Revamp of Walsall's Saddlers Centre will 'drive footfall' to town's retail hub

Work is expected to start in November on a long awaited "connected gateway" improvements scheme, aiming to improve the link between the train and bus stations, creating a more "attractive and accessible" arrival experience to the town and making the Saddlers Centre "lighter, brighter and more accessible." 

The downstairs area, known as Bradford Mall, will be renovated to let in more light and renovate the escalators, adding an additional staircase, while the rear entrance by the Bradford Place bus station will also be refurbished. The scheme is the first phase of a number of connected projects to improve Walsall town centre, coming after the council secured funding of £11.4m from the Future High Street Fund three years ago.

The council says businesses in the Saddlers Centre will still be able to operate as normal during the scheme, with work scheduled to take place outside of business hours, while access to the train station will also be maintained.

“It’ll be great to get spades in the ground in the town centre and see the scheme start to progress," said Councillor Adrian Andrew, Associate Leader of Walsall Council . 

"A more accessible, attractive town centre will drive footfall and create more opportunities for leisure, business and adult learning.“

The council says the plans from part of the Walsall town centre masterplan, which will also see Park Street reconfigured in 2025, with plans to knock down some of the buildings opposite the Saddlers Centre entrance to open up the space between the transport hubs.

“The proposed improvements are truly exciting," said Richard Jones, Director of commercial letting agents Avison Young. 

"Enhancing accessibility for public transport users and creating a modern, appealing arrival experience will encourage people to stay longer, boosting footfall and dwell time. This, in turn, will create numerous opportunities for leisure, hospitality, and retail sectors “

This week, councillors in Walsall received an update on the town's £1.5bn strategic regeneration programme, which highlighted the completion of remediation work at the former James Bridge Copper works which is set to become a 620,000sq ft logistics and industrial base which could create up to 1,000 jobs.