As the days lengthen and the sun shines a number of very significant investments start in Stourbridge. Following the completion of the long awaited Crown Centre development last year at a cost of around £50million two new deals have now taken place bringing jobs and a further £16.5 million to the town.

Construction work has now started on a new 80-bedroom hotel in Birmingham Street. The work has started following the sale of the four-acre site to Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants.

The scheme is expected to be completed in the autumn and will be part of an £8 million mixed-use development, which will include an 80-bed Premier Inn, a Brewer’s Fayre restaurant, a drive-through unit and 122 car parking spaces.

John Bates, head of acquisitions for UK and Ireland for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said: “We are delighted to be bringing an 80-Bedroom Premier Inn to Stourbridge, with our development partner Barberry Developments. The development represents a significant £6 million investment in the town and will create 65 new jobs in the local area. It will also contribute to the wider regeneration of the town-centre, attracting new visitors to the local area and boosting local trade.

Hot on the heels is another long awaited relocation of Worcester Street Medical Practice who have now relocated to their new premises. Primary Health Properties PLC has now completed a £8.5m purchase of the new medical centre and pharmacy in Bradley Road with the medical centre taking a new lease.

Developed from the ruins of the historic Foster and Rastrick foundry famed for being the birthplace of the famous Stourbridge Lion steam engine, the grade II listed Georgian building had lain empty since 2003. Now re-developed into a state-of-the-art health centre for the Worcester Street Partnership covering 20 GP practices on a 2.05 acre site will also serve as a teaching practise and will be one of the biggest medical centres in the country.

The 27,986 sq ft (2,600 m²) centre will is wholly let on a new 25 year term and will include 36 consulting rooms, nursing suite, minor surgery unit, physiotherapy suite, gym, dental practice, lecture theatre and teaching facilities together with a pharmacy sub-let to Murrays and car parking for 132 cars.

Construction of the new health centre began in the autumn of 2012 and now the practises 30,000 patients will be able to take advantage of this superb new state of the art facility, newly named the Lion Medical Centre This relocation has resulted in two very exciting opportunities coming to the open market in Worcester Street. We are marketing the two vacated properties at 1 and 24 Worcester Street which are available for sale for various uses including, medical, dental, offices ,residential, child care or leisure uses, both properties have car parking and are now available to buy.

Developer’s elsewhere have recognised the gap in the commercial property market for new development of commercial and residential property. After years of treading water, the final quarter of last year saw a wave of activity from companies who now have the confidence in both the property market and economy in general to invest in new, larger and improved premises.

The manufacturing and industrial sector is flourishing once more research last month revealed that almost 90 percent of medium-sized manufacturers in the West Midlands are planning major investment.

An exciting moment for our town and hopefully a major sign of confidence in bringing new opportunities both for investment and jobs. We have a number of ongoing negotiations on other sites within the town following years of low activity, the confidence and sentiment is changing and let us hope this is set to continue.

Alan Knight, Head of Commercial and Land at Walton and Hipkiss.