Latest news with #CityOfWolverhamptonCouncil
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Wolverhampton: Supermarket regeneration plan takes a step forward
Plans to transform a former supermarket into hundreds of new homes have taken another step development, at the former Sainsbury's site in Wolverhampton, is expected to include 370 new homes, community spaces and green streets, centred around the Grade II-listed St George's of Wolverhampton Council's cabinet has agreed to continue work on the scheme with developers Capital& the submission of a full planning application, the local authority is expecting planning approval by September next year, with work ready to begin in November. The development is expected to take about two and a half years to complete, with the site ready by spring 2029. The former Sainsbury's at St George's closed in 2014 when a new £60m supermarket opened half a mile away in Raglan council bought the freehold for the St George's site in 2016 but it was deemed "surplus to requirements'" in a cabinet report in 2023, alongside a request for potential bids from lease on the site expired in March which returned the ownership and responsibility of the site back, and the management of the car park's lease, to the local has been working with City of Wolverhampton Council on designs to turn the five-acres of land at St George's into a new will feature shops, workspaces and commercial space and would link to the £61m City Learning Quarter which is set to open this autumn. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
18-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Desi mixed grill restaurant plan for Wednesfield canalside pub
A canalside Wolverhampton pub that closed in 2020 could be set to reopen as a desi mixed grill restaurant.A planning application to City of Wolverhampton Council asked for permission to reopen the Grade II listed Boat Inn off Wednesfield High Street.A previous application to reopen the pub - on the corner of Church Street and Graisley Lane - was approved in 2024 but the plans were never carried pubs offer Indian curries and mixed grills alongside traditional beers and ales, and have flourished in recent years, with many opening across Wolverhampton. The building would remain as a community pub with the majority of sales expected to come from the pub use, a statement included with the application food would be available to customers to sit and eat inside like a restaurant or order and take would also be a delivery service, which would be outsourced to companies like Deliveroo and Just Eat, with most drivers using bikes to deliver, it venue would be open seven days a week, with later opening hours on a Friday and Saturday. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Telegraph
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
The scandal of the taxi drivers circumventing anti-grooming gangs safety rules
On a rainy day in Manchester, crowds stream out of Piccadilly station and wait for taxis beneath umbrellas. A steady procession of private-hire vehicles pull up to collect or discharge passengers, not far from the black-cab rank. But there's something odd about the words on many of their licence plates: City of Wolverhampton Council. For every few Manchester-plated taxis here, one licensed in Wolverhampton crawls past. Why are so many local drivers obtaining their licences from a council 75 miles away? 'Because it's cheap, it's easier,' says Wolverhampton-licensed taxi driver Yasar Ditta over the honking of horns and the drumbeat of Manchester rain on his roof. Wolverhampton has a reputation among drivers for being an easier place to obtain a licence, he explains. Others taking fares from the swarm of arrivals at the station agree. 'It takes a long time here [in Manchester],' says another taxi driver with a Wolverhampton plate. 'In Manchester you have to do [an additional] driving test, all these things,' says a third. 'I didn't need to do that [to get my licence from Wolverhampton Council]. There aren't as many obstacles. Manchester chooses to make it hard for people.' 'Out-of-area' licensing, as it's known, is not a new phenomenon, nor is it limited to Manchester taxi drivers. For years, City of Wolverhampton Council has been receiving thousands of taxi licence applications from drivers outside the city. Now, though, there are fears that Wolverhampton's licensing regime is, in some cases, becoming a magnet for drivers seeking to circumvent more stringent rules imposed by their own local authorities – in areas such as Rotherham, following the grooming gangs scandal. In the year ending March 2024, just 813 Wolverhampton licences were issued to local drivers, while a striking 20,375 went to drivers based elsewhere. The year before, the figures were similar: 778 licences for Wolverhampton residents, compared with 19,592 for those outside the city. According to government data, Wolverhampton now has almost 110 licensed taxis and private-hire vehicles per 1,000 people – far higher than London's 12 per 1,000, Rotherham's four, or the under 10 seen in many other areas.
BBC News
14-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Bilston Outdoor Market's £5m redevelopment set to get under way
Work is set to begin on the £5m redevelopment of an outdoor market in Wolverhampton. Improvement works to Bilston Outdoor Market is officially get under way on Wednesday 23 July, City of Wolverhampton Council 200-year-old market relocated to Bert Turner Boulevard, High Street and Church Street in October last year, to make way for the works, which should be completed by June traders claimed a 60% drop in sales after the temporary move, but a motion appealing for financial support was defeated at a full council meeting in June. The council said the market will deliver "the absolute best market in the West Midlands" - with more modern, accessible and "vibrant spaces" for traders and the local new market will have better access for pedestrians from the bus and Metro station, a new canopy, new toilets, stall improvements and improved public spaces. 'Challenging ground conditions' Council leader Stephen Simkins, said that despite the discovery of difficult ground conditions at the market site, the council was "100% committed" to delivering the full scheme as agreed with said: "Unfortunately, surveys revealed far more challenging ground conditions at the site than we had anticipated, so we have had to re-engineer parts of the project. "This has driven up the cost of the scheme - but I can assure traders we will not compromise on our ambition and will deliver the full scheme exactly as agreed with them."Council bosses have identified additional contingency funds of up to £2.5m to address the re-engineered scheme and other council also said it will freeze rent costs of the indoor and outdoor market traders and is investing £15,000 in activities and events in and around the indoor market to help drive added: "We promised traders they'd be the first to know once we got the timeline of the works, and I met with them face to face first this morning to talk through the plans and let them know how we're supporting them." Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Wolverhampton taxi drivers face first licence fee hike in years
Thousands of taxi drivers and operators are facing their first licence fee increase in more than a decade as a council deals with a backlog of of Wolverhampton Council is proposing a rise of up to two thirds in the sums to be paid for new or renewed licences, to cover compliance and admin authority's licensing department looks after about 50,000 drivers according to documents, with the vast majority operating outside the regulatory committee is meeting on Wednesday to decide on the increase, which would affect licenses issued in both south Staffordshire and Wolverhampton. Under the plans, private hire vehicle operators with four vehicles or fewer could see renewal fees go up from £150 to £250 for a one-year licence - a rise of 66%.There would be a £20 rise to £69 in the sum to be paid by new hackney carriage and private hire drivers for a year's licence.A three-year licence for a new driver would increase from £98 to £128, while yearly fees paid for a vehicle are set to go from £125 to £175. 'Excellent value' A report to the committee stated "economies of scale" reflecting Wolverhampton's "significant growth over the last decade from an authority with 1,500 to 50k drivers" had previously kept fees increased compliance and the need for additional checks meant they were "required to increase for the first time since 2011".The authority, which also undertakes taxi licensing for South Staffordshire Council, had to use £493k of reserve funding on the service between 2024 and 2025."This fee increase is anticipated to prevent any overspend this year," the report said. "Additional resource requirements to tackle the backlog of applications and higher than usual internal recharges applied in March 2025 have meant that the fees require recalculation," it added. The report stated the revised fees still represented "excellent value for money" and pointed out that sums in 2011, adjusted for inflation, were to consultation responses, the charges for driver licences would apply immediately for operators, and to vehicle licenses from 10 council revealed last year 96% of licences it had issued were for drivers from outside the city. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on Facebook, X and Instagram.
