Birmingham-based developer Wavensmere Homes will replace L&G Modular on project to transform a 17-acre brownfield site which was formerly a foundry and steelworks
A new preferred developer for a 500-home Wolverhampton Canalside South residential scheme has been announced following the closure of Legal & General’s modular housing business.
The City of Wolverhampton Council and its partner the Canal & River Trust have named Wavensmere Homes as their new preferred developer to take on the £150m Canalside South scheme following a tender process run by consultant Avison Young.
The council’s cabinet approved the selection of Wavensmere months after the initial preferred developer L&G ceased production at its flagship modular factory in Leeds.
Subject to planning approval, Wavensmere will build 500 new homes on the 17-acre former industrial site which links the Wyrley & Essington Canal and the Birmingham Main Line Canal.
Located to the east of Wolverhampton city centre, the land is a former Crane Foundry site and a former British Steel site.
The development plans comprise 384 two-and three-bedroom townhouses and 140 one-and two-bedroom apartments, designed to target an EPC-A rated specification.
Wavensmere Homes has also put forward plans to redevelop and reanimate disused railway arches on the site into 7,000sq ft of lettable commercial space.
Glancy Nicholls Architects and RPS have been appointed to draw up the plans, which will be published for public consultation in early 2024.
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The design concept makes the most of the canalside setting and includes 4.4-acres of new public space.
“Canalside South will be the catalyst for a new wave of ambitious city living, which is vital to see the Wolverhampton Pound spent locally,” James Dickens, managing director of Wavensmere Homes, said.
“This scheme will open up a new walkway to the city core, reducing the previous walk time by 20 minutes, and igniting investment into a commercial corridor.”
Wavensmere hopes to future-proof the Canalside South site by installing electric-only heating systems across the site via air source heat pumps, solar panels and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, as well as charging points for electric cars.
In September 2022, L&G was picked to develop the site into 400 homes. In May 2023, however, L&G announced it was closing production at its modular factor and withdrawing from the industry.
Headquartered in Edgbaston, Birmingham, Wavensmere Homes has a pipeline of almost 3,500 properties.
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