Station Quarter, Telford

The area had been dominated by brownfield land and outdated office buildings. The council’s ambition was to create a vibrant new neighbourhood with homes, education, enterprise, hospitality, public realm and stronger connections to key town centre destinations.

Willmott Dixon Developments developed the masterplan, supported early concept design, viability and market testing, introduced key partners and secured hybrid planning approval. Our Willmott Dixon Construction colleagues then delivered the first phase of the programme, including public realm works and The Quad, a new digital skills and enterprise hub.

Creating a new gateway for Telford

Station Quarter is designed to improve the route between Telford Central Station, the shopping centre, Southwater, Telford Town Park and the wider town centre.

The masterplan includes new public spaces, walking and cycling routes, electric vehicle charging, education and enterprise space, nearly 200 homes and a Hilton hotel. The approach brings residential, education, leisure and commercial uses together to create a more active and connected town centre.

A key part of the strategy was ensuring early phases created visible progress. By working closely with Willmott Dixon Construction, the team was able to move quickly once planning was secured, helping protect around £15 million of time-limited grant funding.

Shaping a viable mixed-use programme

Willmott Dixon Developments supported market research, financial modelling and partner engagement to help test the right mix of uses for the site.

This included introducing Legal & General Affordable Homes to support the residential element and Gener8 as hotel development partner. Together with Gener8, the team secured Hilton’s support for a hotel, helping strengthen the long-term commercial vision for the area.

Research into the local hotel and housing markets also helped inform the development strategy, ensuring proposals were grounded in evidence as well as ambition.

Building confidence through collaboration

The scheme brought together a wide range of stakeholders, including the council, future occupiers, education partners, local businesses, residents and development partners.

Community engagement helped shape the proposals before planning submission, including local exhibitions and feedback from businesses and residents. This supported a hybrid planning application that was approved on first submission.

The Quad was also shaped through close engagement with education partners and future tenants. When university requirements changed, Willmott Dixon Developments supported the council in adapting the design and sourcing a new university partner, Harper Adams University.

By bringing development, partnership and construction expertise together from the outset, Station Quarter moved from an ambitious vision to an approved masterplan and completed first phase, creating the foundations for long-term regeneration.