Dudley market plan seen as milestone in revamp

Five schemes, all linked to rejuvenating the market place, were approved at a meeting last night.

It comes hot on the heels of other projects to revamp Castle Hill, restore heritage buildings and tempt a major supermarket to open in the town.

Today regeneration chief, Councillor Judy Foster, thanked market traders for helping shape the plans as they stand at the moment.

She said: "The market place is the centre piece of the town and is a focal point for many people.

"It is important that the market looks good and attracts not only new customers but also new business."

The initial plans sparked controversy from traders who raised a petition against the proposals. Talks have been held in a bid to find a resolution.

Further talks are planned tomorrow night between council officers and the traders.

But Councillor Foster said: "It is credit to the council officers and the market traders themselves so far who have been able to sort any issues or concerns ahead of the committee."

Dudley Market Traders Association Len Lenihan said discussions were ongoing and hoped to resolve other issues at the meeting in Dudley tomorrow.

Councillors on Dudley Council's planning committee welcomed the plans, worth at least £6 million, for coming to fruition.

Among the five schemes linked to the revamp of the market is the re-siting of a public toilet block.

Councillors did ask for conditions to be put in place ensuring replacement toilet facilities were in place before the work to demolish the existing High Street block werecarried out.

Committee chairman Councillor Qadar Zada said: "The toilets do need replacing as they are not very pleasant. The facilities need to be ones people feel comfortable attending."

A new public toilet would be opened at the former Walmsley furniture store, in Castle Street. The store closed in September 2011 when it went into administration.

The council says the knocking down of the toilet would open up views to and from the market place giving people an uninterrupted view of Dudley Castle. Permission was also granted for repositioning the Duncan Edwards statue to create a feature for the market place.

Listed structure consent was also approved to replace the Green Man Head sculpture which was originally sited above the archway at the Castle Street entrance to the Green Man Entry.

New lighting will be installed at the building occupied by clothes chain River Island in High Street after approval was given.

Officials hope to improve lighting features to improve the appearance of buildings.

The final part of the successful applications granted permission to enhance the Earl of Dudley statue, in Castle Street. It will now be sited on a new plinth upon a raised grass bank.

It is hoped the improvements will bring greater footfall to the town, boosting shops and traders and encourage more to open.

Work will start at the beginning of next year on the schemes as officials have already earmarked cash for the schemes.

Dudley Council's cabinet last month approved £4.1m of funding for the project. Councillors are now waiting on their bid for £2.6m to pay the remaining amount. Meanwhile an archaeological assessment has been made of the town's street market, highlighting the possibly of finding key artefacts linked to Dudley's history.

Research concluded there is the potential for medieval and post medieval era finds to be unearthed in the ground beneath stalls during the revamp of the market place.

Archaeological digs have yet to take place at the site, but council bosses say the authority would be keen to explore any medieval discoveries found during the redevelopment.