Stourbridge's register office to close

A register office will close following the approval of multi-million pound plans to redevelop its base at Stourbridge's Crown Centre.

The venue will be forced to close when a £50 million project, creating new shops and a Tesco, begins next year.

Dudley Council said today no decision had been made on whether a register office would be offered in Stourbridge in the future.

The authority added it was still considering its options.

There has been a drop in the number of ceremonies held at the venue with 56 weddings taking place in in 2010 compared with 83 during the previous year.

Cabinet member for legal and property, Councillor Adrian Turner, said: "Following the approval of the planning application for the regeneration of Stourbridge town centre, we will now be exploring our options in relation to how registration services are provided in Dudley borough.

"No decisions have been made but we will be looking at a variety of ways to continue offering registration services in Stourbridge in addition to the service already provided at Priory Hall in Dudley.

"There is no firm date yet for when the centre will close until Tesco inform us of their decision. We will then take it from there."

"One of the options is looking at the availability of other council buildings on a short-term basis where services are offered for a day or half a day at a time," he said.

It is unclear whether any jobs will be lost when the present centre closes.

The adjoining Bell Street car park will be torn down as part of the plans.