I am really proud to report that the image that we often get of Wolverhampton as a city with ‘no hope’ is not really that at all. Most people will not know, but at the moment, this very moment in fact, there is £50m of construction taking place just in our City Centre alone, and construction workers today are picking up their hard hats, and making ready for their days work!
They are working on –
- Wolverhampton Interchange I10 – £8.1m
- University Business School – £15m
- Sunbeam Building – £10m
- Marstons HQ – £9.5m
- Wolverhampton Youth Zone – £5.5m
- Public Realm – £1.5m
- Other smaller construction projects
In the last 12 months there has also been £96m worth of projects constructed and completed
Sites like the New Sainsburys – £60m; University Science Block – £20m; Carillion House – £3m etc.
Now add the planned 2016 construction projects into the mix as a £174m schedule of schemes are made ready, and you have £320m worth of jobs and prosperity having taken or nearing taking place in Wolverhampton City Centre.
Plus there is around a further £500m of projects in line just a year or so away. Much is going on in Wolverhampton and the City Council is more than playing a role in the change. So when the ‘doomsayers’ report that nothing is taking place – speak up for the city. There is a lot of work and endeavour taking place to improve the City Centre. Plus work and progress continues to be made in other sectors and suburbs here in this city of a thousand years of history.
Jaguar Land Rover the largest and latest company to locate in Wolverhampton has poured £500m into its site and has employed the first 600 employees of the 1,400 new workers it is planning to staff the site with.
We have a ‘World Class’ cluster of aerospace companies that are performing well. Plus we have new housing schemes taking place in Bilston Urban Village, and Wednesfield. I am proud of the City and I strongly believe it has a great future. Yes there is dark clouds on the horizon as Government continues to slash grants to welfare and social budgets.
But this City Council is doing all it can to attract industry and commerce into the City. It is part of the Labour Groups Policy, so that we retain more of the business rate, to offset the loss of grant this Conservative Government is intent on raiding.
In my next submission I will take you through the exciting facts and developments that are taking place in Wednesfield
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