Mayor on a mission for West Midlands centre for construction excellence

Andy Street with Berkeley Group chairman Tony Pidgley at the West London Construction Academy

The Mayor of the West Midlands has led a fact-finding mission to a construction academy as part of the development of a new national centre for construction excellence in the Black Country.

Andy Street visited the FTSE 100 Berkeley Group’s West London Construction Academy in Southall to find out how it has worked in partnership with the industry to respond to skills development challenges facing the construction sector.

He also explored how the challenges for the construction industry could be further addressed by the ambition to establish the West Midlands as the world leader in state-of-the-art construction, based around a proposed National Centre for Construction and Development Excellence at the University of Wolverhampton’s Springfield Campus.

Street visited the London construction academy with Tony Pidgley CBE, the founder and chairman of housebuilder Berkeley Group, which set up the academy.

Berkeley Group is the parent company of St Joseph which is currently developing a residential 400-apartment scheme, Snow Hill Wharf in Birmingham’s Gun Quarter, while its Eastside Locks scheme to build 769 apartments secured planning permission last month.

The Mayor said: “The Black Country and its coal was at the forefront of the industrial revolution in the 1800s. Now, in the 21st century, it is time the region reclaimed its place as a world leader in construction.

“By establishing this centre in the Black Country we will be doing just that, with students able to learn state-of-the-art construction techniques and apply them to derelict brownfield sites across the region. Soon our workers will be in demand across the world, remediating polluted sites and building skyscrapers.

“But this will only work if our proposed National Centre for Construction and Development Excellence is truly world class. To make that happen it is crucial we do our homework first, which is why I visited the highly-regarded West London Construction Academy to see how they are tackling the skills challenge facing the construction sector.

“It was a very beneficial visit, and I cannot wait to see our national centre start to take shape.”

The proposed National Centre for Construction and Development Excellence will be part of the University of Wolverhampton’s £100m investment in a construction “super-campus” at the former Springfield Brewery incorporating the West Midlands Construction University Technical College and the Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills Hub as well as the new School of Architecture and Built Environment and the proposed National Brownfield Institute.

The exact plans for the new centre are under development but once established it aims to ensure that the West Midlands is at the forefront of modern construction and help the region meet its target of 215,000 new homes by 2031.

Professor Geoff Layer, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton, said: “Our vision for Springfield is that it becomes a hub for excellence in construction and the built environment on a national and even international scale.

“There is a huge amount of brownfield land across the Black Country and wider West Midlands and we are looking forward to helping play an integral role in identifying and unlocking that land’s potential for regeneration and in particular supporting ways to address the housing shortage.

“Springfield itself is a perfect example of how brownfield land can be transformed and regenerated supporting jobs and the regional economy.”

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