Express & Star comment: Thriving Wolverhampton is good for the whole region

In a month where we have already seen ambitious plans for new housing and transport developments outlined for the city, the canal-side renaissance is another boost.

The long awaited – and let's face it, much-needed – revamp of Cornhill takes centre stage, with a multi-storey office block forming part of a one million square foot development.

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The rundown area around the railway station has been a problem for the city for years.

Put simply, it has fallen into a state of such dereliction that the prospect of any form of development there has long been considered unlikely.

Amongst our local councillors, there are certainly those who must have given up hope of anything positive ever happening to the area.

But that has all changed.

Serious

Within a decade it could be home to one of the city's tallest buildings, as well as gleaming new offices and flats.

This is the right way to go if we are serious about attracting businesses and home owners into the city and away from Birmingham, where sky high property prices are a turn off for many.

For too long Wolverhampton has been seen as the poor relation to Birmingham.

To some extent, this view has been backed up by the constant presence of cranes dominating the second city's skyline in recent times.

Sadly, this has meant that many businesses have been attracted to base themselves there, rather than find a home in the Black Country.

But there is plenty to be pleased about in Wolverhampton at the moment. Things are really looking up.

Developments are sprouting up across the whole city. In particular, the improvements around the railway station will have a hugely beneficial impact when it comes to attracting further investment.

In the business world, nothing shows that a city is going places more than a range of new developments all happening at the same time.

We certainly have that in Wolverhampton at the moment.

Let's hope these bold and ambitious plans turn out to be just as impressive in practice.

A thriving city is good for the whole region.