The City of Wolverhampton Council was successful in being awarded £25m from the Government’s Towns Fund in June 2021.
The nine projects which form the award range from increased coverage and support for job seekers- not only to find work, but to find long term sustainable work- to delivering various capital improvements across the city centre, Bilston and Wednesfield. The funding will deliver real change for communities, businesses and individuals alike.
Since the award the Council has been working hard with community groups and stakeholders, with support from external specialist consultants. The Council successfully submitted all Business Cases to Government in 2022 and progress is now being made to translate the planning and preparation into delivery and transformational change. All projects will be delivered and completed by March 2026.
The Towns Fund Board changed its name to City Investment Board in February 2023 to accommodate its wider involvement in the Levelling Up Agenda and Future High Streets programme.
Neither the Levelling Up Agenda nor the Future High Streets programme require external oversight and strategic decisions are made by the Council as the accountable body. However, the Council sees it as best practice to widen the scope of the existing board to include these workstreams in its regular updates.