'Beatties redevelopment wait has gone on far too long'

Wolverhampton's council leader says the delay in redeveloping the former Beatties department store has gone on "far too long", with the council now pursuing steps to bring the landmark building back into use.

Stephen Simkins was answering questions from listeners during BBC Radio WM's Hot Seat segment.

As well as the future of Beatties, he discussed housing shortages, other long-derelict sites across the city and concerns over Wolverhampton's taxi licensing system.

Read our takeaways from the interview below or listen to an excerpt of the interview here.

The future of the former Beatties department store was one of the first issues raised by listeners.

The Victoria Street building has stood empty since the collapse of House of Fraser in 2019 and, despite changing ownership, remains undeveloped.

Listener Dawn Barrett said many people felt the city was failing to look after one of its most well-known buildings.

"It's like we don't care and that's horrible," she said.

Simkins insisted the council shared residents' frustration.

"Beatties is part of our family. It's part of our DNA," he said.

He said the authority had "tried tirelessly" to work with the developer and had issued enforcement notices to ensure the building remained safe and maintained.

The council leader also revealed the authority was applying for a compulsory purchase order, which he estimated could take between six and 12 months.

If successful, he said the council would seek a development partner and explore plans including retail units on the ground floor and homes above.

The BBC has contacted owners Eden for a response.

Housing emerged as another key theme during the programme.

Listener Diana raised concerns about the former eye infirmary site, saying it had been abandoned and left derelict for a long period despite being a prime location for development.

Simkins said the issue reflected a wider problem facing councils when privately owned sites stalled.

"The theme is the way that the market is constructed and there's no powers for us to intervene into that market," he said.

"We need to change that. We desperately need housing."

The council leader said Wolverhampton had about 8,000 people on its housing waiting list and needed more homes across the city.

He highlighted particular demand for bungalows as people lived longer, as well as family housing in one of the West Midlands' youngest cities.

Simkins suggested pension funds could help finance future housing developments and said councils would need to work with neighbouring authorities to build more homes.

"We need a massive amount of money, we need billions to actually get the housing standards, not just of Wolverhampton, but the country, up to a decent place to live," he said.

Taxi licensing was also put under the spotlight.

Wolverhampton has become one of the country's biggest private hire licensing authorities, with many licensed drivers operating outside the city.

Asked whether the council issued too many licences, Simkins replied: "Yes, we do ... I agree it's wrong. So we need to change that."

However, he said current legislation prevented councils from rejecting applications simply because drivers were based elsewhere.

Simkins said safety remained the council's priority and called for changes to legislation, particularly around protecting women.

He added that licences could be revoked within 24 hours if concerns emerged and urged passengers to report issues if a driver did not match the photograph displayed on their licence.

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