£30 million Dudley university campus moves step closer

The cash has been secured as part of the Government’s New Towns Fund, and has been earmarked by council bosses to complete work at Dudley College’s new site, off Tipton Road.

It will go towards the £30m cost of two main buildings that will cater for 2,000 students a year, with courses centring around digital health management and transport technologies.

Bosses say it will be the final stage of the site, which features other facilities aimed at advanced level training for hi-tech jobs on land between Castle Hill and the Black Country Living Museum.

It comes after a long-running campaign from MPs and council bosses to bring a higher education campus to the town for the first time.

Dudley North MP Ian Austin said the deal was “the best news” for Dudley.

“I’ve always said we need to make education and skills our number one priority and this is exactly what we need to give Dudley a bright future and make it a strong town again.”

Mike Wood, the Conservative MP for Dudley South, said: “This development will make a massive difference to what is possible for young people developing their careers.”

Patrick Harley, the leader of Dudley Council, said: “The council is wholly supportive of the new developments as we have a lot of strong projects going forward.This will further cement the opportunities for local people to develop higher level skills that are most in need in our region.”

In a letter to MPs, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick MP, said: “We hope this opportunity will help unlock further growth, building on the work already started through government funding to boost innovation and productivity in the Black Country, and improve the standard of living through improved connectivity, skills and access to more high value jobs.”

The £32m Institute of Transformational Technologies is due to open on the site in September 2021, while an Autonomous Vehicle Hub is being lined up for the Hippodrome site.