Plans are being put in place to start preliminary works in the New Year that will pave the way for a new social hub in the city centre offering the best in street food, drink and entertainment.

Consultation is underway and neighbouring businesses and residents will be fully informed ahead of a planning application being submitted to demolish vacant shops at 1-7a Cleveland Parade.

The cleared site and adjoining Bell Street car park would then become the future home to Bell Place Box Space.

This forms part of the continued £15.7million transformation of the west of the city centre to make it a place that attracts people for not only shopping but also for varied events and activities in its public spaces – further supporting the official reopening of the Civic Halls in June, which will bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city centre and boost the local economy by more than £10million a year.

Subject to planning approval, a contractor will be appointed to begin demolition of the empty Cleveland Parade properties in early 2023. Designs using shipping container-style cabins to host Bell Place Box Space businesses will then be finalised and a full planning application submitted with a construction programme agreed.

City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Environment and Climate Change, Councillor Steve Evans, said: “This is another step in the exciting transformation of the west of the city centre to make it a place that attracts people for not only shopping but also for events and activities in its public spaces.

“The proposed demolition of vacant shops at 1-7a Cleveland Parade and use of the adjoining Bell Street car park are part of long-held regeneration aspirations in the City Centre Area Action Plan.

“Together, they will form the site for the Bell Place Box Space – a modern food, beverage and entertainment facility.

“These type of box spaces, using shipping container-style cabins, are hugely popular in other areas of the country such as Sheffield and Sunderland and it will be a superb addition to Wolverhampton’s existing leisure, events and evening economy, also creating invaluable employment and new business opportunities.”

Funding for the works has been secured through the Government’s Future High Streets Fund.