A major £20 million redevelopment scheme in Halesowen was unveiled yesterday including a college campus, transport links and car parking as part of a funding bid.

Dudley Council revealed the plans today as part of a levelling up bid to government.

It includes demolishing the old and outdated Pool Road multi-storey car park and building a new state-of-the-art college campus to bring students into the town.

If the bid is successful there will also be additional car parking in the town, better cycling lanes and other transport links and a new entrance for the Cornbow Hall. There will also be improvements to the look of the town with planting and work to open up pockets of the town centre.

The council has been working with key partners in the scheme including Halesowen College, Halesowen Business Improvement District and MP James Morris.

The ambitious bid will be submitted to government in July. Councillor Simon Phipps, cabinet member for regeneration and enterprise, said:

“This is another significant investment in one of our town centres which will add to the one billion pounds of regeneration already underway elsewhere in the borough.

“We are talking about improving education facilities in the town inline with our commitment as a child-friendly borough and supporting people to find alternative ways of travelling to the town centre by improving cycling links.

”Of course, with the loss of the multi-storey car park we will be looking at replacing those car parking spaces to make sure people can arrive by car if they need to.

“I am really excited to be working with key groups in the town to make this project happen which will really enhance this town.”

The levelling up fund is a government initiative to enhance areas across the country through a series of bids. Successful bids will be announced in the autumn.

The Halesowen plan includes the college scheme and landscaping as well as 75 new car parking spaces in Andrew Road. There will also be investments in ‘active travel’ to encourage people to find alternative ways of getting Halesowen by improving cycle lanes on Queensway and other links to the town centre.

There are also plans for more car parking outside Halesowen leisure centre and a series of landscaping projects throughout the town.

The proposals for Halesowen will be subject to the successful bid and planning permissions, but the council owns the land included in the scheme.

In Lye there are plans for changes to the road network including making the bypass two-way to traffic.