Walsall Council and HBD, part of Henry Boot, have marked the end of the first stage of a major £100m regeneration project in Walsall.
SPARK is a 40 acre logistics and manufacturing hub being brought forward by developer HBD in partnership with Walsall Council, Homes England, West Midlands Combined Authority and Black Country LEP.
A remediation project has been completed by contractor John F Hunt to prepare the site for development.
The site was remediated without sending thousands of tonnes of material to landfill, reducing vehicle movements and making significant carbon savings. A total of 1.3 million tonnes of material was excavated and processed, much of which was recycled to construct the development platform for SPARK, while treating 5.7 million litres of groundwater.
Construction is targeted for early next year, with plans approved for 620,000sq ft of space.
SPARK would provide units ranging from 20,000sq ft to 250,000sq ft close to Junctions 9 and 10 of the M6. The first units could be available to move in to from the third quarter of 2025.
Ed Hutchinson, managing director of HBD, said: “It’s fantastic to have reached this milestone at SPARK, transforming what was once the largest undeveloped brownfield site in the Black Country into a development ready project. SPARK is key to meeting demand for high quality, sustainable manufacturing space in the West Midlands, while boosting the economy with more than a thousand new jobs. There are very few developments as well located, which has driven strong early interest from occupiers.”
Councillor Andrew, associate leader of Walsall Council, said: “It’s great to see how much progress has been made at SPARK and I’m really excited to see construction start soon. SPARK is a huge project for Walsall and will create hundreds of jobs and lots of great business opportunities.
“It’s been a long road to get to this point but I’m really proud to have been able to work with HBD to bring this site back into economic use and create opportunities for local people.”
Guy Scott, project director for Homes England, added: “The completion of the remediation works marks an important milestone for the SPARK project, ensuring that this large brownfield site can be developed into a sustainable place that will provide much needed employment opportunities in Walsall and the wider area.”
The agents for SPARK are Cushman & Wakefield and Knight Frank.