he works - a key stage within the university’s multi-year Estates Masterplan - will enable it to maximise opportunities for Research and Development, growth, commercialisation, collaboration, diversification and engagement with businesses.
The partial strip down and extension of ‘Block A’, as well as internal reconfiguration, will provide a purpose-built facility fronting Grimstone Street that will enable the engineering faculty to showcase its innovation.
Once the works are complete on the vacant historical building by the end of 2026, the faculty will relocate from its current Telford campus base, concentrating the university’s resources within Wolverhampton.
The Department of Engineering spans a wide selection of professional engineering disciplines including Mechanical, Motorsport and Automotive, Aerospace, and Chemical Engineering, who will benefit from new live project workshops, laboratories and design and collaboration space.
The Green Innovation Corridor programme is a major regeneration initiative led jointly by City of Wolverhampton Council and the university.
Councillor Chris Burden, City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Development, Jobs and Skills, said: “The transformation of this vacant heritage building into a new teaching facility, will significantly contribute to the furthering of the wider campus’ capabilities, its reputation and its magnetism as a tech hub for the Black Country and West Midlands
“It will act as a gateway for and support the ambitions of the Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor, delivering long-term cultural, educational, and environmental benefits.
“The GIC will drive the Green Industrial Revolution, building upon Wolverhampton’s sustainable construction, green credentials and circular economy, helping create quality jobs and training opportunities for local people.”
Dr Pete Cross, Chief Operating Officer, University of Wolverhampton, said: “We are delighted that full planning permission and listed building consent have been granted for the redevelopment of Block A at our Springfield Campus. This marks another significant step forward in realising our vision for a world‑class centre for education, innovation, and skills at the historic former Springfield Brewery site and at the heart of the Green Innovation Corridor.
“Block A is a key component of the next phase of transformation, and this approval allows us to preserve and sensitively enhance an important heritage building while creating modern, flexible teaching and learning spaces for our students and partners. We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with the City of Wolverhampton Council and project partners as we move toward the next stages of delivery.”
The GIC connects key assets at the University of Wolverhampton’s Springfield Campus, Science Park, and the i54 advanced manufacturing business park – the country’s most successful Enterprise Zone.
It will boast new commercial and business opportunities for development, incubation space, grow-on space for SMEs and space for larger use – all helping to create and safeguard jobs for local people.
The corridor will be delivered in phases and is backed by £27million capital funding from UK Government and the West Midlands Combined Authority, attaining West Midlands Investment Zone status to attract further investment and create jobs focused on green construction, engineering, and digital technologies.
Planning approval is also in place for the redevelopment of four brownfield sites, collectively known as Six Mile Green, located close to University of Wolverhampton Science Park.
Site preparation and preconstruction works - including clearance and land remediation - will be carried out at Six Mile Green by March 2027, supporting prospective developers by providing development-ready sites for design and build construction.
