Two derelict Black Country industrial sites to be transformed
Two more derelict industrial sites in the Black Country are to be transformed to provide housing following multimillion-pound investment deal.
The investment by West Midlands Combined Authority paves the way for developer Lovell to build 234 homes on the site of an old foundry in Fountain Lane, Oldbury, and another 71 homes on the former Cookley Works site on Leys Road, Brierley Hill.
The deals – £3.95m for Fountain Lane and £1m for Cookley Works – will pay for the clean-up of the sites, which have stood derelict for more than a decade, so they can be brought forward for residential development.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA, said: “Announcing two more major housing projects on brownfield land shows the commitment of the WMCA, alongside Sandwell and Dudley Councils, Lovell and other partners to continue delivering for our communities during these difficult times.
“The pandemic has hit the West Midlands harder than most, but these two schemes, along with the many others we have funded in recent months, will help our regional economy bounce back after this crisis by providing vital jobs, affordable homes, apprenticeships and space for communities to grow.
“It is vital we continue unlocking the region’s brownfield land in this way to deliver much needed and affordable housing and employment across the region and protect our Green Belt from unnecessary development.”
The Fountain Lane scheme will include one and two-bedroom apartments, as well as two, three and four bedroomed houses. A total of 49% of the new homes will be for affordable rent and shared ownership tenures.
The Cookley Works site has stood derelict since the last business based there closed in 2007, ending more than 150 years of steel industry on the site. It will see 71 homes built including a mix of affordable rent and low cost home ownership.
Stuart Penn, regional managing director for Lovell, added: “It’s thanks to the WMCA’s Single Commissioning Framework that we’re able to bring forward schemes like these at both Fountain Lane and Leys Road and it’s a pleasure to be able to regenerate these brownfield sites into thriving new places to call home.
“This framework allows strong working relationships with developers agreeing to meet the WMCA’s land use and design criteria equally.
“When we emerge from the pandemic, there will be an even greater impetus to identify key, strategic sites that can support the region’s regeneration.
“Despite recent events, this announcement comes at a critical time as we work together with the WMCA to deliver the Midlands’ housing needs, vital to the wider economic recovery of the region.”
Work will get underway on Fountain Lane this spring with completion expected in 2025.
The Cookley Works site in Brierley Hill is set to start later this year with completion by spring 2023.
Access to funding for the Fountain Lane scheme was provided by Frontier Development Capital (FDC), a fund manager working with property developers to arrange investments from the WMCA’s Collective Investment Fund (CIF), Revolving Investment fund (RIF) and Brownfield Land and Property Development Fund (BLPDF).
