Centro ends its revamp protest

The £30 million revamp of Halesowen town centre could be completed earlier than expected after travel giant Centro withdrew its objections.

It had been feared the town could be without a major supermarket for another two years, but developers now hope to have the new Asda at the Cornbow Centre trading by Christmas next year.

Three stores are still fighting the move, but the firm behind the scheme says it hopes "intensive legal discussions" will resolve the matter before a public inquiry on Compulsory Purchase Orders starts tomorrow.

Adrian Oliver, from developers Vale Retail, said the agreement with Centro was a step in the right direction.

"Centro have reached an agreement with both us and the council and the three parties will share the costs of the work necessary for the development, on highways, drainage and moving cables."

He said appeals against CPOs from objectors Somerfield, Peacocks and Iceland, were due to be heard at a public inquiry tomorrow.

"Our dialogue with the remaining objectors continues and there is still the possibility that we could avoid the inquiry," he said.

"Irrespective of whether this is the case, we plan to begin some of the preparation work this year."