Case study

Placemakers: Stimulating economic regeneration at University of Wolverhampton's Springfield Campus

11 May 2022

The £120m Springfield Campus seeks to stimulate economic regeneration in Wolverhampton and the Black Country by bringing together school-level education, employer training provision and higher education on one site. Situated on a former brewery site, Springfield has transformed a derelict area of the city. The campus is a significantly important regeneration project for the West Midlands and when fully operational will be the world’s largest construction education campus developing the skills and knowledge base for the future of construction.

In August 2020, the university’s School of Architecture and Built Environment (SOABE) re-located to a purpose-built £28m building on the campus. The university worked closely with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership (BCLEP) and City of Wolverhampton Council (CWC) to unlock growth deal funding, evidencing how SOABE could help to achieve regional strategic economic objectives by raising employability, education and skills and improving Black Country business competitiveness.

The Springfield Campus is also now home to the National Brownfield Institute (NBI), which will provide high quality brownfield research and innovation across the West Midlands. Led by the university, in partnership and supported by key stakeholders, including CWC, BCLEP and WMCA, the NBI opened in January 2022 and will create a world-class industry cluster focusing on brownfield regeneration.

Also present on the site is the £12m Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills, which opened in August 2017. This is an employer-led training facility for the Black Country designed to improve productivity and growth in the high value manufacturing sector. Lastly, the Telford Thomas University Technical College is also situated on site, providing education for pupils aged from 14.