Steelpark benefits from £3.7m funding deal
A near-£4m cash injection into Wolverhampton is helping to stimulate new industrial – and job-creating – property development.
The £3.7m funding has been supplied to the city through the West Midlands Combined Authority’s devolution deal.
One of the developments it is helping to support is at the Steelpark Trading Estate in Wednesfield.
Walsall-based commercial property developer Goold Estates is implementing the scheme, backed by investment from the authority’s Collective Investment Fund (CIF). Construction firm J. Tomlinson is contractor for the project.
Extending to 69,025 sq ft, the site will comprise six new units. They will have a gross development value of £6.2m and are expected to provide dozens of news jobs once construction is complete, which is scheduled for the end of this year.
Cllr Roger Lawrence, the leader of City of Wolverhampton Council and a member of the WMCA, said: “I am delighted the CIF has been able to assist this exciting development.
“Schemes such as this are of fundamental importance to the West Midlands, they create the jobs and economic growth that underpin the future prosperity of the region.”
The development has already attracted interest from potential tenants due to the ongoing shortage of available commercial space in the area.
Stakeholders in the scheme have also showcased the site to property professionals and business organisations from across the West Midlands to show them first hand how work is progressing.
Work on four business units started in the summer and already one is nearing completion, while others have the steelwork erected and roofs on.
Dominic Goold, managing director of Goold Estates, said: “Construction is progressing really well and it’s great to see all our plans for the site coming to fruition.
“This is a high-quality development which is already attracting investment and jobs to the region.”
The site, adjacent to the Tata Steel Automotive Service Centre, had been vacant and available for development for many years.
“We acquired it in September last year and just 12 months later we already see four units coming out of the ground,” added Mr Goold.
“All of the units are being built speculatively, for sale or lease, because we are confident there is a strong demand in the market.”
Steelpark Trading Estate
The CIF is a £70m commercial development war-chest set up by the WMCA to stimulate jobs, opportunity and growth.
It is aimed at unlocking a further £1bn in private sector investment over the next ten years.
It is managed by Finance Birmingham and provides short-term loans to private sector developers to enable them to get schemes off the ground.
Nick Oakley, senior investment director at Finance Birmingham, said: “It’s great to see work on Steelpark making excellent progress.
“It’s a well located site and we are delighted to be supporting Goold Estates in bringing forward the development.”
Pictured at the site are: Nick Oakley, Dominic Goold, Cllr Roger Lawrence and Ed Bradburn, associate director for property finance at Finance Birmingham.
