Land deal to bring new 750-home community
A major piece of former industrial land in Sandwell is to be turned into homes after lying derelict for decades.
The equivalent of more than 32 football pitches at Friar Park in Wednesbury will be transformed into a 750-home community following the sale of an old sewage works to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
The former works, which has been bought from Midlands Land Portfolio(MLPL), the property development arm of Severn Trent, covers just under half the overall 26.4 hectare site, with the remaining majority of the site owned by Sandwell Council.
The deal, a joint venture between Sandwell Council and WMCA, unlocks the biggest brownfield housing site in the region.
The WMCA, of which Sandwell is a member, will fund a major clean-up of the land, which has been home to a hospital and iron foundry in the past. The WMCA will then work with the council on a masterplan for the site, with full community consultation, before bringing on board development partners.
Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA, negotiated a housing deal with Government that has made cash available for regeneration of brownfield land across the region, including this project at Friar Park.
He said: “This prominent site, one of the biggest in the Black Country, has sat derelict for more than 30 years with no developer taking it on.
“It cannot be right that our green belt is being targeted for new homes while major sites like this are left untouched year after year. The WMCA is embarking on a ‘brownfield first’ policy for this exact reason, and I am delighted that we have been able to strike this latest deal alongside Sandwell Council and Seven Trent.
“Together, thanks to this landmark deal, we can ease the pressure on greenbelt land whilst also delivering good quality homes for local people.”
Julie Rossiter, head of property development for Severn Trent, added: “This is a great example of public and private sectors working together for the communities they serve and we are really pleased to be using our redundant land assets to provide much-needed new homes to the region.”
