City of Wolverhampton Council is set to use compulsory purchase powers to address the condition of the former Beatties department store.
The building, situated on Victoria Street, has been boarded up since 2019 and the council is now considering using Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) powers to acquire the site.
A CPO is a legal process that allows some public bodies to acquire land without the owner’s consent.
Planning permission was granted in 2021 for the redevelopment of parts of the former store, its car park and associated land.
The plans included 306 apartments, 6,809 sq m of commercial space and redevelopment of land between Darlington Street, Skinner Street, Victoria Street and School Street.
However, the council said the current owner, Eden Beatties, had failed to progress the approved scheme. The company stripped out internal fittings and removed some structures, but the building is now in poor condition.
‘Further legal action is likely to follow’
The council’s vacant properties taskforce is taking action of the owners’ failure to comply with a Section 215 notice requiring the site to be cleaned up.
Councillor Chris Burden said: ‘Senior council officers met with the current owners of the Beatties building recently, and, on behalf of all Wulfrunians, expressed in no uncertain terms that the current state of the building is totally unacceptable.
‘Eden Beatties have failed to comply with the council’s legally-binding clean up notice, missing deadline after deadline. Further legal action is likely to follow.’
The authority said it wanted the site brought back into use, with the redevelopment potentially providing housing and restoring the locally listed heritage building.
It also claimed the project could address long-standing issues involving anti-social behaviour in the area.
Wolverhampton described the use of CPO powers as a ‘last resort’, but said it would provide clarity that the site could be regenerated within a reasonable timeframe.
A Development Delivery Strategy is also being commissioned for the site in partnership with the West Midlands Combined Authority, which is funding the work.
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