Dudley’s breath-taking billion-pound transformation will head overseas next month when the council heads to France to meet potential new investment partners.

Around £570 million worth of regeneration is currently ongoing in Dudley featuring the Midland Metro, the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre and the Forging Ahead project at Black Country Living Museum.

On top of this there is more than £60 million of investment secured for the new transport interchange as well as a new innovation centre as part of an emerging university park where it will join the already completed £24 million Institute of Technology building.

Developers and potential investors from all over the world will gather at MIPIM in Cannes in mid-March where Dudley will join councils from the likes of London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Cardiff, West of England and Lancashire to attract new funding.

The council committed to invest around £200,000 back in 2019 to secure a seat at the top table alongside the biggest investors in the world at the highly-regarded conference. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, MIPIM has been unable to take place until this year. The council has entered into a partnership with Associate Events to give Dudley high profile at the event and potentially secure millions of pounds worth of investment from hundreds of prospective developers and investors in the borough.

Investment opportunities across Dudley include the site of the former Cavendish House which offers an £80million redevelopment opportunity, whilst ambitions and proposals for an ice-rink leisure complex and regeneration programmes across Brierley Hill and Lye also provide funders with exciting opportunities to invest in Dudley. Councillor Patrick Harley, Leader of the Council, said:

"Over recent years the physical transformation is very visibly happening in Dudley with our rapidly changing skyline. People can see that we mean business and we are delivering real change.

"The council, with partners, has now either completed or has current construction ongoing for well over £650million worth of regeneration investment.

"We are fully aware that raising our profile at MIPIM comes at an initial cost, but the significant potential rewards from going will dwarf this spend. I would urge people to consider these costs in the context of £1 billion worth of investments in the borough.

"We must not fall into the trap of having a ‘small town’ mentality and close our eyes to these opportunities as we will then never be in a position to give the local people and local businesses the regeneration and top class facilities we know they deserve.

"Our ambition for the people who live and work in Dudley borough has no limits and that’s why we’ve also submitted a bid for City Status which we believe will again help elevate us into that Premier League when it comes to securing outside investment. Heading to MIPIM again puts us at that top table where we will be speaking directly with hundreds of investors at a time when we have so much to offer in Dudley town and other locations across the borough.

Councillor Simon Phipps, cabinet member for regeneration, added: "The time is now for Dudley to show it really is the destination of choice for people to live, visit and do business.

"Over recent years, even with the difficulties posed by the pandemic, we have continued to make tremendous progress, and at pace, delivering huge regeneration schemes to benefit local people.

"The pandemic has stopped events like MIPIM from taking place since 2019 and we know investors are keen to meet with us around the huge plans we have in place to continue to regenerate the borough."

MIPIM takes place from March 15 to 18. For any further information, please contact hello@investdudley.co.uk or visit investdudley.co.uk.