The City of Wolverhampton Council together with Staffordshire County Council is intending to seek to obtain outline planning permission from South Staffordshire Council for the extension of the i54 development site to provide an additional 24 hectares (60 acres) of land to accommodate up to 100,000m2 of industrial employment floor space. The aerial photo above shows the proposed development site which is located north of Wobaston Road between Pendeford Hall Lane and the i54 site.
Before the planning application is made in the spring of 2018, an opportunity is being provided for the local business and residential community to view and comment on the emerging development proposals
Background to the proposed development
The i54 employment site is now home to Jaguar Land Rover’s new Engine Plant, Moog, ISP and Eurofins. It has recently attracted new occupiers, ERA Home Security who commenced operations at the end of 2017 and Tentec who will complete their facility and start operating early this year. To date over 230,000m2 of new buildings have been occupied and some 2,500 people are employed across the five current ‘operating’ businesses located at i54. It is envisaged that when completed in the coming years, i54 will have provided some 4,600 jobs in total and will have attracted over £1.1billion of private investment.
This good progress has meant that there is little land left at i54 to offer to prospective developers and occupiers, particularly for larger buildings fooprints. The local planning authority South Staffordshire Council has recognised the need to extend the i54 site westwards by allocating some 40 hectares (100acres) for employment development in its new Local Plan Site Allocations Document. That document has been the subject of extensive consultation and was reviewed at a Public Examination hearing in December last year, at which the Planning Inspector expressed support for the proposal. It is anticipated that the Local Plan document will be adopted by South Staffordshire Council this summer.
The proposed i54 western extension land includes 24 hectares (60 acres) owned by City of Wolverhampton Council. On the basis of this planning policy commitment, the City Council together with its partner Staffordshire County Council (the i54 Development Partners) is intending to bring forward its land including an access road for employment development to capture further investment and create over 1,500 more jobs.
The intention is for the i54 Development Partners to submit an outline planning application to South Staffordshire Council in the spring of this year. This would include an Environmental Impact Assessment. It is envisaged that this application would be decided in the autumn of this year.
For more information visit http://www.i54online.com/western-extension