Mayor sees construction start on the £100m SPARK regeneration scheme

Construction work has started on the new £100m SPARK manufacturing and logistics hub in Walsall, creating around 1,000 jobs once completed.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, saw work get underway during a visit to the huge regeneration scheme on the site for the former the James Bridge Copper Works.

SPARK, which received a multi-million-pound investment from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) through a partner organisation, will transform what was once the Black Country’s largest undeveloped brownfield site into a thriving new business location.

The scheme is being delivered by Origin, the UK-focused industrial and logistics platform formed by HBD, part of Henry Boot, and Feldberg Capital, in partnership with Walsall Council, the WMCA, Black Country LEP and Homes England.

Over recent months the 44 acre site has been cleared and cleaned ahead of work starting on the first phase which consists of two units of 250,000sq ft. and 18,000sq ft. Once complete, the development will deliver a total of 620,000sq ft. of high-spec space within the Midlands’ manufacturing and logistics heartland.

From left: Ed Hutchinson, Managing Director of HBD, Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, and Cllr Adrian Andrew, Associate Leader of Walsall Council

The WMCA, which is chaired by the mayor, contributed to the remediation of the site alongside Walsall Council and Homes England. It made a multimillion pound investment through a partner organisation which was later put towards the cost of clearing and decontaminating the site.

Richard Parker, Mayor of West Midlands, said: “For more than two decades this site in Walsall has lay derelict and abandoned. But now, following a multi-million-pound investment, it will be a site open for development – bringing in businesses, investment and jobs.

“This former copper works, once a place of heavy industry, is being transformed into a site ready to house modern manufacturing and logistics companies in the region. It will create hundreds of valuable jobs, but most importantly, it will be a catalyst for economic growth in the region.”

The first two units will be ready for occupation later this year. The development’s location just minutes from J9 and J10 of the M6, at the gateway to the Midlands, coupled with its power supply and the extensive labour pool within the region, is driving strong interest from potential occupiers.

Ed Hutchinson, Managing Director of HBD, said: “SPARK is one of the region’s most important regeneration projects – it will attract significant inward investment into the West Midlands and create thousands of new jobs while providing much-needed net zero carbon capable space. It has been an extremely complex endeavour to transform this site and ready it for development, so it’s great to see SPARK beginning to take shape.”

Jamie Acheson, Managing Director of Feldberg Capital, commented: “Alongside our partner HBD, we are delighted to have commenced construction of this landmark development for the Origin platform. This project supports our investment thesis of developing best-in-class, highly sustainable industrial and logistics space in key strategic locations.”

Cllr Adrian Andrew, Associate Leader of Walsall Council, said: “It’s inspiring to see the remarkable progress that has been made at SPARK and to see buildings starting to come out of the ground. Discussions around remediating the site started over 2 decades ago so it’s fantastic to see how far we’ve come.

"SPARK is a substantial regeneration scheme for the West Midlands and it will attract significant investment to our borough which will have a broader impact across the Black Country and wider region.

"Initiatives like this not only revitalise once-derelict land, but also create opportunities and jobs for our local communities. This has been a true partnership approach to resolving these issues with HBD, Homes England, Walsall Council, West Midlands Combined Authority and the former Black Country LEP.”