Agenda item

[To consider the future plans for Heath Town Baths]. 

[Presentation is marked: To Follow]. 

The Chair invited Head of City Development and Senior Regeneration Manager to give their presentation on the Heath Town Baths Development.

The Head of City Development opened the presentation “Heath Town Baths from closure to renewal”, a copy of which is attached to the signed minutes. They began by discussing the fire that had occurred on the site and explained that the fire that had occurred in July 2022 was limited to a small area on the Heath Town Baths site and the damage was limited. Anti-Social behaviour on the site had been addressed with the installation of CCTV and other security measures, including on site patrols which had all been funded by the site developer. The planning application had progressed with a series of community engagement initiatives.

The Senior Regeneration Manager explained the surroundings of the Heath Town Bath site, which included a variety of high value heritage sites. The Senior Regeneration Manager gave historical background information about the site which included when it was built and why. The baths were closed in 2003 by decision of Cabinet after a survey of the site carried out in 2000 identified a number of structural issues which required high-cost repairs to fix. The Council’s Swimming Strategy business case sought to deliver new build leisure facilities which saw investment for the leisure pool at Bentley Bridge and the Bert Williams Leisure Centre. Heath Town library was replaced by new Wednesfield library. 

The Senior Regeneration Manager stated that a number of schemes were considered by the Cabinet for use of the site but all of these foundered leading ultimately until a decision by the Cabinet Resources Panel on 20 January 2015 to put the site out to the open market. A procurement exercise was undertaken to select a commercial advisor and Avison Young (then called GVA) were appointed to undertake a strategic marketing review. After a various bids and reviews, Avison Young recommended in a report to the Cabinet that Gaddu Associates be the preferred bidder on the site. Cabinet approved this on 10 January 2017. The proposals for site development had been worked on in consultation with Historic England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the local community. Local community engagement has been achieved primarily through the Heathfield Park Community Action Network, as well as others, and the site uses were to be consistent with the Heathfield Park Neighbourhood Plan. The scheme proposes the building be restored to offer a range of uses which would include a banqueting hall, day nursery, training and conference rooms, business start-up space and multi-purpose community function rooms.

The Senior Regeneration Officer remarked that the Council had worked to agree a Skills and Employment Plan, as developed with the Wolves at Work team. The procurement strategy seeks to use local contractors and suppliers where possible. In August 2022 Gaddu Associates presented at the Heath Park Community Fair to engage with the community on the proposals. Much of the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Correspondence with Wolverhampton North-East member of Parliament had been regular from the developers. The cost of the works were to be met by Gaddu Associates.

The Head of City Development informed the Panel that planning and listed building consent applications were submitted by Gaddu Associates and formerly submitted on October 12 2022. The application was due to be considered at the Planning Committee in January 2023. Overall funding for the site came from a variety of private funders as well as the National Lottery Fund. Heritage funding from the Lottery would be given once planning permission was granted and the development phase progressed to stage 2. The Head of City Development set out a number of outcomes which included job creation estimates, traineeship and apprenticeships. Site benefits, and spatial information.

The Chair thanked the Head of City Development and the Senior Regeneration Manager for their presentation.

A Councillor raised concerns with the road system around the site, explaining that its one way, very busy and often full of parked cars. The Councillor wanted to know how the site would impact on increasing car park space pressures.

The Senior Regeneration Manager informed the Panel that considerations of parking and traffic management were included within the planning application process for review. He explained that the developer aimed to put on large scale events outside of peak hours and that people will be employed to deal with car parking management to ensure that the sites own car parking area would accommodate all pressures generated by site events.

A Councillor thanked the team for the presentation and expressed interest in visiting the site to liaise with the developers to become further acquainted with the project. The Councillor asked what the estimated cost was for the project and cited a previous quote of £900,000, she asked about the time frames of the development, once planning was approved.

The Head of City Development stated that the estimated total cost was around 4 to 5 million pounds due to the sensitive nature of redeveloping a heritage site however, the site aimed to generate money from businesses due to the creation of new spaces for rental. The social value the site would bring was also referred to, with the Head of City Development mentioning interest from the local hospital, due to its crèche and childcare spaces. The Head of City confirmed he would be in touch with the Councillor to arrange a site visit.

The Senior Regeneration Manager explained that the completion time was subject to the amount of money the Lottery Heritage Grant would release once planning was granted. He believed the completion of the entire site would be done by the end of 2027.

The Councillor further queried how the site development would progress, referencing Key Performance Indicators (KPI) as an example of management.

The Director of Regeneration explained the planning process to the Councillor and then expanded upon the phased development. Once planning permission was granted and the developer had the lease for the building, the funding would be drawn throughout the stages of development. The actual time frames would be solidified and confirmed once the planning application process, subject to work from the planning committee was completed.

The Head of City Development stated that once planning permission was granted that part of the requirements from the Council with the developer was that building would start within 2 years from that point. He explained that funding with the National Lottery Heritage fund had been suspended due to the covid-19 pandemic, however, a lot of work had been done prior to the outbreak which means the process of gaining funding was already well ahead, which was beneficial now the National Lottery Heritage fund was open again.

A Panel member praised the progress with the development and was pleased the site was moving forwards to the benefit of the local community and the local authority. The Councillor echoed concerns surrounding traffic arrangements and made reference to the Heath Town Plan, querying if the legal document was being adhered to. He also emphasised the need for safeguarding checks through the multiple departments the work needed to go through and was keen to ensure that local people had their say throughout the process.

The Senior Regeneration manager confirmed that the planning application requirements included the Heath Town Plan as part of the criteria for delivery. He also confirmed the vast majority of local people engaged with support the project and that it was still going through multiple consultations.

A Councillor mentioned Railway lines being returned to use and emphasised the opportunity for Heath Town to have an operating train station once again, he asked the Council to take this into consideration.

The Chair thanked Members for the debate and discussion on the topic and asked the Scrutiny Officer to ensure updates on the project be provided in due time to the Panel.