City of Wolverhampton Council is preparing to use compulsory purchase powers if needed to unlock the redevelopment of the former Beatties building, a key city centre landmark.<\/p>\n
Planning permission for the site, covering the department store, car park, and surrounding land, was granted in 2021.<\/p>\n
The approved scheme includes 73,300 sq ft of commercial space and 306 apartments, but little progress has been made. The current owner, Eden Beatties, has removed internal fittings and some structures, leaving the building in poor condition.<\/p>\n
The council\u2019s vacant properties taskforce has begun enforcement action after the owners ignored a Section 215 notice to tidy the site. Officials say further legal steps may follow.<\/p>\n
Bringing the site back to life is seen as a major opportunity for new homes, commercial space, and heritage restoration, while also tackling anti-social behaviour and blight in the surrounding area.<\/p>\n
A Development Delivery Strategy, commissioned with the West Midlands Combined Authority, will outline steps to appoint a development partner if necessary to drive the project forward.<\/p>\n
Councillor Chris Burden said: \u201cSenior council officers met with the current owners of the Beatties building recently and, on behalf of all Wulfrunians, expressed in no uncertain terms that the current state of the building is totally unacceptable.<\/p>\n
\u201cEden Beatties have failed to comply with the council\u2019s legally-binding clean-up notice, missing deadline after deadline. Further legal action is likely to follow. We also stressed the urgency of seeing realistic and rapid plans to bring the building back to life with evidence that a credible and comprehensive funding package is capable of being developed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe stand ready to support credible plans but are also exploring all available options to bring the building back to life and all the jobs, opportunities and investment that will bring with it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Planning permission for 73,300 sq ft of commercial space and 306 apartments was granted in 2021 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":266702,"featured_media":2109482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"coauthors":[127717],"class_list":["post-2109480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-greater-birmingham","tag-top-story"],"yoast_head":"\n