Dudley bus station revamp hit by delays
A planned revamp of Dudley bus station as part of a £9 million scheme to improve public transport has been put on hold, it can be revealed.
The borough council's regeneration boss Khurshid Ahmed said there was 'no timescale' for work to begin – despite transport chiefs saying last year it would start in the near future.
Councillor Ahmed said the development would still go ahead and that there was a 'clear vision' for the bus station but could not say when work would start.
He said uncertainty over the future of the Cavendish House office block and plans to link the Midland Metro to Dudley had delayed the scheme.
The station is due to be modernised and extended while buses will also be improved, featuring leather seats, wi-fi connection and charging points for mobile phones and tablets.
Councillor Ahmed the uncertainty over Cavendish House, off Trimble Road, which is due to be demolished and the site redeveloped into homes and shops, meant it was not known yet exactly where the Metro line would run. He said transport bosses wanted the plans for the Metro finalised before going ahead with the bus station revamp.
Councillor Ahmed said: "There is no timescale at this stage as to when it will happen but we are working with the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership. It's still on track but we want to do it right rather than piecemeal.
"It has been made very clear that Dudley bus station needs to be revamped. It is one of the oldest in the West Midlands.
"But we don't know what's happening with the Metro, we don't know what's happening with Cavendish House."
It represents a change in tack from the council which said last May it was working with transport authority Centro to 'move forward with the proposals' in the 'near future'.
Councillor Ahmed said the bus station, Metro and Cavendish House were the 'last pieces of the jigsaw in Dudley' following other changes that have been made to improve the town centre but he said he was not concerned by the delay.
He added: "Ideally we want everything to be done very quickly, that's the aspiration but with transportation things can take a long time. Maybe there has been a small delay but it is not a delay I am concerned about."
