10 years of the Telford Land Deal: Thousands of jobs created and more than £500 million of private investment generated

The land deal is credited with bringing in more than £500m of private sector investment into Telford and Wrekin, where it created nearly 2,500 new jobs and more than 125 acres of brownfield land was developed.

Members of the council’s cabinet will be told this week that partners in the land deal have “agreed arrangements to allow for the council to continue to deal with any unsold sites during a ‘run-off’ period to March 2027".

Those sites won’t include two which are in a proposed Sustainable Urban Extension (SUE) which are a part of the borough’s draft updated local plan.

The cabinet reports say that the council will “continue to deal with any unsold sites during the run-off period to March 2027 except those included in the proposed SUE.”

It adds: “Homes England will lead on bringing the two SUE sites forward as part of a wider consortium promoting the SUE.”

Councillors will be told that “the council and Homes England recognise the success of the Land Deal and the value of continuing the partnership to deliver the proposed Sustainable Urban Extension (SUE).

“An exit strategy has been agreed providing a clear way forward for the next 10 years until 2035.”

The land deal arranged for the disposal of former new town assets which were set aside for development.

Work was carried out in preparing the sites and marketing them for sale.

Money received by the council was then ploughed back into the area, supporting the delivery of new homes, jobs and business space.

Under the deal, the council also took ownership of all residual non-developable land from Homes England. It is using this to “enhance and grow” the borough’s provision of green spaces.

One of the investments it brought about is credited by Telford Olympic gymnast Alice Kinsella in helping to bring on her career in leaps and bounds.

Work included in the land deal process includes the transformation of the former Charlton School site into Assembly Park. That has delivered 195 new homes a provided a world-class base for one of the region’s most successful sports organisations, the Park Wrekin Gymnastics Club. It created a purpose-built training facility.

Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth medallist Alice Kinsella said: “Moving into the new facility in 2017 was a turning point in my career.

“Without the gym at Park Wrekin, I know it wouldn’t have been possible to achieve what I have in my career.”

A report due to be presented to the council’s cabinet on Thursday (February 12) says that in the last 10 years the deal has delivered gross land sales of £60.3 million, and total profit of £18.5 million for the partners up to March 31 2025.

The deal includes 79 Homes England parcels of land and 11 Telford & Wrekin Council sites. Officials say that the “de-risking” of sites made them more attractive sales. Issues such as the lack of utilities could be dealt with before marketing them.

These have delivered the sale, or pending sale, of 35 commercial sites and 26 sites for residential development.

Telford & Wrekin Council has received the lion’s share of the profit – £13.7 million which it is using to reinvest into residential sites.

Councillor Richard Overton (Labour, St George’s), Telford & Wrekin Council deputy leader and chair of the Telford Land Deal, said: “As the partnership looks to the future, Telford & Wrekin Council is exploring ways to extend the Telford Land Deal beyond 2026.

“We want to ensure that this ground breaking initiative continues to leave a legacy of economic growth, job creation, and sustainability benefiting the residents and businesses of Telford and Wrekin for years to come.”