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Cavendish House demolition plan in line for £600k boost

A masterplan to bulldoze Dudley eyesore Cavendish House and replace it with a huge retail complex and cinema is to receive crucial funding to get the project off the ground.

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Cavendish House

Business chiefs at the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership are set to award the plan more than £600,000 to allow work to start at the site overlooking Duncan Edwards Way.

It was recommended in a report to the Black Country LEP that the body agree to fund the first phase of the project with 100 per cent of its cost needs – a total of £664,725.

Phase One of the Portersfield Development Scheme will see the long-awaited demolition of Cavendish House, the former B&Q Building and the former Scout Hut building.

The £664,725 expected to be granted will go towards the overall £82 million scheme, dubbed The Masterplan, which has been segmented into five phases.

Overall the plan will see new retail space, a cinema, 189 apartments, 222 car parking spaces, bars, restaurants and a health club, and help to create 324 new jobs for the area.

Councillor Keiran Casey, cabinet member for regeneration and enterprise, said: “Cavendish House and the area around the site is a key regeneration project and one that will make a massive difference to the town centre, particularly with the new bus interchange that is planned and once the metro comes to Dudley.

“A planning application has been submitted for the site and is currently being looked at by officers.

“Given the importance of this site, the current condition of the building and the impact this has on the town centre, I want to ensure that everything is done to move this along as quickly as possible, so that the demolition of the building can start which will signal the start of an exciting redevelopment.”

It comes after the project has faced delays with the demolition date for Cavendish House having been set back a number of times.

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