Planning permission has been granted for a significant new apartment complex and office space on the southern edge of Wolverhampton city centre.
Designed by East London-based architectural practice, Ackroyd Lowrie, the £11m scheme will regenerate an underused brownfield site on the corner of Dudley Road and Bell Place. Comprising 100 one and two bedroom apartments, basement car parking, cycle parking, communal rooftop gardens and associated landscaping, the Dudley Road development will also have a 230m² office space for use by the developer, M&E Group.
“The redevelopment of Dudley Road represents a major regeneration for one of the city centre’s main gateways and we’re pleased it is already being viewed as a positive contribution,” explains director, Oliver Lowrie. “Underutilised and neglected sites like these can have a massive impact in rejuvenating city centres into attractive places to live and work. We are pleased to be working with the developer, M&E Group on the delivery of hundreds of new homes on brownfield sites across the Midlands, supporting the governments’ aim to level-up the economy.
“Our design for Dudley Road is focused on providing a visually distinctive building that is suitable for modern living. Taking inspiration from the neighbourhood, which has a predominantly industrial heritage, we’ve created a scheme of varied height and massing to both respond and connect to surrounding buildings. The material palette features characterful dark and light grey brickwork, red zinc cladding along with feature detailing such as balustrading,” concluded Oliver.
Extensive consideration was also given to Dudley Road’s environmental impact and a fabric first approach will be adopted throughout construction. The development will include high-efficiency LED lighting throughout as well as rooftop solar PV panels, which are expected to achieve a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of at least 10%.
Oliver added: “The pandemic has fundamentally changed people’s priorities and with so much time being spent in our homes, living as sustainably as possible in well-positioned and well-insulated properties is crucial. The new apartments at Dudley Road are situated within just a 10-minute walk of the city centre, and we deliberately designed each space to be dual aspect, so plenty of natural light. In addition, each home has access to private outdoor space in the form of a garden, balcony or roof terrace.”
Hardeep Singh, director at developer, M&E Group said: “We’re excited to bring forward this major new development for Wolverhampton and we believe the mix of apartments will have widespread appeal among professionals, young families and investors. We are delighted the Council has echoed this viewpoint by granting planning permission.”
Planning permission for Dudley Road was secured by specialist urban planning consultancy, Hybrid Planning & Development. Work is anticipated to begin in summer on an 18 month build programme.
