Housing

It could be seen that the most urgent and pressing post war problem would be the provision of houses. In the inter-war years, 16,210 houses were built in the town, which amounted to forty percent of the total housing stock. This included 8,978 council houses. During the same period, 4,342 slum and sub-standard properties had been demolished under clearance schemes. No building work had been carried out for several years, and it was estimated that a minimum of 6,700 houses would be needed as soon as possible. The aim was to build 1,000 houses a year, which would depend upon the availability of material and labour, and the construction methods employed.

The Oxbarn Estate, a pre-war development.

The houses were to be built following the guidelines and plans in the 1944 Housing Manual, published jointly by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Works, and would include some temporary pre-fabricated bungalows, four hundred of which had already been allocated to the town. Two areas had been chosen for new housing estates, one on the Willenhall Road where around 700 houses were to be built, and another at Bushbury which would consist of 1,400 homes. Plans included the construction of roads and sewers, the provision of community buildings and schools, and the provision of adequate playing fields in close proximity to the houses. The retention of natural features on the sites were an essential part of the design.

Another pre-war development, the Low Hill Estate.

At the time, negotiations were in progress for the acquisition of eighty five acres of rough land between Willenhall Road and Deans Road for a third housing estate.

Transport

Wolverhampton’s industrial development depended upon ease of access to and from the town, for people, raw materials and finished products. In the 1940s there were ten major roads radiating from the town centre, two railway stations and good depots, a network of canals leading to the main ports, and a Municipal Airport. Shortly before the outbreak of war, the Ministry of Transport proposed a scheme for the building of a bypass to connect Birmingham New Road with the A41, which could be extended to join Stafford Road via Wobaston Road. This would have diverted a considerable amount of through traffic, but could have done little to relieve the congestion in the town centre.

The increase in road traffic between 1922 and 1938. The figures show the average daily tonnage which is proportional to the thickness of the black lines. From a report produced by the Reconstruction Committee.

The Reconstruction Committee felt that the ideal solution would be the building of a central ring road running from Penn Road in the south, along School Street and Waterloo Road as far as Bath Road, then across to Stafford Street and up Fryer Street to Victoria Square for the bus station. The road would then go along Pipers Row, and across to Cleveland Street, from where it joined the Penn Road and School Street junction.

The road would provide good access to all the major roads and the town centre. It would have an overall width of 90 feet and consist of dual carriageways 22 feet wide, each with an 8 feet wide lay-by, allowing standing traffic to pull-up outside the main carriageway. There was also a central island that would be fenced so that pedestrians could only cross the road at controlled crossings. Roundabouts were to be constructed at each junction, and frequent breaks in the central island would allow traffic to turn from one carriageway to the other.

The proposed central ring road. From a report produced by the Reconstruction Committee.

School Street, Waterloo Road, Fryer Street, Pipers Row, and Cleveland Street were all to be widened to accommodate the new road, and a new section would be built between Wadham’s Hill and Stafford Street, and between Stafford Street and Broad Street. The Central Library would be demolished to make way for the section of the road between Pipers Row and Cleveland Street. The main roads in and out of town were to be widened to 80 feet, and converted into dual carriageways. The northern end of Penn Road would be re-aligned, and Worcester Street would be diverted. A new road would be built along Dunstall Hill from Five Ways to Gorsebrook Road.

One of the proposed roundabouts with a pedestrian subway. From a report produced by the Reconstruction Committee.

Central Redevelopment

A Civic Centre would be built in St. Peter’s Square with an educational precinct between the square and Stafford Street, which would include the technical college. For many years there had been a lack of suitable office accommodation for the Corporations’ administrative staff who were housed in many separate buildings throughout the town. It was felt that the building of a Civic Centre would overcome this problem once and for all.

The scheme involved a great deal of demolition, including all the buildings between St. Peter’s Square and Queen Square, and Barclays Bank. All of the buildings in North Street from the Town Hall to Queen Square were also to be demolished, as was Gifford House and St. Peter and St. Paul's Church. Cheapside and Exchange Street would disappear, and the frontages along Darlington Street, and the eastern side of Waterloo Road were to be redeveloped.

From a report produced by the Reconstruction Committee.

The Retail Market had passed its useful structural life and was in need of extensive and expensive repairs. It was felt that a suitable site for a new market would be on the eastern side of Market Street where many buildings were of poor quality. It would be near the town centre shops, the new ring road, and the bus station.

There didn’t seem to be any advantage in building a new Wholesale Market close to the Retail Market. The main requirements for the Wholesale Market were adequate road and rail access, so it was suggested that the new market should be built on land between Guy Avenue and the railway, which at the time contained extensive cold stores operated by the Ministry of Food. There were several railway sidings and enough land for the building of the market, a cattle market, and abattoirs.

The council's model of the proposed town centre development, looking across Waterloo Road. On the right is Darlington Street and the Methodist Church, in the background on the right is Queen Square and Lichfield Street. The central ring road is on the left. From a report produced by the Reconstruction Committee.

As already mentioned, the Central Library would be demolished to make way for the ring road. After careful consideration, the committee decided that a new Central Library should be built on the site of the Town Hall, in the same style as the Civic Centre.

St. Peter’s School and Institute would be demolished to make way for the educational precinct, allowing extensions to be built to the technical college, along with a school of art, a little theatre with drama and music facilities, and a county college.

The development of the new Civic Centre would happen in five stages:

The committee felt that the scheme would be proof to future generations of the civic pride of their generation, and would bring a greater sense of civic responsibility to the local population.

The Civic Centre with a fountain in front. On the left is the Central Library and the Civic Hall, with St. Peter's Church on the right. From a report produced by the Reconstruction Committee.