Walsall Council to take over site of business park
The site of a proposed multi-million pound business park will be taken over by the council to push ahead with reclamation work and development of the ambitious project.
Walsall Council is expected to take responsibility of land in the Phoenix 10 scheme after the preferred developer pulled out.
Members of the council’s decision-making cabinet are tomorrow being recommended to acquire all the 37-acre site and then appoint a specialist contractor.
The main landowner is currently the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), which had been working on finalising a deal with developer Parkhill Estates.
As part of this deal, the authority would have transferred its land into the project. But it emerged in January the negotiations had ceased.
The council is now expected to agree to take control of the management of the scheme which is expected to create 3,000 jobs as part of the enterprise zone.
In a report the cabinet, regeneration chief councillor Adrian Andrew said: “It is proposed that the cost of the work is met by borrowing against future business rate uplift anticipated to be generated in the Black Country Enterprise Zone.
“The project represents the single most complex regeneration scheme in Walsall at this time.”
Professional property advisors DTZ were tasked with reviewing the project by the council and HCA to consider alternative means of progressing the reclamation and development of the key site.
To fit in with the creation of an enterprise zone are £26 million plans for a new road network in the area.