We join a special event looking inside the former Royal Hospital, now housing.
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00:00Here at the old Royal Wolverhampton Hospital, and we're with Gary Fulford. Hello, sir.
00:04Hi there.
00:05So you're boss at Walsall Housing Group.
00:08I am indeed. I have the great pleasure of doing that.
00:10What's their role been in the conversion of this building then, Gary?
00:13We're effectively the owners of the building, so we've synthetically carried out refurbishment of the building
00:18to create 38 new apartments for people over the age of 55.
00:23Around the building, we've also built another over 140 apartments, sorry, houses and flats for people as well.
00:30Cool. And it's being lived in. I didn't realise that myself, but it's all fully functional now, yeah?
00:35It is. The first residents moved in a few months ago.
00:38I'm pleased to say that the scheme is fully occupied and the residents are really enjoying their time living here.
00:43So where are you? Did you grow up in the black country?
00:46I did indeed.
00:46So you all appreciate an iconic building, isn't it?
00:50We didn't want to lose it.
00:52Is it nice to have played a part in bringing it back to a new life, a new generation?
00:57It's absolutely fantastic to bring this building back into use, yeah.
01:00I grew up locally, and therefore it has become really, really important to people like me
01:04who have lived and worked in the area for a long time.
01:08And one of the residents, we were just having a little tune, one of the residents used to work here,
01:11so it must be a bit of a bizarre, you know, when she walks through the door,
01:15the memories must come flooding back.
01:16Absolutely. This morning we held an event for people who used to work here in the past
01:22when it was a functioning hospital.
01:23So we had people who'd worked here about 40, 50 years ago
01:26telling us about the tales of the time when they worked here.
01:30But it's great to see the building being repurposed for a new use.
01:34And any unexpected problems or any interesting finds along the way,
01:38or was it as you expected from the project?
01:41Any refurbishment project of this nature and this scale, you always find unexpected things.
01:47But we managed to sort all those problems out.
01:49I think one of the really interesting things is that we found a time capsule
01:52that had been buried when the hospital was first refurbished.
01:56Yeah, so what was in there then? Did you pop it open and have it?
01:59It's with the local society, so we're currently waiting to hear back on that.
02:02Yeah, yeah.
02:03We'll publish that as soon as we know.
02:05Great stuff. Well, thank you, Gary.
02:06Dave, representing Aldridge Transport Museum.
02:09If you don't know about it, guys, fantastic collection of vehicles they have there.
02:12And Dave, what have we got here with us then?
02:14This is a Guy Wolfe 1938 ambulance.
02:19Didn't start life as an ambulance, did it?
02:21No, it started off life as a chassis for a dust cart.
02:25The contract fell through.
02:27And Guy Motorworks then built it into an ambulance as we see it here.
02:31No way.
02:31Operated right the way up until 1968, ferrying their invalids to the hospital, both here and at New Cross.
02:41So it would have seen service here.
02:42It certainly did see service here.
02:44And it's coming up to 90 years old.
02:47Correct, that's right.
02:48Made in Wolverhampton.
02:49Whereabouts in Wolfe then?
02:50Any of the old Guy Motors factory buildings left?
02:53There are none of the buildings left.
02:56Yeah.
02:56There might be just one or two walls left of the old factory.
03:01Yeah.
03:01But it's now been converted into an industrial estate.
03:04Well, I'm going to test you now.
03:06Is there a simple explanation as to why Guy Motors disappeared off the face of the earth sort of thing?
03:13What happened to them?
03:14Yes, they were taken over by British Leyland.
03:16Oh, OK.
03:17They were the only truck manufacturer that British Leyland had that were actually making a profit.
03:21Yeah.
03:21But, unfortunately, the powers that we decided were a profit now.
03:25What a shame.
03:26What a shame.
03:27Well, thank you for bringing it along today, chap.
03:29Let's hope it's not needed today for service.
03:32Cheers, Woody.
03:33Thanks very much.
03:35Pat McFadden, MP, you've just had the honour of cutting the ribbon on this fantastic development.
03:40It's looking nice, isn't it?
03:42It's absolutely fantastic.
03:44A couple of weeks ago marked the 20th anniversary since me becoming the MP for this area.
03:49And for most of that time, this was a derelict site.
03:53There was nothing happening here.
03:54Now we've got new houses, new life, new people like ours.
03:59That's right.
04:00So it's just wonderful to see.
04:02And it's made such a fantastic difference to this part of the city.
04:05And, Alison, you live here, but once upon a time you worked here many years ago.
04:10I did work here in A&E.
04:11Long, long time ago, back in the 80s.
04:13Only for a short time.
04:15But it's fantastic coming back to here and to live.
04:18It's a fantastic place.
04:19It must be bizarre, though.
04:20We're walking through the door.
04:21You know, if we could go back in a time machine and say, you'll be living here one day.
04:24Because the A&E is gone now, as I remember it.
04:28That's gone.
04:29And all new houses are absolutely fantastic houses, they are.
04:33I was going to say, what's it like to live in there?
04:35No complaints?
04:36Oh, I've got no complaints whatsoever.
04:38Perfect.
04:39Turn my life around.
04:40I'm a different person now.
04:41Cool.
04:42Well done.
04:42Well said.
04:43Well said.
04:43Is this your apartment?
04:53Yes.
04:53Hello, madam.
04:54I'm just filming for the Express and Star.
04:56Is that okay?
04:57Oh, God, yeah.
04:57Cool.
04:58Well done.
04:58Great answer.
04:59So what's your name?
05:00Shannon Ward.
05:01So how long have you been in here then, Sharon?
05:03I started, I came here two weeks before Christmas, December.
05:07And have you settled in then?
05:09Yes, definitely.
05:10So what do you make of it?
05:12Lovely.
05:13Yeah.
05:13Really nice.
05:14The people are nice.
05:15We get on great together and whatever.
05:17Oh, that's good.
05:18So there's a nice community of people.
05:19Well chosen.
05:20Community, yeah.
05:21And have you had a chance to use the cinema room?
05:24Have you watched anything in there?
05:25Well, saying that, I did try last week.
05:29Yeah.
05:29You've got to put your, you know, your passwords in and everything.
05:32Yeah, okay, yeah, yeah.
05:33Yeah, it's really nice though.
05:34Oh, that's cool.
05:34Yeah, it's a lovely little room, isn't it?
05:36I've had the auto racing going on when it was the Grand National.
05:38Oh, okay, yeah, yeah.
05:39So there's a nice little community by the signs of it then, have you?
05:42Yeah, we all...
05:44As Gary's mentioned, Nightingale House uses energy efficient technologies.
05:49And we make the building comfortable and eco-friendly.
05:52Gary's mentioned the three rather large air source heat pumps at the back.
05:57You'll see those more clearly when you actually get into the building and look down.
06:03But this former hospital site is not just a housing development.
06:07It's a multi-tenure, integrated community, part of the larger Royal Porter Regeneration Project.