ECF enters agreement with Woverhampton council for regeneration project

The City of Wolverhampton Council has entered a development agreement with the English Cities Fund (ECF) to deliver the regeneration of the west of the city centre. 

The joint venture was identified as the preferred partner back in October, but a development agreement was approved at a meeting of the council’s joint cabinet and cabinet resources panel on Wednesday (10 July). 

Formed in 2001, ECF is a regeneration-focused joint venture between Homes England, Legal & General and Muse. 

Earlier this year, it announced it had doubled in size with the injection of an additional £100m of equity from partners, matched by an additional £100m of debt. 

City Centre West, the largest regeneration scheme in the city centre, is ECF’s first project in the Midlands. 

It will see phased delivery of between 800 and 1,000 homes across a 12-acre area linking School Street and Darlington Street, including the area around Market Square. 

A proposal is now being developed ahead of a detailed planning application for the first phase and an outline planning application later this year. 

Cllr Chris Burden, the council’s cabinet member for city development, jobs and skills, said the development agreement signalled “a major step forward” in being able to deliver one of the major opportunities from the Wolverhampton Investment Prospectus, which presents an ambitious vision of how the city can grow. 

“City Centre West will provide essential new housing, new jobs, and commercial opportunities to help revitalise the city centre, as well as provide the social and economic benefits of linking the city centre back into the surrounding suburbs,” he said.  

“This is all about putting people at the heart of our city.”