Spring start date for new market and homes project

Work on a new wholesale market and the first phase of a new housing scheme in Wolverhampton is set to start this spring.

The market site in Hickman Avenue has been designed to house the city council's fleet services operation, which will relocate from its current Culwell Street depot.

That move will free up the area for hundreds of new homes as part of the Brewers Yard regeneration scheme, the local authority says.

The work, which includes the demolition of ancillary buildings on the Hickman Avenue site, is expected to create 110 more construction jobs.

Main construction works are expected to get under way by early autumn.

As work is being carried out, the wholesale market will remain open then traders will move into the new building once it is finished, the council adds.

The relocation of the authority's fleet of vehicles would make it more efficient and cut the council's carbon footprint, councillor Craig Collingswood said.

“The redevelopment of the Hickman Avenue site will see buildings that are more than 50 years old replaced at the city’s wholesale market," he added.

An outline planning application was previously approved for the Culwell Street depot site to demolish the existing buildings, improve the brownfield land and make it ready for the development of new homes as part of the Brewers Yard scheme in the coming years.

Proposals for that scheme include a mixture of houses and apartments as well as new retail and commercial space.

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