Regeneration organisation Wolverhampton Development Company to be wound down
Jul 22 2010 by Graeme Brown, Birmingham Post
The organisation driving the regeneration of Wolverhampton is set to be wound down after falling victim to the culling of Advantage West Midlands.
Wolverhampton Development Company (WDC) made the decision after being told by AWM that its funding would be reduced by 25 per cent this year and be cut altogether from March next year.
WDC is also funded by Wolverhampton City Council which, alongside other councils, is reviewing its spending commitments.
Bosses at the organisation – which has helped drive significant improvements to the city despite the challenging economic landscape – will now report back to its board on August 27 on the future of its ongoing projects and issues such as disposing of its acquired assets.
Graham Mackenzie, chair of WDC, said: “I am disappointed that funding will no longer be available but, given the serious nature of the public sector deficit, I am not surprised at the decision.
"The board and are proud of the role the WDC has played in the difficult economic circumstances over the last two-and-half-years in securing development activity and raising the profile of Wolverhampton in the property community.
“We believe the work that the company has done, particularly the Stafford Road, city centre commercial, canalside, retail and hotel studies, provides a real basis on which Wolverhampton City Council can build a more prosperous future for the city.”
Successes for WDC include helping to facilitate the delivery of the £37 million Victoria Hall student village and winning planning consents for a range of commercial developments, including Treetops and Citygate. WDC also recently acquired the old Fox Hotel site which is set to be developed by the Hilton hotel group and has driven through the first phase of the Interchage scheme that has seen the development of a new bus station in the city.
A spokeman for AWM said: “Some difficult discussions are taking place with partners as the agency reviews its portfolio of 600 projects in order to save around £40 million this financial year. At a critical time for the economy our joint focus is to safeguard priority projects that create jobs and support businesses across the West Midlands.”
