'The council is now gutting the entire project': Tories hit out at cuts to Bilston Market redevelopment
Wolverhampton Council has been accused of 'gutting' its plans to redevelop Bilston Market after a number of features were removed from the scheme.
Councillor Wendy Dalton, deputy leader of the opposition Conservative group, said what was once promised to be a transformational regeneration project had been 'hollowed' out, with benches, planters, solar panels, new signs and car-park resurfacing all quietly dropped to save money.
The comments came after the council submitted revised plans for the long-awaited scheme, which saw many features removed, including a 40ft 'beacon' to attract people to the market.
The town’s outdoor market stalls were re-located a year ago to allow for the construction of a £6.4 million ‘state-of-the-art’ replacement.
It was due to have reopened this month, but work to the 200-year-old market was hit by delays and is not now expected to be finished until June 2026, eight months later than planned.
The cost of the project has also risen to £8.9 million, with the council saying adverse ground conditions were responsible.
The council agreed to put an extra £2.5 million into the project. But Councillor Dalton said that despite this extra contribution, residents were being left with a stripped-back version of the project.
Councillor Dalton said: “It is absolutely ridiculous that after pushing the budget up and postponing deadlines, this Labour-run council is now gutting the entire project. Costs up, more delays, and less delivery. This has been the story of the Labour council for over a decade, and there are countless examples. It is a disgrace."
Plans for a large sign on the side of the indoor market have also been scrapped.
A new market sign along the busy Black Country Route is also among those features scrapped as they would only be visible from drivers ‘through gaps in trees and during the winter months.’
Plans to put solar panels and lights on the new outdoor market roof have also been removed to save money and the market’s two existing trader car parks would remain and ‘repaired where needed’ rather than resurfaced.
The promised upgrades to the indoor market’s entrances have also been removed from the plans and “would be carried out at a future date” according to the council’s planning application.
Many of the features of the new ‘public park’ on the corner of the refurbished market have also been scrapped with benches and planters no longer being installed. A proposed ‘free-standing structure’ has also been removed from the designs.
Market Way, the thoroughfare between the indoor and outdoor markets, and the area in front of the market’s entrance between Bilston bus station, would be jetwashed and steam cleaned rather than replaced, the council said.
Diagonal paving has also been scrapped to save money and prevent waste.
The long delay to the work has hit traders, with Wolverhampton Council cutting rent by a quarter for more than 10 months to support them during the work.
The decision to re-locate the town’s outdoor market has also hit trade at its indoor market with stallholders complaining of a drop in passing trade.
Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services, said: "It is an absolute priority for us, and the main works are progressing well to deliver for our traders and the people of Bilston.
"Prior to works getting under way, surveys revealed far more challenging ground conditions at the site than we had anticipated, so we have had to re-engineer and adjust parts of the project – but we are not compromising on our ambition to develop the absolute best market in the West Midlands."
But Councillor Dalton said if the proposals did not impact on the quality of the project, they should not have been included in the first place.
"It's either that the original proposals were bloated and a waste of taxpayer's money, or that they were relevant and had to be cut due to mismanagement, which is another waste of taxpayer's money," she said. "We won't stand for this subterfuge."
The Conservatives have called for full transparency over the budget changes, the reasoning behind each cut, and a guarantee that if further funding becomes available, the removed features will be reinstated. They are also calling for a public meeting in Bilston so residents and traders can question those responsible for the decisions.
Councillor Dalton added: "This fiasco reflects a pattern of mismanagement that has defined the Labour administration for years: with rising costs, endless delays, and watered-down delivery becoming the hallmark of their approach to major projects across the city.
"The people of Bilston deserve better than broken promises and diminished ambitions from a council that has consistently failed to deliver value for money."
