B&Q site to be cleared

The dilapidated B&Q store in West Bromwich town centre will be demolished in May, marking the first step in the £500m rebirth of the town.

The redundant store, in New Street, West Bromwich, will be bulldozed in preparation for the multi-million pound development.

The demolition is being hailed as the first step towards rebuilding swathes of the town centre.

Sandwell Council was given approval by the Government to compulsory purchase the B&Q store, the town's police station and Cronehills Junior School, which will all be flattened to make way for the new £50m Tesco development.

Cronehills School, in Hardware Street is to move to a new building in Dagger Lane in 18 months time and the police station will relocate to a site on the Lyng.

Karen Walker, chief executive of Regenco, the company charged with turning round the fortunes of West Bromwich, Hill Top and Smethwick, says the project is finally coming together after five years.

She said: "This is the first step in changing the landscape of West Bromwich.

"The starting date for building on the site is now January 2010 and we are looking for any opportunity to accelerate this.

"This will be the first opportunity people will have to see the physical changes in the area."

The ambitious Tesco proposals are set to transform the centre of the town by introducing a new 500,000 sq ft mixed-use development.

The development includes a major shopping centre, anchored by a Tesco Extra store, a 97,500 sq ft department store, 10,700 sq ft of leisure facilities, a six-screen cinema, a range of cafes and bars as well as 217,000 sq ft of high street shops.