises to be one of the most exciting regeneration projects the city has seen.

By 2011, the 15-acre plot will no longer be a blot on the landscape, but a jewel in the crown for Wolverhampton, with the site brought back into use for the first time since 1997.

Buildings blocking out the views of the main hospital building will be demolished in February with a medical records building, mortuary, operating theatre, canteen, kitchens and children’s A&E all going.

The Express & Star was able to gain access to some of the buildings attached to the hospital, where we saw empty shelves, signs for different medical treatment rooms, pieces of card with orders for equipment dating back to 1995, pen marks ground into the staircases, and enough damp and dirt to last forever.

You name it, it was there – an old wing added on the main building still had old carpets torn up and left to rot, shards of glass from broken windows, baby bottles, and arrows on the walls guiding us to the toilets inside.

The old hospital building is to be restored, with Wolverhampton Primary Care Trust applying for government cash to use it as new headquarters and a medical centre.

As for the rest of the site, once the demolition work is done, at least 280 new homes will be created to surround the restored hospital building, as well as office space and a cafe.

Everyone with a stake in the success of the scheme is hoping it will rid the Cleveland Walk area of its image as a haven for drugs and prostitution.

Tesco originally wanted to build a supermarket on the site but planning permission was refused in favour of a housing and office development. A handful of guards will remain on site until the demolition work starts.

Approval for the site was finally granted in August this year, after Tesco spent years organising public consultations and submitting plans to build a supermarket.

Wolverhampton Heritage and History Society tried to save the site’s outpatient department, but that is also due to be bulldozed because of safety fears.

An old staff dining room, nurse changing room, blood bank, pathology unit and medical lecture room will also be demolished by the contractors, easing worries that some of the buildings had became havens for anti-social behaviour.

Security was beefed up at the site earlier this year after reports of youngsters entering the site.

Councillor Peter Bilson, deputy leader of the city council, said: “This is excellent news that Tesco has handed the site over to contractors. It’s a huge step forward and is very exciting.

“The last 10 years have been frustrating but we are moving forward at last and once this site is complete it will give us an enhanced city. Clearly, there are many dilapidated buildings here that have been a blot on the landscape, with the only occupants being the pigeons – this has been a lot of years in the making.”

Tesco says the work will be complete by 2011, with a target date set for the start of the year. Once complete it will create 600 new jobs.

Tony Fletcher, Corporate Affairs Manager for Tesco, said he was “extremely confident” it would be delivered on time.

Tim Clegg, executive director of the All Saints and Blakenhall Community Development Partnership, said: “This site has been a blot on the area, and this is the first step towards redeveloping it.

“We are keen to see it happen quickly, because there are no reason for any further delays. When it is complete it will lift up the whole area and improve the lives of everyone.”

Workers on the site have already started to clear out some of the rooms inside the various buildings in preparation for the demolition in early February.

Once the main hospital building is restored, Wolverhampton Primary Care Trust says it will provide new GP practices and specialist clinics for foot care, sexual health, adult hearing, physiotherapy and social care.