The ambitious Wolverhampton Interchange project being led by City of Wolverhampton Council and Ion Developments - working with a host of partners - has won a major award.

It beat off strong competition to win the prestigious Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) West Midlands Award for Planning Excellence 2020, and will now go forward as a regional entrant into the national award shortlist, with the winner due to be announced next year.

Announced in an online ceremony last night, the judges described Wolverhampton Interchange as "An exemplar scheme and illustration of leading practice which is delivering a state-of-the-art multi-modal transport hub around which the city is developing its new commercial gateway. It’s rejuvenating part of the city to the benefit of its residents and businesses.”

The demolition and construction of Wolverhampton’s new railway station building, being carried out by contractors Galliford Try, underpins the city’s £150million Interchange scheme, which is delivering improvements to bus, tram and train connectivity.

Once the railway station is completed in early 2021, final works will begin to connect the station to a new Metro extension, creating a fully integrated transport hub with the neighbouring bus station and a first-class gateway to the city centre.

The development works have been cleverly designed in two phases to ensure they do not impact on train services from Wolverhampton.

Evolving as part of the Interchange masterplan is a commercial district, which includes the award-winning i10 building and the current development of the eye-catching office development i9.

Wolverhampton Interchange Partnership consists of City of Wolverhampton Council (CWC), Ion, West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), West Midlands Railway, Avanti West Coast, Network Rail, Midland Metro Alliance, Canal & River Trust, and Black Country LEP.

City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Economy, Councillor Stephen Simkins, said: “The railway station is a beacon of the multi-billion-pound regeneration that is taking place across our city. It is an extraordinary project and I am delighted all the hard work is getting the recognition it deserves by winning this prestigious award.

“This will help lever in more investment into the city and benefit future employment, helping to relight our city and encourage families to work, live and enjoy Wolverhampton with their children.

“A lot of hard work has been done by the council, Ion Developments and partners to make this transformational scheme a reality.

“The completed Interchange will connect train, tram and bus in one place and, alongside a thriving commercial district will ultimately provide a gateway to our city that we can all enjoy using - and be proud of.”

The project has also been shortlisted in three categories for Insider's West Midlands Property Awards 2020.

More than 40 businesses and projects have made the cut for this year’s showcase of the region’s real estate sector.

The Interchange project has been shortlisted for the Construction Project of the Year, Regeneration Project of the Year and Sustainability awards.

The winners of ten categories will be announced at the gala dinner on Thursday, March 4, 2021, at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole hotel.