Derbyshire firm to develop first units at £100m Walsall development

A Derbyshire-based construction firm has landed a contract to build two industrial units as part of the £100m Spark development in Walsall, West Midlands.

Bowmer & Kirkland will deliver a 23,500 sq m unit and a smaller 1,650 sq m building, with both set to be completed later this year.

These are the first units to rise on the 18-hectare site, located near the M6 motorway.

Once the largest undeveloped brownfield site in the Black Country and previously home to the James Bridge Copper Works, it is now being transformed into a business hub.

The Spark scheme is being developed by Origin, a joint venture between Henry Boot’s development arm HBD and Feldberg Capital, and has been derelict for over 20 years.

When complete, the entire project will deliver 620,000 sq ft of space.

West Midlands mayor Richard Parker said: “For more than two decades this site in Walsall has lay derelict and abandoned. But now, following a multimillion-pound investment, it will be a site open for development – bringing in businesses, investment and jobs.

“This former copper works, once a place of heavy industry, is being transformed into a site ready to house modern manufacturing and logistics companies in the region. It will create hundreds of valuable jobs, but most importantly, it will be a catalyst for economic growth in the region.”