Major scheme to transform Wednesbury site into 600 home development moves a step closer
A major scheme to finally transform a Wednesbury site left derelict for four decades into a 600 home development has moved a step closer.
Sandwell Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) have appointed Keepmoat as their preferred developer to construct the Friar Park Urban Village scheme.
West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker said the site was ‘no easy’ to bring forward but was pleased with progress being made.
The land, approximately the size of 32 football pitches, is joint owned by the council and WMCA and has previously housed a waste treatment plant, foundry and hospital.
But it has lain empty for more than 40 years due to the complexity in cleaning up the land and making it ready for building housing.
Once completed, bosses said at least 25 per cent of the new homes will be classed as affordable.
The first phase of work on Friar Park Urban Village will be to treat the land to address historic contamination issues.
A planning application will then be submitted by the Council and WMCA for the remediation work shortly and will be available for public comment.
Mr Parker, said: “I’m pleased to see more progress on this project.
“This is not an easy site to bring forward, but when I met with the Environment Agency, they assured me they are treating our land clean-up plans as a top priority now.
“That matters because thousands of families need a safe, warm home and this site can deliver 600 of them.
“The appointment of Keepmoat is a real step forward. They can now start designing a new community that will help meet our housing needs, create jobs and support the regeneration set out in my Growth Plan.”
Recent figures show that across the West Midlands there are 7,450 households, including 14,976 children, living in temporary accommodation and 65,335 households on social housing waiting lists.
Coun Peter Hughes, Sandwell Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Infrastructure added: “It’s great to see another step forward in our ambitious plans to regenerate Sandwell and to be able to offer more jobs, homes, green space and infrastructure to our residents.
“This project will be genuinely collaborative between the WMCA, Keepmoat, the Council and local residents.
“We will work hard to ensure that we deliver a site which is a real asset to the borough and something which improves quality of life.”
