Dudley Council leader wants to improve 'dire' night-time economy

Council leader Patrick Harley told social media users on a Facebook live Q&A session that he met with members of the Hippodrome supporters group and said he wants to work with them, and other groups, to "drive" the night-time economy.

The news comes after the authority announced plans to knock down the former theatre and replace it with a “university park”.

Dudley Town’s Fund Board is seeking funding from the Government’s Towns Fund to develop a new education centre in the centre of the town as part of a wider £1 billion regeneration plan.

The facility would be built on the site of the former Hippodrome building at the foot of Castle Hill, next to the Very Light Rail development and Midland Metro extensions.

Councillor Harley said: "About two or three weeks ago I met with about four or five people from the new Hippodrome supporters group or action group.

"They are passionate, they are enthusiastic and if we could rebuild the theatre purely on passion and enthusiasm we would have done it years ago but we need one other vital element which is cash and they can't provide the cash, no one else can provide the cash and we certainly can't.

"But what I can provide through working with partners is looking to the future, a £25 million centre of excellence, a university park that provides training, high quality training for over 1,000 students which means that our kids in the future will be able to leave school, go into further education, get the necessary degrees and qualifications, the necessary apprenticeships if they're not that academically minded, they can stay living in the borough of Dudley, because we have too much of a drain, a brain drain, a skills drain, kids drain, where they go further afield to get relevant qualifications and never come back.

"I don't want to lead a council that makes the same mistakes as Wolverhampton where admirably they try to redo their Civic Hall at a cost of £20-odd million and now the cost has gone up a conservative £60 million maybe more, I want to look into the future not the past.

"I am happy to meet with them and other groups to really drive a night-time economy in Dudley because I think the night-time economy is absolutely dire.

"We need to be doing more, we need to be attracting better cafes, bars, restaurants, better night-time entertainment facilities, not ones that are going to be a huge drain and never get off the ground."