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PLANS PREVIEWED FOR FIRST PHASE OF WALSALL WATERFRONT SITE - 26 July '06

Award winning property developer, Urban Splash, revealed a preview of its proposals for the first phase of the development at Walsall Waterfront on Wednesday 26 July at the New Art Gallery, Walsall.

The proposals are for seven new buildings designed by award winning architects shedkm, SMC Alsop and Querkraft and in total will create 154 new homes, 144,000 sq ft of new offices and potentially a hotel, 41,000 sq ft of ground floor retail and leisure space,  a 630 space car park and two new public spaces. 

The buildings are as follows:

• 77 units in each of two residential buildings, which stand on either side of the canal, with ground floor retail and leisure of 18,000 sq ft
• Two office buildings totalling 93, 000 sq ft, with ground floor retail or leisure space of 6,500 sq ft
• A further 51,000 sq ft office building raised on stilts with public space beneath
• A 630 space ‘living’ car park with ground floor retail or leisure space of 15,000 sq ft
• The refurbishment of Wharfingers Cottage as a bar or restaurant. During the development  Urban Splash will use the 1,500 sq ft space as its marketing suite

“Urban Splash has been quietly getting on with the proposals for Walsall for sometime now and we now have a really exciting set of buildings ready to submit for detailed planning, “ said Tom Bloxham MBE, chairman, Urban Splash.  “There’s still a long way to go before the project will start on site but we have reached a very significant milestone.”

Urban Splash is working in partnership with Walsall Regeneration Company, Walsall Council and Advantage West Midlands to deliver the mixed use project which covers the site adjacent to the Town Centre and New Art Gallery.

Ben Reid, chairman of Walsall Regeneration Company, said: “2006 will go down as a turning point in the history of Walsall, a year when it took a big leap forward in driving its economy into the 21^st century.

“Just five weeks after the council backed a £100 million Business, Learning and Retail Campus that will help deliver new business, skills and enterprise, Urban Splash has unveiled this superb, imaginative scheme which will bring stylish canalside living to Walsall Waterfront as well as contributing to the developing office market.

“With a developer of the calibre of Urban Splash on board, it shows that Walsall has the clout to attract major investors and that it has become one of the regeneration hotspots of the West Midlands.”

Cllr Tom Ansell, leader, Walsall Council said: “It is great to see Walsall Waterfront taking shape with these first proposals and begin creating places for people to live, restaurants, bars, leisure facilities and jobs for our citizens.

“Walsall Council has played a leading role in bringing this project to life and we have worked hard with our regeneration partners to get to this exciting stage. Walsall Waterfront will give us all another reason to feel proud of our borough and provide further encouragement for business people to continue investing in Walsall.”

David Blake, Partnerships Director for the Black Country at Advantage West Midlands, said: “The exciting development at Walsall Waterfront will play a key part in helping the Agency achieve its vision for 2010 of creating a world-class region in which to invest, work, learn, visit and live.

“It’s a flagship project in which collaboration and team work among partners is beginning to yield visible results.”

www.urbansplash.co.uk

-Ends-

For Further Information Please Contact

Sarah Hughes, Giraffe Communications on 07712 784 859
Email: sarah@giraffecomms.com

Lisa Ashurst, communications manager, Urban Splash on 0161 839 2999 or 07973 401123
Email: lisaashurst@urbansplash.co.uk

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