Multi-million pound Gornal redevelopment moves a step ahead

Plans for a new supermarket to revive an area of land would also help curb anti-social behaviour in the village, council officers say.

The move has been broadly welcomed by Gornal Business Watch but members said colleagues are worried over the impact of the store on trade.

A parcel of land is owned by Dudley Council and two private owners, according to plans by the authority.

Land which has been earmarked fronts onto Zoar Street and has a rear boundary onto Abbey Street Recreation Ground.

Officials say that the village suffers because of a lack of parking which they say is noticeable at peak times.

This is compounded when school drop off and collection time is at its busiest at nearby Red Hall Primary School.

Russ Pearce, who is chairman of Gornal Business Watch, said he supported Dudley Council's plans to issue a compulsory purchase order.

But Mr Pearce said he was initially sceptical about the store, which would have been sited directly opposite his business Abbey Road Butchers.

He added: "When I first heard of potentially a supermarket was going to be built, I was very concerned because I felt that any supermarket will have an effect on a small village with small local shops.

"Then when I took a step back and looked at it more closely, particularly the location and the parking and the new facilities, I saw it more as an opportunity rather than a disadvantage for me as a business.

"But then I was concerned about traffic coming into the village because we have got a school right next door to where it is going to be built, so that was my only concern really."

He said other business owners in the village saw the food store as a potential threat.

A report by officers to Dudley councillor Judy Foster, who is in charge of regeneration projects, said the authority is prepared to use compulsory purchase powers.

But they went on to say any bid would have to come after developers had shown evidence that 'genuine attempts' to purchase the required land had been made.

"Over the last 18 months, the council has been in discussions with a potential developer around a scheme to redevelop the site for a foodstore with parking that would serve both the proposed foodstore and the local centre," the report said.

"A further benefit of this proposal is that it would help address an antisocial behaviour problem on the recreation ground by improving accessibility and visibility."

A decision will be taken in the coming days.