£30m centre revamp finish on track

A £30 million revamp of Halesowen's Cornbow Centre is on track for completion by the end of the year.

Part of the scheme involves construction of a new 75,000 sq ft Asda store and this is expected to be finished by November in time for a Christmas opening.

The steel structure is currently being put up and should be in place by March, say bosses at the centre owned by Vale Retail. Store staff will be fitting the shop out during August.

A 600-space car park is being built on the roof of the Asda store and construction of this is set to start next month with ramps being put in between April and June.

Centre manager Eve O'Connor said: "we have a very definite timescale and work is very much on track.'

Work on the multi-million pound project started last summer and to coincide with the start of work centre owner Vale Retail commissioned Halesowen artist Bill Hazlehurst to produce a series of paintings to give shoppers a glimpse of what they can expect when the revamp is completed.

Vale has also set up a Shoppers' Forum to gauge what users of the centre think of the development, and what they would like to see introduced to limit disruption during the work.

Eve O'Connor said she wanted a group of residents, from all walks of life, to give their feedback on how well the building programme was progressing.

"Ninety four per cent of Halesowen people said they wanted the redevelopment to happen during extensive consultations which took place before the building was given planning consent," she added.

"It is important that we continue to listen to local people's opinions."

As part of the regeneration of Halesowen the town is also set for a £3.5 million new bus station.

Construction on the state-of-the-art station and supporting road layout started last year.