Walsall holds its breath on RGF bid for 4,000 jobs

REGENERATION chiefs in Walsall are pinning their hopes on a successful bid to the Government’s Regional Growth Fund if a new reclamation scheme in the borough is to be a success.

Developer Parkhill, supported by Walsall Council and the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership, has tabled a bid to the £1.4bn RGF for £5.88m towards the cost of the scheme at the form IMI Copper works in Pleck.

It will find out in the next two or three months if the bid has been successful and whether the £18m project can progress.

The local authority believes that almost 4,000 jobs could be created or safeguarded as a result of the project going ahead.

However, the 35-acre site, off Darlaston Road, needs a great deal of clean-up work carried out on it first as it is thought to be one of the most contaminated sites in Europe.

Plans for the scheme are being drafted although these will be dependent on the outcome of the RGF bid.

A Parkhill spokesman said: “We are aware that this has been a major project for a number of years and the council has facilitated the recent rapid progress that has been an important step towards reclaiming this contaminated site.”  
 
The site, known as Phoenix 10, stands within the Darlaston Strategic Development Area, and is one of the Black Country’s largest and most strategically important development sites.
 
The land is the site of a heavily contaminated former copper works and needs extensive reclamation work.
 
The council believes high quality employment could be created if the funding is secured and planning permission is obtained.
 
Cllr Adrian Andrew, Walsall Council Deputy Leader and cabinet member for regeneration, said: “We have been supporting Parkhill’s application for funding which in turn has been supported by the Black Country LEP and is a first big step in regenerating this part of the borough.
 
“There is still some way to go but, to be open and transparent, we would like to keep residents and partners in the picture and we pledge to keep people informed as the process, including any planning application, unfolds.”
 
The RGF application follows Walsall Council’s bid for funding to upgrade parts of the road network in Darlaston to improve traffic move in and out of the Phoenix 10 site.