£20m Boost for 530-Home Wolverhampton Canalside Regeneration Scheme

A £20m investment into the Canalside South regeneration scheme in Wolverhampton has been announced by by Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker.

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has provided the loan facility to Wavensmere Homes to bring about the £150m redevelopment and provide hundreds of new homes, including 109 affordable plots.

The 17.5-acre former industrial site established by City of Wolverhampton Council and Canal & River Trust is located within the city centre – moments from the transport interchange – and benefits from frontage onto the Wyrley & Essington Canal and the Wolverhampton Branch of the Birmingham Main Line Canal. Canalside South is one of the biggest regeneration projects of its kind in the region with more than 530 new energy-efficient homes to be delivered across the former British Steel and Crane Foundry site and land off Qualcast Road, which has lain derelict for 15 years.

The Mayor said: “It’s exciting to think that this huge derelict site – the size of ten football pitches – will soon become a place where people can live, raise families and thrive. And schemes like Canalside South are not just about building homes, they rebuild communities – giving people places they can feel connected to and proud of. 

“The investment announced today is significant because this scheme has a vital role to play in the on-going regeneration of Wolverhampton, providing hundreds of badly needed new homes, more than 100 of them affordable, within a stone’s throw of the city centre.”

Wavensmere Homes received planning approval from City of Wolverhampton Council for the landmark Canalside South project at the end of September 2024. Ground preparation works will commence on site imminently, followed by the four-year construction programme. The overall vision for the Wolverhampton Canalside masterplan is the delivery of around 1,000 homes to meet both the city and wider region’s housing needs, with sustainability and place-making at its heart.

Designed by Glancy Nicholls Architects, the low-rise development will emulate the surrounding conservation area and maximise the canalside setting. The scheme will include seven acres of vibrant green space and a range of commercial amenities. It will also open up a new pedestrian route to the city core – reducing the previous walk time by 20 minutes – and ignite new investment into a commercial corridor.

Wavensmere Homes will be constructing 378 two-and three-bedroom townhouses, designed to target an EPC-A rated specification, together with 145 one-and two-bedroom apartments. A building of 10 co-living units – each containing six bedrooms – will deliver affordable living typologies to young professionals. 54 houses, together with 80 apartment and co-living bedrooms will benefit from waterside views. The multi-award-winning urban regeneration specialist will also be reanimating the disused railway arches on the site into 1,338sqm (14,400 sq ft) of lettable commercial space.

Access to the WMCA funding was provided by the Property Team at Frontier Development Capital Ltd (FDC) which works closely with property developers to arrange investments from the WMCA’s regeneration funds.

The funding agreement marks the second time Frontier Development Capital – part of Mercia Asset Management PLC – and Wavensmere Homes have teamed up to deliver brownfield regeneration within the West Midlands. The Birmingham-based lender provided a £4m loan in 2019 to facilitate the redevelopment of The Forge on Bradford Street in Digbeth. 142 apartments were built by Wavensmere at the former factory site.

Kieren Turner-Owen, Associate Director of Property Finance for Frontier Development Capital, said: “Our focus is proudly on investing in the West Midlands, so we are thrilled to be selected as the debt funding partner for one of the region’s most high-profile regeneration schemes. With well over 500 mixed-tenure homes and complementary amenities, Wolverhampton Canalside South is an integral development for the revitalisation of this West Midlands city.

“Since agreeing our first deal with Wavensmere Homes five years ago, the company has accrued a reputation as one of the UK’s most prominent and impressive SME housebuilders. This new loan facility sits sweetly within our funding parameters and we could not be more excited to be involved with bringing about the transformation of such a key waterside development. Our focuses are aligned in regenerating complex brownfield sites, with Canalside South allowing our excellent relationship with the Wavensmere team to continue.”

James Dickens, Managing Director of Wavensmere Homes, said: “The agreement of this loan facility with FDC will enable us to start on site at Canalside South only nine months after we first unveiled the plans at UKREiiF. As a Birmingham-based developer, it’s great to be working with a leading local finance house that knows us so well.

“Our in-house team has a strong history of regenerating vacant land in the Black Country and we can’t wait to begin transforming this site into a landmark development the whole region can be immensely proud of.”

Wavensmere Homes will future-proof the new homes by installing electric only heating systems. A range of technologies will be utilised across the development, consisting of air source heat pumps, solar panels and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR). There will also be EV charging to each house or parking space, alongside an array of EV chargers for visitors.

Councillor Stephen Simkins, City of Wolverhampton Council Leader, said: “This project is fundamental to our brownfield first strategy, driving investment into the Green Innovation Corridor, and it will also fulfil a key objective of our Canalside Delivery Partnership with the Canal & River Trust. We are looking forward to work starting on site. Bringing life back to the redundant sites along our canal network is critical to boosting footfall into our city centre.

“As one of the largest new housing developments in the Midlands, Wavensmere’s £150m investment plans, supported by the council, Canal & River Trust and WMCA, will enable Wolverhampton residents to benefit from superb connectivity, amenities, and health and wellbeing opportunities at this wonderful heritage location.”