Project backer the University of Wolverhampton hopes work could start on the £17.5m project at its Springfield Campus later this year.

Designed by Associated Architects, the centre will research and develop new construction methods and ways of regenerating contaminated land.

The 12-acre Springfield Campus is already home to the Thomas Telford University Technical College, Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills and the School of Architecture and Built Environment.

These facilities combined with the NBI will lay the foundation for the delivery of a National Centre for Sustainable Construction and Circular Economy, which will focus on sustainability and the climate change emergency.

University of Wolverhampton Vice-Chancellor, Professor Geoff Layer, said: “It’s wonderful to see the planning application for the new National Brownfield Institute being submitted so quickly.

“As one of the shovel-ready projects announced in the recent Government’s Get Building Fund, we are keen to get the project off the ground.

“The NBI will be integral to the way we look at land remediation and regeneration across the Black Country and the UK and will play a pivotal part in unlocking industrial land to help tackle the housing shortage in our towns and cities.

“Not only will the Institute be crucial in developing innovative and sustainable ways of remediation, it will create a nationwide repository for brownfield sites and help businesses and entrepreneurs establish business related to the brownfield development supply chain.