Massive £20m Bilston regeneration plans backed by councillors with improvements due over 10 years

Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet approved ‘pride in place’ regeneration plans that will see £20m spent on improving Bilston in the next decade.

The Labour-run authority approved the ‘10-year vision, four-year investment plan’ at a cabinet meeting on February 18 and early work will see the town’s high street cleaned up and revamped alongside improvements to parks, green spaces and play areas, improved community facilities, and the return of Bilston Carnival.

The ‘priority’ work for the next four years will include an “intense clean up” of Bilston's High Street including improvements to lighting, new benches, CCTV, new public art and bollards.

The town’s parks, green spaces and play areas would also benefit from improvements and money would be set aside to improve community centres and other similar facilities.

The council said the regeneration plan was put together after speaking with more than 1,000 locals.

The consultation found that people valued Bilston’s “strong community spirit, friendly atmosphere, market heritage, and good transport links” but wanted to see the town cleaner, safer, and more vibrant with better shops, parks, lighting, and community spaces.

Locals said they wanted a “place they could be proud of” with “more activities for young people, thriving green spaces, and a lively, welcoming town centre that celebrates Bilston’s identity and heritage.”

A ‘pride in place’ board, made up of local community, business and public sector representatives, will be the main decision-making body for the town’s decade-long £20m regeneration plans and it says it will focus on creating a ‘safer, cleaner and vibrant’ Bilston and ensure young people are “actively involved in shaping the town’s future.”

The project would also see investment in community hubs, local heritage, arts and community events across all age groups and backgrounds.

Andrew Pecincu-Holban, a student at Bilston’s Ormiston SWB Academy, was among those members of Wolverhampton’s youth council addressing the meeting on February 18.

“I feel immense pride for being part of the [project],” he said. “I feel Bilston is a place of community where people are able to gather and share all types of opinions, from the market, to The Lunt, to the actual carnival which is hopefully returning in the future.

“Bilston is great for community… and I feel immense pride to actually be part of that community.

“It would be even better to see things to return and things to get even better. We can grow closer and the future will be brighter than ever.”

The ‘pride in place’ regeneration project would also see the return of the Bilston Carnival which was last held in the town in 2008.

The carnival would become an annual flagship event along a wider series of events aimed at “driving footfall and providing activities for the people of Bilston, as well as providing opportunities to celebrate the history and heritage of the town".

Improved signs and public art would provide new walking trails highlighting the town’s history and heritage.

Councillor Chris Burden, Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet member for development, jobs and skills, said it was an “exciting time to be in Bilston".

A new £20m health and wellbeing hub is also set to be built in Bilston, next to the town’s Bert Williams leisure centre, and £9m improvements to the town’s market are set to finally be completed in the summer after months of delays.

Work also continues on the £28m Foundry Business Park which includes 15 new units.