£70m earmarked for Dudley regeneration projects

A MULTI-MILLION-POUND regeneration masterplan reshaping Dudley’s skyline has been outlined to the Government.

The ambitious scheme, which is half way through its 10-year implementation, came under the national spotlight during a high profile Ministerial visit to the borough.

Around £70m is already in the pipeline as Dudley Borough Council plans to work with partners on the next five years of the plan.

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Marcus Jones was shown the breadth of the plans during his visit.

The Nuneaton MP heard about the millions of pounds the council has helped secure for Castle Hill, with more to come, which will increase the number of visitors to more than one million every year.

Key projects now in the pipeline include the £28m Very Light Rail innovation centre and plans to increase the number of visitors at Black Country Living Museum from 300,000 to 500,000.

The council has also helped secure more than £15m to improve the layout, parking, entrance and exits at Dudley Zoo and Castle. The finishing touches were also recently put to the town’s new £6m market place, which will be followed by the £1.1m redevelopment of Coronation Gardens.

A total of £3m has been spent breathing new life into old and tired buildings through the Townscape Heritage Initiative with a further £2m already in the pipeline for the next phase up to 2021.

The project prompted national recognition when the council’s planners won the Royal Town Planning Institute West Midlands Regional Awards for Excellence for their work in bringing the town’s former Victorian fire station back into use as a modern bar and restaurant.

Mr Jones also got to hear about proposals for the next five years including the council’s crucial work with Avenbury Properties on plans for a sweeping public space and shopping area with key transport links on the site of the now vacant Cavendish House.

The £30m project is a private venture but the council has been providing legal, planning, technical and funding advice to bring the project off the drawing board and into reality.

The £60m Dudley College developments which the council was a key part of in providing new opportunities for learning was also discussed.

The visit also included a briefing on the Waterfront in Brierley Hill, the site of the proposed Enterprise Zone and music institute which the MBC and local MPs have been working on, and is due for consideration in the Chancellor’s autumn statement.

The Midland Metro link from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill has also been given the green light, which is again expe4cted to act as a catalyst for regeneration.

Cllr Khurshid Ahmed, cabinet member for planning and economic development, said: “The council has helped secure millions of pounds in investment over the past five years and as part of our 10-year plan to grow the economy and create jobs we are already in the process of bidding for more which will change this historic landscape forever.

“Five years ago we put very clear goals in place to reverse the decline in the town centre and boost the number visiting the tourist sites at Castle Hill.

“The visit was a great opportunity to showcase what we have been able to achieve over the past five years at a national level and promote the exciting proposals we have on the table for the second phase in our 10-year masterplan.”