Buildings flattened at Goodyear site

Demolition work on the sprawling Goodyear site in Wolverhampton is well under way as part of a major £150 million regeneration project.

Old industrial buildings which have stood in the city for decades have been pulled down to make way for more than 600 new homes, with the site already starting to look unrecognisable. Experts at Lee Demolition are now three months into bulldozing work before Birmingham-based property giant St Mowden can move in to build the houses.

The new urban community will see homes, shops, a school and a park created.

The grand designs will also see a smaller 18-acre Goodyear factory which will cater for 400 workers creating tyre components.

Goodyear Sports and Social Club, which is 70 years old, will be retained and its facilities enhanced.

Lee Demolition says the test cage, cement house, motor repair buildings and some of the warehousing have all now gone to make way for the development.

Workers, who have been on-site since the start of December, have now turned their attention to Building 44, which is believed to have been used for manufacturing before phase three of the project gets started next month.

Project manager Adrian Chubb said the project was progressing well.

“I would say that we are now about one third of the way through as a number of buildings have now gone,” he said. “Building 44, which we are currently working on, is adjacent to Stafford Road and we will finish that in the next few weeks.

“At the moment we are getting to do the more technical parts during phase two, and phase three will probably be around March.

“When we get started on that we will be working on buildings such as the boiler house and work around the listed clock tower building.” The 1930s-built clock tower is be preserved and retained to working order as part of the development.

The landmark iconic blue chimney that towers 150ft over the site is set to be taken down around late April. The huge residential scheme could include more than 100 shared ownership and rented homes.

It also encompasses proposals for shops, a replacement for Oxley Primary School and community venues, parkland, play outlets and improvements to the road network.