West Midlands Metro’s route draws a poverty line in Dudley, data shows

The first phase of the tram line into Dudley town centre is set to open soon. Further development into Merry Hill will begin in 2026 and continue into Brierley Hill when extra funding is found.

The line passes through some of the most deprived council wards in the borough and a look at numbers from the 2021 census, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), lays bare the level of deprivation.

On its way into the borough from Wednesbury the metro passes through Castle and Priory, St James’s and St Thomas’s where levels of household deprivation based on education, employment, health and housing are above both the national and borough average.

An average of six per cent of households across the three wards are deprived in three of the four criteria, compared with a national average of 3.7 per cent and a borough average of 4.3 per cent.

By contrast, in affluent Halesowen South just 1.6 per cent of households are deprived in three of the official criteria.

The three wards also have high levels of unemployment, an average of 5.2 of economically active people are out of a job while 14 per cent have never worked or been out of work for more than a year.

The borough as a whole has an unemployment rate of 3.8 per cent and 9.6 per cent have never worked or been out of work for more than a year.

Statistics along the line’s planned route into Brierley Hill tell a similar story as the tram passes through the wards of Netherton and Holly Hall and Brierley Hill and Wordsley South.

Unemployment rates among people aged 16 and above average out at 5.5 per cent which compares with a national level of 3.5 per cent.

In three of the borough’s better-off wards, Halesowen South, Hayley Green and Cradley South and Kingswinford North and Wall Heath, the rate is 2.1 per cent.

People on lower incomes or living on benefits often rely on socially rented homes to put a roof over their heads.

In the Netherton and Brierley Hill wards, 28 per cent of households are in socially rented accommodation.

Across the borough 19 per cent of households are in the social rented sector and the figure drops further nationally to 17.1 per cent.

In 2024 Dudley Council approved the Dudley Borough Economic Regeneration Strategy (ERS) which it says is a ‘route map’ for a fairer and more prosperous economy over the next decade.

The ERS says while there has been some growth the number of jobs in the borough has fallen over the last 20 years including the loss of 20,000 manufacturing positions.

The strategy aims to improve connectivity, increase investment and encourage growth in innovation, education and leisure.