In the first of a series of articles, Kate Copestake, Chair of St John's Urban Village, discusses the exciting developments within Wolverhampton city centre.

Early Seventies, late night, Wolverhampton's Hinterland. Tommy Burton's Sporting House, or the Lord Raglan as it was more properly known. George Melly standing on a table and singing a Very Rude Song into my 15 year old face (I know, I know). I'll sing it to you sometime. It was like the fall of Saigon in there. Outside was far worse.

Wolverhampton has had an image problem for many years, together with many English industrial towns such as Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield, whose heyday belonged to the Victorian era. Heavy recession in manufacturing and other social factors has had a huge impact on the City Centre. But like our industrial cousins, Wolverhampton is beginning to enjoy its own renaissance.

St John's Urban Village is a £40 million regeneration project spread over a fifty acre site covering nearly half of the city centre. The four quarters include The Learning Quarter, The Markets, St John's Square and Darlington Court. The scheme is now being recognised nationally as a flagship project, attracts good press, and is being hailed as the model for future regeneration in urban villages. It will provide mixed tenure housing, shops, businesses, leisure and learning, and has the support of the Council, AWM and the Princes Foundation.

One of the most visible evidence of the St John's Village rejuvenation so far is the Markets Phase 2 development. Kendrick Construction, in partnership with KingsOak Homes and Peter Maddox Associates, will provide 64 mixed tenure flats and 4 high quality retail units, right in the middle of town. Colin Honan, Managing Director of KingsOak, who are marketing the project, tells me that he has already received 250 enquiries regarding the apartments. The aim is to bring people back into the City centre to live, work and play. In The Learning Quarter, centred around Old Hall Street, Phase 1 (a supported Housing Scheme) is well underway, with Phase 2 (Adult Education Service/City College Campus) imminent.

Councillor Louise Miles, Portfolio Holder for Economic Development, explains -"Wolverhampton's flagship Market Square project will comprehensively revitalise a previously neglected area of the City Centre, with a new public square, shopping and leisure facilities and "over the shop" high quality living accommodation".

"Exciting plans for the Learning Quarter will further strengthen the identity of the area by developing a unity of purpose and atmosphere based on an even greater concentration of the education, training and information facilities available there. We are particularly proud of the supported housing scheme for 16-25 year olds which will offer training and independent living in a high quality secure environment to its residents".

"The next phase will involve the building of the new City Centre campus for the City of Wolverhampton College, in partnership with the City Council's Adult Education Service, which will provide extensive lifelong learning opportunities for Wolverhampton people within the Learning Quarter".

A key site for development - and vying for the Notorious Eyesore title - is just off the city ring road. Imelda Havers, Project Manager at SJUV explains- "The Little Brickiln Street Triangle at the Southern end of the Urban Village encapsulates the range of problems faced by many regeneration projects: Fragmented ownership, low land values and a physical manifestation of how loss of confidence in an area can affect its image. This site is due to be developed soon thanks to the concerted efforts of Wolverhampton Council and the SJUV Board".

The environmental improvements around St John's Square and George Street, and the refurbishment of the historic buildings, supported by the Architectural Heritage Fund and English Heritage, are fine examples of how the use of high quality materials, including granite setts and York stone paving, are restoring this historic area of Wolverhampton to its former glory. Regarding the refurbishment on Snow Hill, Chris Arnot, in the Daily Telegraph, March 2001, writes - "A little corner of Georgian Wolverhampton, which somehow escaped the brutal purges of the 1960's, has been handsomely restored".

The regeneration of over half of a city centre well over her 1000th birthday is never going to be a straightforward task. A final word from Imelda - "Getting the physical, economic and social regeneration mix right is fiendishly difficult; it's tempting to go for the easy option of piecemeal development to get a quick win. But it's the long term, multi faceted projects like SJUV which are sure to create the vitality we need to bring our towns and cities back to life."

Go see it for yourself. Now, how did that song go?