An 'imminent' planning application to demolish an eyesore tower block 'will cost £100,000 and be the biggest ever submitted in Dudley, the borough's council leader has claimed.
Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley says the plans to bring down Cavendish House in the town centre will be put forward by the owners any time now. The former office block, standing on Trindle Road, has sat empty for years but will be pulled down to make way for a multi-million-pound retail development under regeneration proposals.
It was expected the planning application would be put forward this summer, but a query with the plans in relation to the planned Midland Metro tram line caused a set back. However councillor Harley said that has been resolved. He said:
"There was a query where the Metro line [would run] and about linking up with the bus station as part of an interchange. I was told there was one line of thought that the metro might be diverted. That might have impacted on Cavendish but it has now been confirmed that is not the case.
"I expect for the planning application to go through. It will be a huge application, probably the biggest the borough seen - it will be a huge investment of around £100,000."
The Midland Metro line will run through Dudley between Wednesbury and Brierley Hill as part on an extension of the tram service into the Black Country. Councillor Harley says the building will be demolished next year.
Councillor Ian Kettle, cabinet member for planning and redevelopment, said he had been told the planning application is imminent.
Its owners Avenbury bought Cavendish House, overlooking Duncan Edwards Way bypass – one of the major gateways into Dudley, for £800,000 at a property auction in London in 2015.
The demolition is set to pave the way for leisure, retail and residential developments and will tie in to a series of major regeneration projects for Dudley. The new tram line is set to link up with Dudley bus station creating an interchange.
Meanwhile crunch talks have been planned over the redevelopment of the Trident Centre in Dudley town centre between the site's owners and council planning chiefs.
Elsewhere in the borough, the Black Country Living Museum has secured almost £10 million from the Heritage Lottery to go ahead with a major restoration project. It will see the attraction expanded by a third as a new town will be built, creating 100 jobs at the museum and more than 400 during construction.
