Government investment will put Wolverhampton at 'forefront of excellence' in housebuilding, MP says

Stuart Anderson said the city was looking to be at the "forefront" of brownfield-first development – with disused land being brought back into use for homes.

The Wolverhampton South West MP also praised the Government for investing in the city, with a Modern Methods of Construction Taskforce being set up.

The group will consist of world-leading experts from across the Government and industry to fast-track the adoption of "modern methods" of construction.

Mr Anderson said the move – and the National Brownfield Institute – would help "pioneer" new technologies which would help to save the precious green belt.

He said, during a debate in Parliament on the housing measures set out in the Queen's Speech, said: "Wolverhampton is looking to be at the forefront of brownfield-first development.

"We now have the National Brownfield Institute in Wolverhampton, and we want to pioneer new technologies, through modern methods of construction, to help protect our green belt but also ensure that we get affordable housing. We have just over 10 per cent of green space in Wolverhampton, and we want to make sure that we keep it. We have prominent campaigns, such as Save the Seven Cornfields, the Lower Penn group and the Wolverhampton Environment Centre, which are trying to protect beautiful areas in and around Wolverhampton.

"They are a lifeline for so many people in our city to enjoy nature, but we also need houses. The argument always come back, 'We don’t have enough brownfield', but that is categorically not true in Wolverhampton, where we have a lot of brownfield sites, empty retail space and a large city centre that can be filled with a lot of residential accommodation.

"We are delighted by the towns fund, the future high streets fund and investment into our city, but more needs to be done to see a transformational shift of private investment into the city to help build those houses."

The MP said after the debate that the city could become the "forefront of excellence" in housebuilding – through use of the modern construction methods – and pledged to continue to work with the Friends of the Wolverhampton Environment Centre and Save the Seven Cornfields campaign groups to "ensure that their voices are heard at the highest level".