Council plan to demolish Colley Gate shops but leave derelict buildings standing

Dudley Council is proposing that 14 houses be built on 116-120 Colley Gate, despite the site being home to three thriving businesses.

The site, identified within the Black Country Plan, sits next to the infamous abandoned row of shops in Colley Gate, which has not been listed within the Black Country Plan at all.

The proposals to come just weeks after locals discovered that developers had pulled out of plans to redevelop the abandoned shops, despite a promise from Dudley Council earlier in the year that the development was a "done deal".

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Cradley and Wollescote Ryan Priest said:

"I'm not sure there are words strong enough to describe the utter lunacy of these plans. Many locals, particularly elderly people, rely massively on these local and easily accessible retail spaces.

"Locals will remember the grand promises from the Conservatives about the abandoned stores. It's taken just six months to go from a done deal to removing existing retail too.

"The Tories in Dudley are a party of over-promising and under-delivering, and it's local people who are facing the consequence of their incompetence.

"If you want to protect Cradley's retail spaces, then please take part in the consultation."

The Black Country Plan is a planning and regeneration plan for the whole of the Black Country, which is signed up to by the four Black Country Councils. It will guide the region's development from 2024 to 2029.

The consultation on the plan has already faced fierce criticism from residents, with accusations that it is full of errors and that taking part is unnecessarily complicated.