New images revealed of Wolverhampton’s St George’s neighbourhood

Social impact developer Capital&Centric has revealed fresh images of a planned new neighbourhood in Wolverhampton.

The designs, which came out of an international architectural competition with the City of Wolverhampton Council and Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), showhow the 5-acre former Sainsbury’s site and historic St George’s church are set to be transformed.

The images show the vibrant and varied mix of uses planned for the site, including hundreds of sustainable new homes; lush outdoors spaces; boulevards and green streets; shops, cafes and bars; and community spaces.

As a result of around £100 million of investment into the site, the developer is planning to retain and repurpose parts of the former Sainsbury’s building – in turn saving embodied carbon – as well as putting St George’s Church at the heart of the community, surrounding it with new public squares for pop-up cultural events, intimate courtyards and social spaces for people to come together.

John Moffat, joint managing director at Capital&Centric said:

“Holding an architectural competition meant we got the very best ideas for this standout site and since selecting the winner the team has been working up more detailed plans. These images start to give a flavour of the vision, where we’re taking unloved buildings and repurposing them to create a vibrant neighbourhood right in the centre of Wolverhampton. The beautiful Grade II listed church will become the hub, with spaces for the community to get together and hang out.”

Developers Capital&Centric are leading delivery of the St George’s site, drawing on their experience of repurposing historic spaces and building standout new neighbourhoods across the UK, all with an acute focus on social impact. A pre-planning application submission is expected to follow early in the new year.

Elsewhere, the developers are continuing with the conversion of Talbot Mill, one of Manchester’s oldest and largest untouched mills, as well as creating a new HQ for their team, Neptune Mill, in the city’s up and coming Piccadilly East neighbourhood. They have also just finished repurposing a former cutlery works in Sheffield and have major brownfield projects in Liverpool, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent. They’ve also been appointed by Homes England to lead the delivery of a town centre and around 2000 homes at the Northstowe new town in Cambridge.