'Our plans will change the way people see city'

A developer is hoping Wolverhampton could be the forerunner for projects to 'de-pave' city centres and turn them into green spaces.

Capital & Centric has lodged a proposal to spend £100m transforming the St George's site - the former home of the Sainsbury's supermarket - into housing and green streets.

If granted approval, Tim Heatley, the social impact developer's founder, has said they hope to start breaking ground early next year.

"Europe seems to have stolen the march on urban living and we're playing catch up, but I think this will be the first of many schemes across the UK once we've pioneered the approach," he told BBC Radio WM.

The project would see the 5-acre former Sainsbury's site and historic St George's church being transformed into 370 new homes, community spaces, cafes, shops and bars.

Nearly 300 new trees would be planted, and the supermarket's structure would be retained and reused.

Developers have said the church would become the focal point of the neighbourhood and become surrounded by planted courtyards, pocket parks, children's play areas, new public squares and improved walking and cycling routes.

Heatley said: "Average, bland and banal is what we've seen too much of across our developments over the past 30 to 40 years. So we really want to tear up that playbook and do something innovative and creative to change the perception of Wolverhampton, to make it a place where people want to live in the centre."

He added: "There's a few places across Europe that have taken to this, partly because town centres and city centres get too hot in the summer and then a heavy rain creates flooding in the winter.

"By increasing the amount of greenery, that makes a huge difference to the temperature, but also how it can deal with rainwater as well."

A planning application was submitted last year and the full project is expected to take about two and a half years to complete, if given the green light by the council.

The former Sainsbury's at St George's closed in 2014 when a new £60m supermarket opened half a mile away in Raglan Street.

When asked about the plethora of closed and boarded-up shops in the city centre, the developer said housing would help turn this around.

Heatley added: "We need to use homes as a way to reinvigorate city centres, to increase footfall and to increase the night-time economy."

While developers have pegged it as a way to breathe life back into Wolverhampton, which was once described as the "fifth worst city in the world" by the Lonely Planet travel guide, some residents remain sceptical.

Resident Andy Vann-Aston told BBC Radio WM: "I think the green spaces side of it would work quite well.

"The housing development probably less so, it's going to create congestion and you need the market there for the houses before they're built."

Glenn Gandy, who works in the city, said more focus needs to be put into bringing more shops, restaurants and companies into the centre.

He added: "We need to get businesses back into the city centres, not houses. There are plenty of places for houses to be built, not city centres.

"Wolverhampton nightlife used to be amazing, every night of the week there would be something on, now it's like a ghost town.

"You're not going to come into town to sit in the park, there will be more chances of crime being committed. People will be scared", Gandy said.

However, some residents agree that the scheme would be a welcome change for Wolverhampton city centre.

Selina Mahay said: "I think it's a good investment to make, the Sainsbury's has been derelict for quite a while now. I think it will attract a lot of people to the area because it's quite quiet now in comparison to when I grew up here."

Ellie McPherson added: "I think it's really important because it will give us a place where we can go and relax.

"Wolverhampton has such a rich history and if there are some stunning beautiful buildings that are historically important and that mixed with green spaces it would get more people to come into town."

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