RPS secures planning consent for £150m Wolverhampton Canalside South scheme

The development will transform a 17.5-acre former industrial site, which has lain derelict for 15 years, into over 530 new homes, with 20% designated for affordable housing.

Beyond delivering essential housing to the city, the development will boast seven acres of green space, and is also reanimating disused railway arches into 14,400sqft of commercial space. 

Located off Qualcast Road in Wolverhampton city centre, the new homes will benefit from frontage onto the Wyrley & Essington Canal and the Wolverhampton Branch of the Birmingham Main Line Canal.

Leading the submission of the detailed planning application, we also supported with transport planning, archaeology and heritage, air quality, acoustics services, and affordable housing viability, and will be delivering arboricultural services. 

Canalside South will comprise 378 two-and three-bedroom townhouses, designed to target an EPC-A rated specification, and 145 one-and two-bedroom apartments. As opposed to other recent development proposals in central Wolverhampton, this project has instead favoured a comparatively low-rise but still high-density approach, prioritising new townhouses and a smaller proportion of apartments.

This contrasts with other recent proposals on similar sites nearby which have centred around apartments and taller buildings; the aim with this predominantly low-rise development was to maximise both the surrounding conservation area and canalside setting.

The proposals also include co-living, a first for Wolverhampton, including a building of 10 co-living units – each containing six bedrooms – for young professionals. We’ve worked closely with the City of Wolverhampton Council to address any potential concerns on the novel nature of the proposals, drawing on our comprehensive experience of delivering similar regeneration projects in the wider Midlands and further afield.

Jacob Bonehill, Associate Director, commented: “As someone who has spent years seeing this site while sat on the train going into the city of Wolverhampton and questioned why it was still vacant, it is wonderful to have had the opportunity to be part of the team who are finally addressing that question and delivering much needed new homes and regeneration.”

Works will commence on site before the end of the year. We’re excited to see what’s in store for the future of Wolverhampton.