Multimillion-pound health & wellbeing facility gets outline planning

Outline planning approval has been granted by City of Wolverhampton Council for the development of a multimillion-pound Bilston health & wellbeing facility.

The scheme was given the green light at a meeting of full council in July following public consultation on designs for the proposed facility at a series of events as well as online.

Planners have now approved the proposal to develop the facility on the council-owned site, adjacent to the WV Active Bilston-Bert Williams leisure centre and Bilston Urban Village medical centre.

It will be mostly funded from the £20m Government grant the council secured for its transformative Bilston Health & Regeneration Programme in March.

It will bring together partners and providers from the health, social care and wellbeing and leisure sectors to support around 18,000 residents and will be located next to WV Active Bilston-Bert Williams leisure centre – connecting it to public space improvements and Bilston’s public transport hub.

City of Wolverhampton Council leader Stephen Simkins said: “Securing outline planning approval is an important milestone in this scheme and the new facility will provide invaluable health and wellbeing services for the local community.

“The feedback we have had from stakeholders, including residents, has been hugely positive and their input has been invaluable in developing plans for what will be an important community asset.

“The facility will be located where it can benefit the community the most, right in the centre, making it highly accessible and underpinned by investment in high-quality public realm and connectivity.

“We want our traditional local centres to flourish, and this scheme builds substantially on the investment already made in Bilston in recent years.”