Stuart Anderson MP has formally supported a bid made by the City of Wolverhampton Council to the Government’s Levelling up Fund. If successful, the bid for £20 million will mark a significant step forward on ambitious plans to build a city centre education hub that brings together the City of Wolverhampton College, the Adult Education Service and the Central Library in a single-site campus facility. Stuart has praised the plans, which have been specially designed to provide an enhanced learning environment for everyone in the local area.
The Levelling Up Fund will invest £4 billion in local infrastructure that makes the most immediate and noticeable impact on the everyday lives of communities across the country. Ministers have spoken of their determination to prioritise the delivery of place-based assets that people want.
Wolverhampton’s bid will see the relocation of the City of Wolverhampton College from its outdated Paget Road site to join the other facilities at land adjacent to the Wolverhampton Transport Interchange.
The state-of-art facilities will take pride of place in the city centre and enable the release of multiple brownfield development sites to further enable the city centre regeneration through repurposing and transition from a retail core to a sustainable mixed-use centre in response to changing dynamics.
The City of Wolverhampton College has forecasted that, over a 10-year period, approximately 45,000 people will benefit from learning at the City Learning Quarter and around 7,500 apprenticeships will be started. The project will also generate and safeguard 750 jobs in the local economy.
Stuart Anderson MP said: “I am delighted to support this bid to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund. As a local MP, I have been calling on the Government to ensure that young people in our city have access to excellent education, training, and employment opportunities that equip them with the skills needed to lead fulfilling lives. If successful, the funding will help to realise the delivery of this shovel-ready project and it will make a massive difference to everyday life through direct investment in skills and education. It will be transformational for young people, residents, and communities in our city.”
Planning consent has already been achieved and all related pre-development commencement conditions discharged, making the project shovel ready for a start on site in the financial year 2021 / 2022.