Plans for £5.5m city venue part of wider vision

Plans for a £5.5m "box space" food and entertainment venue in Wolverhampton are part of a wider vision for the city, the leader of the local authority has said.

The concept of using shipping containers to create complexes has proved popular all over the country and the plans for the city were approved by councillors last week.

City of Wolverhampton Council leader Stephen Simkins said the site would help create a "busy, vibrant and attractive" city centre and support local businesses by boosting visitor numbers.

He also said it was "not a stand-alone project".

The council estimates the new venue will bring in between 400,000 and 500,000 visitors to the city each year.

The parks, similar to the one planned for Wolverhampton, typically bring together smaller street food suppliers around communal dining areas, allowing groups to eat together from different vendors and come together to watch sporting events.

"[The proposal] gives people more reason to come and visit," the Labour leader told the cabinet meeting last week.

"But also what is important is that we want them to come and to stay longer when they do so."

He said the attraction "forms a wider part of the transformation of our city centre and compliments the major investment already taking place in the city centre".

His deputy, Steve Evans, said the venue would be a "magnet puller" and was "absolutely the right thing to do."

"We mustn't forget we are building lots of new houses and apartments within the city centre," he added.

"I dare say that there will be a lot of young professional people that will be moving into those properties and they would absolutely utilise a box space."

Earlier this year, £5.5m was set aside for the project and the council expects to generate a return over the course of the proposed 25-year lease.

The plans have been under consideration for a number of years and the park was originally due to be constructed in Cleveland Street, but the move was put on hold when the coronavirus pandemic broke out.

The city's former outdoor market in Peel Street was also earmarked as a potential location.

The plans now form part of a 12-acre regeneration site that will eventually see 1,070 new homes built between School Street and Darlington Street alongside space for new shops, bars and restaurants and a revamped square.

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