£35m Black Country house scheme hit by lack of funds

Work on the Cradley Heath project, which included a new road junction on Woods Lane, was due to start later this year. But not a single penny has been raised to pay for it, bosses admitted today.

Councillors now fear that the scheme could be scrapped unless developers come on board. Under the plans, nearly 350 new homes would be built on the land which is mostly made up of derelict industrial units.

A new junction would be created between Woods Lane and Macarthur Road, near Cradley Heath train station, and about 600 yards of the River Stour corridor would be cleaned up.

However, Cradley Heath councillor Julie Webb said she has major concerns about the development.

"The Woods Lane site, until we get any finance, has been mothballed to all intents and purposes and myself and the other Cradley Heath councillors are fighting for investment for the area."

Sandwell Council was hoping that a large chunk of the £30m cost of the project would be met by the private sector. It is now pinning its hopes on a bid for £5m funding for the £35m scheme. The bid is due to be submitted to the Black Country Local Growth Fund.

The authority said there had been substantial interest from companies, but that they had been put off by added development costs.

Ian Jones, cabinet member for jobs and economy at Sandwell Council, said: "A number of developers have tried to make the redevelopment work, but there is a viability issue due to high abnormal development costs.

"Should the council not be successful this time there may be other opportunities in the future for other funding streams," he said.

"Alternatively, if a developer does come forward the council will work closely with that developer in attempting to make the redevelopment happen.

"The council has applied for this grant funding in an attempt at unlocking this land for housing redevelopment."