City of Wolverhampton Council in the UK has awarded a construction contract to McLaughlin & Harvey for the new City Learning Quarter in Wolverhampton city centre.

The project carries a value of £61m ($74.44m) and will involve building advanced facilities for City of Wolverhampton College, Adult Education Wolverhampton, and Central Library.

It is anticipated to benefit citizens across the city and wider area by improving their skills and thereby employment outcomes.

Wolverhampton South West Member of Parliament Stuart Anderson said: “I’m immensely proud to have played a part in securing £20m of Levelling Up [state-run] funding for this transformational endeavour, which will bring hope, opportunity, and a brighter future to our city.”

As part of a preconstruction agreement, the council and the college of the city have been working on final designs with McLaughlin & Harvey. Site preparation, service diversion, and infrastructure construction have already taken place.

The contract establishes plans for site mobilisation by the end of the year and is expected to have the project completed by September 2025.

Work on Central Library is expected to be announced as part of the City Learning Quarter investment soon.

The first phase of the City Learning Quarter master plan, the new £8.1m Advanced Technology and Automotive Centre at the college’s Wellington Road campus, is on track for completion in July next year.

The West Midlands Combined Authority and the former Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership have both said they support this measure.

McLaughlin & Harvey senior project manager Shane Greer said: “The project, which is being delivered under the Crown Commercial Service CWAS RM6088 Framework, will benefit the area of Wolverhampton with a state-of-the-art learning facility.

"We will be undertaking initial enabling works such as utility diversions, welfare construction and hoarding installation in advance of demolition and piling commencing in the new year.”