On the Cusp Of Change

As we approach the end of the year it is perhaps worth looking at what has been achieved in this sub-region and City over the last year or so. Councillor Phil Bateman said today "Therefore it is with some pride that I read that in the Black Country some 450 companies from 25 Countries have chosen to be in the Black Country in the last three years alone.

Between them they have brought an estimated £2.5billion to the region and created over 36,200 jobs!( source; Black Country Investment Annual Report 2003/4) If ever there was a ringing endorsement that the area that we live in is starting to move forward then this snippet of information confirms this.

Add the new '' New Summer Row'' retail expansion that is taking place in the heart of Wolverhampton and you really do get the feel that Wolverhampton and the Black Country is moving in the right direction. Wolverhampton is now very much at the heart of this sub region of the West Midlands. It is most certainly ''the first City of the Black Country'' and with its drive and its 1,000 years of history Wolverhampton is a City really going places.
The ''new Summer Row'' site and development represents an outstanding opportunity for a new 3.2 hectare retail-led, mixed-use development at the Southern edge of the City Centre.

The site has been earmarked for comprehensive re-development with a view to enhancing the retail offer of the City as well as providing a significant number of new residential units.The proposals attracted an unprecedented level of interest from across the Country and beyond,demonstrating confidence in the city.Wolverhampton City Council shortlisted four potential development partners who prepared detailed proposals for the scheme.

The announcement of AM Development UK Limited as the preferred development partner for the site was made on May 13th, 2004.The mixed use scheme will comprise 484,000 sq ft (45,000 sq m) of new retail and leisure space, 100 apartments and an 800 space underground car park. The retail and leisure offer will include a major new anchor store, 3 other large retail units, as well as 81 further retail units of various sizes and a selection of cafes, bars, restaurants and a cinema.

What a development for the centre of Wolverhampton sitting alongside the Wulfrun and Mander Centres, this new addition to Wolverhampton should help attract thousands of new shoppers to the City from a wide area of our region. Of course there will have to be the right marketing message, and we will have to ''sell'' our selves better than we have to date. But the image and the impetus that the news on jobs, and City Centre development must be good news!"