Update on Telford's Station Quarter development as work on new residential block advances
Big changes are coming to Telford’s skyline as the £220 million redevelopment of Station Quarter enters a new stage.
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Construction workers are already at third-storey level on what will be a six-storey block of apartments – with a ground-floor shop unit.
The first residents in 194 homes that sit a few minutes' walk away from Telford Central railway station could be moving in within 15 to 18 months.
A sixth form college is well on the way and a new base for businesses – called The Quad – is already home for Harper Adams University, a new Digital Skills Hub operated by Telford College and a start-up Business Hub.
The huge Towns Fund project is being partly funded with £200 million pound investment of match-funding from the private sector, as well as £22.3 million from the central government’s Towns Fund.
Council leader Lee Carter (Labour, Arleston & College) says a “new community” will be built in the area.
“It is not just about physical buildings,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. “It is building a community.”
The residential area will offer a mix of private and affordable rent, and shared ownership options. It is being delivered by Nuplace, Telford & Wrekin Council’s housing investment company, and its housing partner, Legal & General Affordable Homes.
Councillor Carter said it will include serviced apartments where people can live close to the train station and have the facilities of the town centre close by.
“It will be for people who like living somewhere where everything is done for you,” said Councillor Carter.
“They will be able to get to Birmingham Airport in an hour and be flying off to New York from the centre of Telford.”
There are also plans for a new public square for events, a restaurant and a coffee shop and an easier way for people to walk from Telford Central station to the shopping centre.
Work on reopening Lawn Central following the removal of a footbridge should be completed by the end of this month, the council has confirmed.
It could be reopened to traffic by Friday, March 21 if everything goes to plan.
It is understood that negotiation on the operators of a new luxury hotel is at an advanced stage.
But for Councillor Carter the most important part of the whole development is the new sixth form college in the council’s former Addenbrooke House offices which are being completely renovated.
The multi-million pound sixth form centre will allow Telford College to significantly expand its A-level offering in a self-contained sixth form setting.
Councillor Carter said: “I was lucky growing up in Wellington, where I could walk to college. I was fortunate.
“We shouldn’t underestimate the difficulty that young people from the south of the town, in Sutton Hill and Madeley, have in getting from there to Wellington on public transport.
“Having a sixth form college in Station Quarter will open up opportunities for education and jobs for people across the borough.”
And Councillor Carter thinks it could also help to attract people to Telford where they would live in a clean and green part of the world, contribute to the economy and be able to “grow old and retire” here.
“It is exciting for that reason,” he said.
All phase one developments, including public spaces, are still on track to be complete by the summer of 2026, the council leader confirmed.
