Legal threat for Beatties' owners over state of site

Legal proceedings are set to be brought against the owners of the former Beatties building in Wolverhampton due to its "unacceptable state".

The department store in Victoria Street has been empty since 2019 after the collapse of House of Fraser and has since fallen into disrepair.

The City of Wolverhampton Council said its action against Eden Beatties was because the owners have "missed deadline after deadline" to comply with an order to tidy the site which had now become "a blight on the city centre".

The council said it wanted the site brought back into use. The BBC has contacted Eden for a response.

The building was bought by Eden Property Group for about £6.15m in 2024.

Plans for shops, restaurants and cafes to be built on the site along with more than 300 homes under the proposals were approved later in the year.

Eden Beatties has stripped out internal fittings and removed some structures but failed to progress the scheme it has planning permission for, and the building is currently in poor condition, the council said.

Earlier this year, councillors backed plans to use compulsory purchase powers to buy the locally listed heritage building and kick start its regeneration.

Council leader Stephen Simkins, said the owners had been given "ample opportunity" to comply with the legally-binding clean up notice.

"They have missed deadline after deadline and enough is enough - the current state of the building is totally unacceptable," he said.

"I also want to recognise the frustration felt by residents and us all regarding the lack of visible progress in developing the Beatties site.

"It is an iconic landmark in our city and we have stressed to the owners the urgency of seeing realistic and rapid plans to bring it back to life with evidence that a credible and comprehensive funding package is capable of being developed."

The council was ready to support "credible plans" but was exploring all options and using compulsory purchase powers was a last resort, he added.

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