New £12m gritter, bin and taxi depot plan approved

Planning permission for a new £12.5m council bin and gritter depot and taxi licensing office in Wolverhampton has been granted.

City of Wolverhampton Council approved its own planning application to build a new base in Hickman Avenue for its fleet of bin lorries, gritters, vans and minibuses, shifting them from its existing city centre site on Culwell Street.

The city's taxi licensing offices would also move from the former Loxdale Primary School in Bilston.

The Culwell Street depot will be demolished to eventually make way for the Brewer's Yard development which will see up to 1,300 flats and homes built on the land, along with shops, offices, restaurants and bars.

A report by the council's planners said the application was an "important step" in regenerating two key sites in the city.

The new depot will include electric vehicle (EV) charging points for the council's growing fleet of low-emission plug-ins, including more than 80 minibuses.

The authority is replacing its 450-strong fleet with electric vehicles after committing to become carbon neutral by 2028.

The depot will replace the city's 50-year-old wholesale market which was due to be revamped as part of the work but scrapped in a controversial move by the council in 2024.

A new wholesale market was part of the council's original plans before it said it could no longer afford the proposed £6m price tag or its £272,000-a-year running costs and was not legally required to provide a new facility.

Labour council leader Stephen Simkins said the wholesale market was "half-empty" and making a £160,000 yearly loss.

The market's traders were given 12 months notice which the authority's spokesperson said was longer than the minimum period in tenancy agreements.

The £12.5m contract for the new Hickman Avenue depot will be funded with £5.1m from the West Midlands Combined Authority, a £5m grant awarded to the city as part of the government's Towns Fund, £1.6m from taxi licensing as well as loaning £750,000.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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