£1.3 million to demolish Sandwell community centre to make way for new homes

Sandwell Council will be bidding for the maximum amount from the government’s Brownfield Land Release Fund to demolish the former Cradley Heath Community Centre in Reddal Hill Road, Cradley Heath to make way for around 13 new homes.

The funding, announced in 2024, and administered by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) could be used to clear “neglected land” – such as empty buildings, former car parks and industrial sites – to make way for new homes.

The community centre was used by the Citizens Advice Bureau and drugs and alcohol support groups as well as Yemeni Community Association for English classes

The centre also hosted exercise, dance and art classes, a youth club, boxing, martial arts and karate groups, a children’s soft play, and yoga and Tai Chi classes.

But despite being well-used, the community centre was still ordered to close under a decision by the Labour-run authority last March.

The council said the building was ‘surplus to requirements’ and its running costs had become a “significant expenditure” with councillors deciding it should be demolished to make way for new housing in the future.

The community centre closed in August last year.

Labour-run Sandwell Council set a savings target of £2.5m in its property management budget – the buildings it owns and runs – last year.

Sandwell Council’s cabinet meets on March 11 to discuss and vote on the funding bid.

The community centre, a former primary school that was converted in the early 1980s, was run by Sandwell Community Hubs until 2022 when it was handed back to the council.

The centre cost around £54,000 a year to run, according to Sandwell Council, with repairs amounting to at least £11,000 a year.

The council added it would need to spend at least £350,000 in the next five years to repair the building and at least a further £150,000 in the next two decades.

The building’s budget would be “exhausted within the next six months,” councillors were warned a year ago.

The council said it would be helping community organisations and groups to relocate to new venues.

Haden Hill Leisure Centre was suggested as a potential location but that facility is currently being replaced and is not expected to re-open until at least May 2027.

The town’s library and fire station, Salvation Army, Community Link, the Cradley Sports and Social Club and Luxor Events, the former Regis, were also touted as alternate venues.