Wolverhampton has had its share of bad news over the last few years with the collapse of the Summer Row Retail Development in the City Centre and a seemingly never ending rise in the unemployment numbers.
Tonight we were joined by Charles Green, the Interim Strategic Director of Education and Enterprise at Wolverhampton City Council. Charles has a planning background and was involved in the successful Salford Quays Development near Manchester. He now works as a troubleshooter with local authorities and has joined Wolverhampton City Council with the object of turning the Council from an organisation which is strong on development strategy into one which is strong on development delivery - no mean feat given that his is an interim appointment- and one which delivers opportunities for all in the City.
Charles was able to share with us some of the work which had been involved in securing the recent investments from Jaguar Land Rover and of the plans which were now in place to capitalise on that investment and the infrastructure and facilities that would be available at the i54 development by attracting in JLR suppliers and aerospace engineering companies.
Whilst Charles admits that there is no quick fix for the City Centre retail core and that the current climate makes any large scale development unrealistic he made it clear that the Council were now listening to local developers to understand what smaller scale development and refocusing of the High Street was feasible.
With the stated aim of of ensuring prosperity for all in the City we wish Charles and his colleagues well in their work.
