WMCA's multi-million pound investment for Stratford-upon-Avon's Gateway

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has agreed a multi-million-pound investment that will help to kickstart the regeneration of the important Gateway site in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The WMCA has agreed in principle to provide funding to deliver 118 new homes on the part of the site that fronts Birmingham Road and Arden Street, creating 80 local jobs and providing much-needed affordable homes.

The decision, which will now trigger detailed talks to finalise the agreement, is the latest in a series of WMCA investments focused on breathing new life into the region’s town and city centres.

The funding will support Stratford-on-Avon District Council to deliver the first element of its recently approved long-term masterplan for a cultural quarter at the northern entrance to the town - one of the region’s key visitor destinations.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA, said: “The Gateway site is an important regeneration project for Stratford-upon-Avon.

“This is a fantastic example of how we’re using our funding, in partnership with Stratford-on-Avon District Council, to unlock a development site that has stalled for too many years to provide the new homes and jobs that are desperately needed in all parts of our region.

“As one of the West Midlands’ key visitor locations, we’re delighted to be working with the district council as they take these first steps to delivering an exciting masterplan for a cultural quarter and all the benefits that will bring to the local and regional economy.”

Cllr George Cowcher, planning and economic development portfolio holder for Stratford-on-Avon District Council, said: “This is fantastic news for Stratford as it helps unlock one of three major problem sites in the town centre. It will not only generate new housing on a currently derelict site but also opens up the opportunity to work closely with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to explore the potential for the development of a world-class museum.

“Bringing to life a new space in the public realm to celebrate the enduring legacy of William Shakespeare as well as the positive impact on the whole town of Stratford-upon-Avon, is to be welcomed.”

The WMCA’s investment into the Stratford-upon-Avon Gateway scheme is the latest example of the WMCA’s brownfield first programme which continues to use a £200m housing funding pot to unlock scores of the region’s former industrial sites, often referred to as brownfield land, for new homes and commercial workplaces.

The ‘invest to unlock' approach sees the WMCA cover the cost of cleaning up such sites to make them ready for developers to build on. In return, house builders must make a minimum 20% of the homes affordable.

The West Midlands was also the first region in the UK to adopt a localised definition of affordable housing linked to real world local incomes rather than property prices. The definition states that people should not have to pay more than a third of their income on rent or mortgages.

Funding is open to public and private sector developers who share the region’s ambition to bring forward high quality, inclusive communities with genuinely affordable homes.