A community hub will soon be opening at Wolverhampton station that will supplement Costa Coffee and a Co-Op Food Store that have opened in recent weeks.
The community hub will provide passengers and residents with a place to meet and access business advice and will be a place where local artists can display their work. CrossCountry's Customer and Communities Improvement Fund provided a development grant to make the hub possible, with project management and a community licence for the station unit coming from West Midlands Railway.
This is the latest stage in the redevelopment of the station, with Costa Coffee and the Co-Op already benefiting passengers, and with phone charging points available in the Co-Op. Included in the redevelopment was the provision of step-free access through uprading the lifts. Last year, the development won the Insider West Midlands Property Awards 2020 Regeneration Project of the Year.
The ‘Changemakers' scheme is being led by the Wolverhampton Business Improvement District (BID) in a partnership between West Midlands Railway which operates the station and rail operator CrossCountry.
With a planned opening this autumn, the hub is now being fitted out now inside the new station building, which opened last year following a multi-million-pound redevelopment. The rebuilt station is part of the Wolverhampton Interchange project which is supported by funding from the City of Wolverhampton Council, West Midlands Combined Authority and the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership.
John Robson, CrossCountry's regional director West Midlands and North West said: “It will be great to see this project being brought to life on this truly community-centric space. We are proud of our strong community relationships across our network and this truly collaborative application stood out for its enthusiasm and attention to detail.”
Mel Bryett, Wolverhampton station manager, said: “We pride ourselves on putting our stations at the heart of our communities and I am delighted we are able to host such a worthwhile project in our beautiful new concourse. With more and more people returning to rail following the pandemic, I am thrilled to be working with such dedicated community organisations to offer additional services and opportunities to our customers.”
Cherry Shine, managing director of Wolverhampton BID, said: “This project made possible by CrossCountry's Improvement Fund provides a real opportunity to connect our community and city centre businesses, support sustainable rail travel, provide an even warmer welcome to this key gateway to our city centre and encourage enterprise at our iconic new station. We are delighted to be working in partnership with CrossCountry and West Midlands Railway in an exciting venture for us all.”
Councillor Stephen Simkins, City of Wolverhampton Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “The new railway station building is symbolic of the multi-billion-pound regeneration that is taking place in our city and the Interchange provides a gateway to Wolverhampton that everyone can be proud of. As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic and its restrictions, people are beginning to feel the full benefit of what these impressive new facilities have to offer.
“It is fantastic to see major names operating from the retail units – and the addition of this community hub epitomises what Wolverhampton is all about. I'm hoping this acts as a catalyst for further investment in the station by our Interchange partners. The railway station development is a big part of how we are transforming our city centre to help boost the local economy, create jobs and make the most of the nearby canalside areas, where we have major housing plans.”
