Partnership set to breathe new life in Black Country Enterprise Zone

A BLACK Country council has enlisted the help of a property specialist to assist with the regeneration of the borough.

Walsall MBC is looking to breathe new life into projects in Darlaston that will spearhead the growth of the forgotten second part of the Black Country Enterprise Zone.

When the coalition government launched its Enterprise Zone strategy in 2010 one of the first to be prioritised was that for the Black Country. It split the zone into two with one part in Darlaston and the second at what was to become the i54 business park outside Wolverhampton – now home to Jaguar Land Rover’s £1bn Engine Manufacturing Centre as well as a host of other businesses.

There was a thought that the Darlaston site, given its close proximity to the M6, might become a feeder site for the plant, which scores of component businesses maximising supply chain opportunities by relocating, attracted by low rates, relaxed planning regulations and superfast broadband.

Now the council, working in collaboration with the Black Country LEP, is looking at pushing ahead with work that could bring hundreds of new jobs to the borough.

It has enlisted specialists from real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield’s Birmingham office to assist with the work.

Cllr Lee Jeavons, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for regeneration, said: “Jobs are of the utmost importance in the borough, which has been hit hard over the years by the decline of traditional industries. The council has been playing a vital role in the regeneration of Darlaston and Pleck during the past two decades, and now the results of this are starting to come to the fore.”
 
Cushman & Wakefield’s development consulting team is to assist the council in accelerating the development of the sites, and also help to attract developers, investors and occupiers.
 
The sites, all located within the Junction 10 cluster, are to be marketed to companies operating in the LEP’s priority sectors – advanced manufacturing, transport, construction, environmental and building services.
 
The Darlaston sites occupy some 40 hectares of land. The largest of the sites is Phoenix 10, which is situated between Junctions 9 and Junction 10 of the M6 and is clearly visible from the motorway.
 
Phoenix 10 extends to 44 acres. The site was formerly the location of an IMI refinery and has been derelict for a number of years.  Once developed, it could accommodate up to 60,000m² of floorspace, and its regeneration could help spark the development of other sites in the local area.
 
Cushman & Wakefield is currently leading on the procurement of a development partner for the Phoenix 10 site, in conjunction with Walsall Council and the Homes and Communities Agency. The aim is to have the site fully developed by 2022.
 
The other sites being brought forward are under various ownerships and include Aspect 2000, Gasholders, Boxpool, Parallel 9/10, Central Point and Tempus 10.
 
Walsall Council has been investing heavily in improving the local infrastructure around the various sites to improve regional and local access for Black Country businesses.  
 
Notably, the recent completion of the £26m Darlaston Strategic Development Area Access Project (DSDA), a series of highway improvements to provide better traffic access to key Darlaston employment sites.
 
The council is also working in partnership with Highways England on the £60m Junction 10 capacity improvement scheme to reduce congestion and to improve the attractiveness of the local area for business and investment.  
 
Cushman & Wakefield has already been working with the local authority and the latest agreement sees 9its contract extended for a further three years.

Jonathan Turner, Head of Cushman & Wakefield’s development consulting team in the Midlands, said: “We have a long standing role providing strategic delivery advice in respect of the BCEZ, and a strong track record in the procurement and delivery of large-scale commercially led public and private regeneration and property projects.
 
“The delivery of the Enterprise Zone sites will be the catalyst for the further development of the wider area. At present, there is a lack of supply of land for development in the Black Country, and this is constricting the further growth of the local economy. We are hopeful our work will help resolve that.”