Last night we reached a major milestone in the regeneration of Kingshurst after Cabinet approved arrangements to accept West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) funding and push on with Phase 2 of the Kingshurst Village Centre regeneration.
The decision clears the way for construction to begin before the end of year on the most significant phase of the regeneration scheme to date, bringing forward a new Community, Health and Retail (CHR) building, six new homes, a new vicarage and a new main road and car parking.
The regeneration of Kingshurst has always been ambitious. By taking a phased approach, we have successfully navigated challenging economic conditions, rising construction costs and other things while keeping the project on track and remaining true to our vision for the area.
A huge amount of progress has been made behind the scenes, even though it’s not always been visible from the street. This latest funding and Cabinet approval mean we can now move on to construction and people will soon start to see real activity on site.
Construction is expected to begin before the end of the year and 2027 will be a transformative year for Kingshurst, as residents will finally see significant building taking place in the village centre. This is a major investment in the future of Kingshurst that will benefit generations to come.
It’s National Inclusion Week and therefore a very good time for Elmwood Family Hub to be welcoming the newest addition to their staff, as JJ joins the team following a successful supported internship placement. These combine formal training and practical work experience and are designed to help young people with Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) into the world of work. It’s the latest success story from The Council’s Employment and Skills team, I’ve shared a few from them before in this column and I look forward to sharing more in future as they continue their great work.
We’re running a couple of free events in October to help residents plan for later life. You’ll have a chance to talk to experts on financial planning, vaccinations and health, housing and care choices. We’re running one at The Loft in Chelmsley Wood on Friday 9 October and one at The Core Library in Solihull on Monday 12 October. Whether you think you’re fairly well set up for your later years or you haven’t got a clue where to start the experts will be able to offer a helping hand, so why not pop along? There’s a bit more information available here.
Finally, last Friday I spent a very enjoyable evening at the Solihull Chamber of Commerce Awards. The best thing about it was hearing about all the success and innovation taking place in our wonderful borough. There’s over 8000 businesses of all different shapes and sizes across Solihull, together making up our vibrant business community. I had the honour of presenting the award for Influencer of The Year to Steve Whitmarsh from Run Your Fleet, a brilliant company based in Shirley. Congratulations to him and his team, to all the winners and nominees, and to everyone who helps to keep Solihull thriving.
Thanks for reading, have a great weekend.
Karen