Site investigations are taking place this month ahead of construction works starting next year on a new state-of-the-art Bilston Health & Wellbeing Facility to serve the community.

Outline planning approval is already in place on the council-owned site, adjacent to the WV Active Bilston-Bert Williams leisure centre and Bilston Urban Village medical centre.

Initial works in spring will see the Bilston-Bert Williams Leisure Centre car park extended from 90 to 125 spaces for use by leisure centre and health & wellbeing facility visitors. This will be supported by the installation of an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system providing anti-social behaviour alerts.

Detailed designs for the health & wellbeing facility and public space improvements will be finalised in early 2025 with a contractor then being appointed to carry out the development works.

The important community asset will bring together partners and providers of primary and community health and social care, wellbeing and leisure, learning and creative sectors to support residents. The new facility will be located conveniently a short distance from Bilston Central public transport interchange, Bilston markets and Bilston Urban Village nature reserve.

It will also act as an anchor within the community, investing in early intervention and prevention, giving access to a campus that builds resilience, integrates and transforms primary and community services and brings care closer to people's homes - connecting people, communities and place.

It will be mostly funded from the £20million Government grant the council secured for its transformative Bilston Health & Regeneration Programme.

Councillor Chris Burden, Cabinet Member for City Development, Jobs and Skills, said: “This new facility for Bilston will provide invaluable health and wellbeing services for the local community.

“Following positive feedback from residents and healthcare users, and securing outline planning approval, the site investigations will enable us to fully progress this scheme next year.

“The facility will be located where it can benefit the community the most, right in the centre of the town, making it highly accessible for users, and bringing footfall that will benefit local businesses.

“We want our traditional local centres to flourish, and this facility builds substantially on the investment already made in Bilston in recent years.”

Dr Salma Reehana, Medical Director for Health and Beyond Group of practices, based at Bilston Urban Village Medical Centre, said: "We are really excited about this brand new state-of-the-art facility which will help us be part of the Bilston Community and achieve our vision of true partnership working with our patients. We continue to work with our patients in making this a reality."

Image caption (L-R): Dr Salma Reehana, Medical Director for Health and Beyond Group of practices; Anita Small, Hub Manager at NHS Bilston Urban Village and Ettingshall; Cllr Chris Burden, City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Development, Jobs and Skills, and Dr Mohammed Arshad Asghar, GP at Health and Beyond

Video: A fly-through video of what the new Bilston health & wellbeing facility could look like can be viewed at https://youtu.be/BpgPAq5Xkhg