£8m makeover to give area a boost

Jun 19 2006 By Steve Johnson, Birmingham Mail

HUNDREDS of new jobs and homes are on the way to the Black Country thanks to a multi-million pound regeneration scheme, it was revealed today.

Advantage West Midlands is poised to forge ahead with substantial reclamation work at the Bilston Urban Village site this summer after the regional development agency received an additional £8 million funding approval from Whitehall.

The flagship project, in partnership with Wolverhampton City Council, will transform around 100 acres of derelict brown-field land into a thriving urban community over the next decade, providing more than 1,000 residential units and creating more than 900 jobs.

The total Agency investment in the site now stands at £18 million.

The new funding will kick-start two major reclamation contracts across seven acres to: 

* Stabilise shallow mining voids linked to past mining of the site; 

* Provide new roads and services at the site so that work can begin on the Council's new leisure centre for Bilston.

Coun Peter Bilson, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Enterprise at Wolver-hampton City Council, said: "This is a major step forward and will raise both confidence and aspirations for Bilston."

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