Wednesbury town centre is one of the places about to benefit from government regeneration funding. Government has assigned £95million to be delivered and administered through Historic England. That organisation has identified a number of High Street Heritage Action zones one of which is Wednesbury.
The area around the clock tower in Wednesbury has, for some years, been designated a “conservation” area though some of the planning decisions made for the area have detracted from rather than enhanced the historic nature of this centre.
The high quality Victorian and Edwardian properties in the area have generally suffered from lack of maintenance due to low rents and poor profit margins. Part of the scheme is to restore dilapidated buildings and enhance shop fronts to make them more in keeping with their buildings’ architecture. Grants will be available to turn unused first floor spaces above commercial premises into homes. This will both provide affordable housing and bring life to the town centre.
The old market place area will be generally improved and a larger pedestrian area created with new paving, tree planting and new street furniture. This should provide an entertainment space while at the same time allowing for the relocation of the market to its original site. An aim is to create a pleasanter shopping area to encourage trade.
It’s a scheme which merits the support of Wednesbury residents who take pride in their town and hopefully will attract trade by making Wednesbury a more congenial place to shop.