Wavensmere Sells £15.7m of Off-plan Houses at Wolverhampton Canalside South
Wavensmere Homes has sold 60 off-plan houses to Clique members, which is a club of existing customers who have already purchased two or more of its homes. With a total value of £15.7m, the collection of three-bedroom homes - located in new terraced streets within Wolverhampton Canalside South - will be build complete from Q1-Q3 2029.
Work started on site at the £150m regeneration scheme in February 2025, with over £20m already invested on land assembly and remediation, site enabling, groundworks and construction. Having previously lain derelict for 15 years, Wavensmere is transforming the former British Steel site and Crane Foundry into over 530 energy-efficient homes, complemented by a range of new commercial and community amenities. The regional distribution and stockholding centre had stood empty since the collapse of British Steel in 2019.
Donna Smith, sales director for Wavensmere Homes, said: “Wolverhampton Canalside South has been so well received by our Clique members. We were proud to invite our loyal customers to the University of Wolverhampton’s National Brownfield Institute – close to the site – where the development plans came to life within the futuristic 360° Igloo. We offered preferential access to a limited release of 60 plots, which were all assigned to purchasers within 48 hours. This later phase of houses wont be build complete for three to four years, which suits Clique members, as they have already been through the investment journey on other Wavensmere developments. They appreciate that purchasing quality homes off-plan in mixed-use city centre developments can reap significant dividends.”
The Clique concept was established by the Birmingham-headquartered housebuilder in 2024, as a way of formalising the gratitude Wavensmere has for its repeat customers. The fee-free membership platform has already amassed over 1,000 repeat customers. Wavensmere provides Clique members with a dedicated sales relationship manager, access to exclusive mortgage products, and tenant benefits from the point of completion. Established through a partnership between City of Wolverhampton Council and the Canal & River Trust, Wolverhampton Canalside South is located off Qualcast Road, moments from the transport interchange. Benefiting from a prime waterside position, it enjoys frontage onto both the Wyrley & Essington Canal and the Wolverhampton Branch of the Birmingham Main Line Canal.
Wavensmere reports that half of the 378 Canalside South houses have now been matched with purchasers during 2025. The first home handovers will take place during Q2 2026, within phase one of the development, which comprises 153 contemporary two- and three-bedroom houses. Access to the first two phases will be provided via Qualcast Road, which will function as the primary spine road. The development is being delivered in three phases – progressing sequentially from east to west – to minimise disruption to the surrounding community. The full regeneration and build programme is projected to complete by the end of Q2 2030.
Canalside South is one of the biggest regeneration projects of its kind in the region. The overall vision for the Wolverhampton Canalside masterplan is the delivery of around 1,000 homes to meet both the city and wider region’s housing needs, with sustainability and place-making at its heart.
City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Development, Jobs and Skills, Councillor Chris Burden, said: “Wolverhampton is seeing a huge amount of investment driven by the council’s compelling vision for the city centre based on better connectivity, more homes, jobs, skills and learning opportunities, and a resurgent visitor economy. Our work with Wavensmere to bring Canalside South forward is part of our brownfield first strategy to bring life back to redundant sites along our canal network, and through strong collaboration with private and public sector partners, there is more to come.”
Designed by Glancy Nicholls Architects, the low-rise development emulates the surrounding conservation area and maximises the canalside setting. On completion, the scheme will include seven acres of vibrant green space and open up a new pedestrian route to the city core – reducing the previous walk time by 20 minutes – and igniting new investment into a commercial corridor.
All two-and three-bedroom townhouses are being constructed to target an EPC-A rated specification, complemented by 145 one-and two-bedroom apartments. A building of 10 co-living units – each containing six bedrooms – will deliver affordable living typologies to young professionals. 54 houses, together with 80 apartment and co-living bedrooms, will benefit from waterside views. Wavensmere is also reanimating the disused railway arches on the site into 1,338sqm (14,400 sq ft) of lettable commercial space.
All homes are being future-proofed with electric only heating systems. A range of technologies will be utilised across the development, consisting of air source heat pumps, solar panels and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR). There will also be EV charging to each house or parking space, alongside an array of EV chargers for visitors.
Birmingham-headquartered Wavensmere Homes has 3,500 homes on site, or currently in planning. The company is constructing an additional six other major brownfield regeneration schemes, located in central Birmingham, Derbyshire, Cheltenham, and Ipswich, and has further projects in the immediate pipeline.
