A major new Black Country business park has been handed a £3.7 million cash injection to get the development moving.
The Steelpark Trading Estate in Wednesfield, when completed will feature six units with a development value of £6.2 million at a location close to the M6 and M54.
Now the West Midlands Combined Authority ’s (WMCA) has backed the project through its Collective Investment Fund (CIF), a £70 milion pot set up to kick-start development to boost jobs and economic growth.
Work started on the park this summer and is due to be completed by the end of the year.
Wolverhampton council leader and WMCA member Roger Lawrence said: “I am delighted the CIF has been able to assist this exciting development. Schemes such as this are of fundamental importance to the West Midlands, they create the jobs and economic growth that underpin the future prosperity of the region.”
Construction firm J. Tomlinson is contractor for the project and Walsall-based Goold Estates invited property professionals and business organisations from across the West Midlands to see at first-hand the progress being made.
Dominic Goold, managing director of Goold Estates, said: “Construction is progressing really well and it’s great to see all our plans for the site coming to fruition.
“This is a high-quality development which is already attracting investment and jobs to the region.”
The site, adjacent to the Tata Steel Automotive Service Centre, had been vacant and available for development for many years.
“We acquired it in September last year and just 12 months later we already see four units coming out of the ground,” Mr Goold said.
“All of the units are being built speculatively, for sale or lease, because we are confident there is a strong demand in the market.”
The CIF is managed by Finance Birmingham and provides short-term loans to private sector developers to enable them to get schemes off the ground.
Nick Oakley, senior investment director at Finance Birmingham, said: “It’s great to see work on Steelpark making excellent progress.
“It’s a well located site and we are delighted to be supporting Goold Estates in bringing forward the development which is going to deliver much needed, quality industrial accommodation.”
