Campus cleared for green corridor scheme

56 minutes ago

Caroline GallWest Midlands

News image — Dr Pete Cross from the university and Stephen Simkins, council leader, visited the campus

University of Wolverhampton Two men men stand on an area of brown soil with one a spade. On the left, one has a blue suit and brown shoes and the other on the right has dark trousers and a blue shirt on. Both have florescent jackets on and hard hats. Behind them is a boarded-up building and another redundant brick building in the distance. — Dr Pete Cross from the university and Stephen Simkins, council leader, visited the campus

Clearance work has been completed at a university campus in Wolverhampton as part of the city's Green Innovation Corridor.

Planning permission for the corridor that will connect the University of Wolverhampton's Springfield campus, Science Park, and the i54 advanced manufacturing business park was granted in January.

Site clearance work has been carried out on part of the campus, the university said, with structural and enabling works, including installing new foundations, are due to begin shortly.

Construction work is expected to be completed by the end of the year, the university said.

The council has said four brownfield sites, designated as a West Midlands Investment Zone, will be redeveloped to "attract investment and create jobs focused on green construction, engineering, and digital technologies".

City of Wolverhampton Council New brick and glass buildings can be seen with people walking past them in this artist impression of the campus site. A large building can be seen on the left in the distance. — The image showing what a vacant heritage building could look like as one of the new blocks at Springfield Campus

The wider project, known as Six Mile Green (SMG) and led jointly by the university and city council, has received funding from the government and the West Midlands Combined Authority.

The clearance works at the campus, on the site of the historic former Mitchells & Butlers Brewery, have been described as another milestone in the scheme.

"By carefully preparing and adapting this historic site, we are creating the foundations for future teaching, research and innovation that will support new skills, collaboration with industry and our shared ambitions around sustainability and net zero," Dr Pete Cross, chief operating officer at the university said.

Stephen Simkins, leader of the city council said :"The transformation of this vacant heritage building into a new teaching facility, will significantly contribute to the furthering of the wider campus' capabilities, its reputation and its magnetism as a tech hub for the Black Country and West Midlands.

"It will act as a gateway for and support the ambitions of the Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor, delivering long-term cultural, educational, and environmental benefits."