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This iconic curved building is the first image released of the planned Sainsbury’s flagship store for the centre of Wolverhampton.
The dramatic development would transform the rundown Raglan Street site near Chapel Ash as part of a £65 million retail park complete with a supermarket, petrol station, private flats and sheltered housing. The supermarket, which owns 80 per cent of the land, has been at loggerheads with rival Tesco for years over the lucrative 20-acre Raglan Street site.
Tesco owns the other 20 per cent of the land – bordered by Ring Road St Mark’s – and wants to create a 10,000 sq metre superstore, petrol station, 11 shops, more than 100 apartments and sheltered accommodation.
Both were given outline planning consent earlier this year to develop the prime site, and each is refusing to give way.
Each company has now submitted its final bid, explaining why it should be the one to provide the new store. Council bosses are set to make their ruling in the next few days.
They will be forced to invoke compulsory purchase powers on the loser to give up its share.
Sainsbury’s has already ordered the demolition of run-down buildings around the site. Work has now started to clean up and fence off the former Trimco Holdings buildings, Rayton Electrical site and part of the Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries building in Raglan Street.
Sainsbury’s spokeswoman Sue Bailey said: “We are completely committed to developing this scheme.”
Tesco corporate affairs manager Tony Fletcher said: “We had a development agreement with the council to develop Raglan Street after Sainsbury’s pulled out years ago.”
6 Comments
I can point you to one they prepared earlier. These images look perilously like the ugly monstrosity this firm constructed at Bell Green, London SE26. Cheap construction, poor quality materials and a dreary nissen hut like appearance…. A major City Centre location deserves better.
How about tesco sell the land to sainsburys and then sainsburys sell their other store in the city to tesco! Then both stores win and wolverhmpton benefits!!!!!
Good! Squash it flat (apart from Rayton which is still a thriving business). Oh, and Contact Motors (good value MOT). Ah, of course, there’s K D Winkle, purveyors of most excellent pork products. Let’s not forget Hopcraft Monumental Masons. You’re a long time dead and this firm makes sure you aren’t forgotten. Flatten that and you’ve killed a community.
Yes, but thye look a lot better than the Lord Raglan pub !!!
If Sainsburys win this site will it then shelve plans to open a store in wombourne? Tescos should win as apart form the odd tesco express they are unrepresented around here, competition is good for us, the consumer.
Unbelievable the Council will cave in to Tesco’s school yard bully tactics. The Royal site proved too costly and unprofitable so they decide they like what Sainsbury’s bought instead. Sainsburys have been a large employer, and supporter of communities in and around Wolverhampton for over 40 years. It is naive to believe Wolverhampton has an infinite need for supermarkets - Tesco’s claim of 650 jobs will of course come at the expense of other retail jobs in the City, and in reality the majority of these ‘new’ jobs will amount to little more than 8 hour contracts.