Dudley town revamp under threat
Thursday 28th October 2010, 11:29AM BST.
The £4 million revamp of Dudley’s ailing town centre to boost trade and improve living conditions for residents was today under threat after funding was slashed by half.
The cash would have been spent on the repair and restoration of historic buildings as well as work to bring derelict sites of architectural interest back into use.
The Townscape Heritage Initiative was aimed at boosting Dudley’s prosperity by attracting businesses and creating jobs. Dudley Council was relying on £2.15m from doomed regional development agency Advantage West Midlands to deliver it.
Deputy council leader, Les Jones, said he believed only about half of the projects earmarked will now happen.
He said: “I can’t remember exactly how many there are or the value but it’s about half of the projects originally planned.
“We will only be able to do priority projects.”
He said the question of what was happening with the scheme was raised at a recent meeting with traders.
Leader of the Labour party in Dudley, councillor David Sparks, said the funding cuts would delay the long awaited regeneration of the town centre.
He said: “Dudley is desperately in need of investment. The abolition of AWM has removed at a stroke two thirds of the money available across the country.
“The remaining one third has been thrown into the melting pot for everyone to bid for so there is no guarantee we will get anything.
“This means Dudley will not get the level of investment it needs and will take a lot longer to recover.”
Dudley Council spokesman Chris Howes said around a dozen projects were currently being worked on and the council is looking at a range of other potential funding opportunities.
By Heather Loat
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Dudley town centre doesn’t need funding, it needs a miracle. The place is an eyesore with many empty shops and plenty of litter.
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The money would be better spent on flattening the whole town. It’s nothing but a squalid dump.
Anything of real historic interest is long gone. The council have made lots of money by allowing all of the car parks to be built on or turned into the folly of a Town Square. It’s no good them pretending to be concerned now when the actions of their money grabbing predecessor’s have made Dudley Town Centre what it is today.
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This is chump change compared to what the government intends to spend on defense and overseas aid. Yet another example of the English being put last in line, despite the historical significance of this, our English town. The money is there – it’s just being wasted on other projects whilst our own people grovel. It’s wrong and it must change.
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The Council have spent a lot of money refurbishing The Crown public house in Wolverhampton Street and it has been empty ever since. This Council loves to waste money so perhaps it is a good job that the funding has been cut. We could have ended up with continental style cafes as suggested by some idiot in the Council last year.
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Sandwell had the same problem in the 1970s..
Instead of imagination and architecture they decided that West Bromwich would look nice as a sort of American shopping center annex.They demolished everything and more or less left the High Street.Crowned later by the Public.
Dudley has a potentially splendid medieval site with a castle like Durham which can fire architects’ imaginations.
But I fear we will end up with a second West Brom with a view.If the zoo ever folds give ten years and it’ll be covered with the sort of non-descript houses as all along the A491 from Stourbridge to Kingswinford.
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When they do get money they throw it away.Here’s a way to raise some more cash for these projects. Paint the parking places back on the “town square” at least it would be of some use then!!!
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I was born in Dudley and remember how it was before Merry Hell came along and sucked the life clean out of it. I now live in a semi-rural location and on the rare occassions I have to drive through Dudley it always reminds me of a town thats had a few large bombs dropped on it. To call it a “Town Shopping Centre” is at best a lie! Can’t think of one single reason why I would even consider shopping there, call those things in it shops? Don’t think so.
The tax payers money would be better spent flattening it and building a dual carriage right through the middle of it. Its a dump, there ain’t enough money in the world to ever fix it
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While it is disappointing the money has been lost, the truth is £2 million is neither here nor there. The Crown Hotel has recently been renovated, and has been transformed from a shabby looking empty pub to a tidy looking empty pub.
The real problem with Dudley is the council’s hostility to the large any large scale retail regeneration.
In the late 1980s, plans were drawn up for a large new shopping mall which would mean Dudley would be able to compete on equal terms with similar sized neighbours such as Wolverhampton and Walsall, and nip Merry Hill in the bud. And guess what? The council complained it would obstruct the view of the castle.
Now, through the Black Country Core Strategy, the council is shutting the door on any large scale – and desperately needed – retail developments to protect the plans for the Merry Hill centre.
The population of Dudley is larger and more affluent than of neighbouring towns, and is sufficient to support either (A) a thriving, vibrant town centre on a similar scale to Walsall or Wolverhampton, OR (B)a faceless, characterless out-of-town shopping centre which contributes nothing to community spirit. We all know which one the council has gone for.
Dudley does not need a renovated pub. It doesn’t need a new college. It needs a modern shopping centre with free parking to draw people in.
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Dudley Council has wasted so much money maybe it’s a good thing that the funding has been removed. Look at the waste of money spent on refurbishing The Crown public house on Wolverhampton Street, all that money spent and the building is still empty. Had the funding come through we could have ended up with continental style cafes around the white elephant of the square in Stone Street as suggested by some idiotic Councillor last year.
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Will Dudley council still be forking out
£2000 000 to upgrade the homeless hostel in lye?
If so they should redirect it to Dudley to benefit everyone.
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So yet another regeneration scheme bites the dust. It was the councillors who supported Merry Hill Centre whilst shoving up car parking costs at Dudley who killed the town. Perhaps they should donate some of theri expenses to revive it?
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Another kick in the teeth for the propper town centre of the Borough
maybe the money embarked down the rd at Brierley hill should be used to bring the real town centre up to scratch
we will have to keep for our town centre…
Friends of dudley town centre
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