Dudley Hippodrome to be demolished and replaced with 'university park' under latest plans

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 £1 billion regeneration plan.

Described by the council as "university-style," 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 that are already underway.

The Towns Fund Board is seeking £25 million investment to create a learning centre offering courses in health and life sciences for level 4 and 5 students, undergraduates and postgraduates.

The council is seeking a university partner which would be responsible for the curriculum delivered from the site when the building is complete for the outset of the 2023/24 academic year.

It would be next to the Black Country & Marches Institute of Technology, due to open in autumn 2021, creating a "university park" at the former Hippodrome site near existing buildings belonging to Dudley College of Technology

Council bosses met with campaigners working to save the former bingo hall to outline the proposals which will see it demolished, having not had theatre shows since the 1960s and repeated failed attempts to raise money to save it.

The Hippodrome has been vacant since 2009 after it closed as a Gala Bingo hall - with the council spending £300,000 over 10 years on the upkeep of the empty building.

The leader of the council Patrick Harley assured the group the council would work with them to boost the night-time economy in the town.

A report is due to be discussed and determined by the council’s cabinet later this month to allow members to consider the details behind the latest phase of regeneration in the town, as well as the financial opportunities with the Towns Fund.

Councillor Harley said: "This is a significant phase of our regeneration plans and builds on the massive strides we have been able to make with Metro, VLR and the demolition of Cavendish House in recent months.

"We are very excited about the potential we have in supporting Dudley College with the university proposals and the driverless vehicles consortium which will accelerate what is already a busy programme of regeneration work. This work will have a massive economic impact on the town – for businesses, shoppers and anyone visiting the historic capital of the Black Country.

"When complete, Dudley will be home to a university, very light rail innovation, revolutionised public transport, new accommodation and much more to hammer home that we mean business when it comes to improving our town.

“I can completely understand local campaigners wanting to save the former Hippodrome building, and I am encouraged to see community groups working so passionately to improve the town. But we simply cannot allow this discussion to continue for another decade after exhausting every opportunity to find an enormous amount of funding.

"We have received several business cases over the years from successive campaign groups, and have handed over the keys to the building. But no one has been able make any significant headway in reviving a theatre, which has not put on a show in 60 years.

"I have met with the campaigners and agreed to work with them on the ongoing regeneration proposals and look for ways to improve the night-time economy of Dudley."

A key part of the wider proposals is Dudley Council’s £1m bid for additional funding from the Government’s Towns Fund to link the town centre with Castle Hill, along the Midland Metro extension between the two sites.

The council is hoping the 5,000 sq m university proposals will bring around 1,000 students to the town each year, boosting the local economy and improving the look at a key gateway into the borough.

Neil Thomas, chief executive and principal of Dudley College of Technology, added: "It would be fantastic if the Towns Fund Board could secure the funding necessary to create this development and attract a university to the town.

"Dudley is one of the largest areas in the country without this provision and the educational attainment in the area remains lower than many other similar places.

"These factors inhibit both young people and adults progressing into higher technical or degree-level jobs.

"These new developments will change all that and provide opportunities on the doorstep for upskilling in skills where there is high demand with forecast larger numbers of well paid jobs."

Andrew Lovett, chairman of the Towns Fund Board, said: "It would be great for Dudley and the Black Country if the Town’s Fund Board could secure the investment in this new facility and if a university can be partnered to deliver the much needed boost to health care to meet today’s growing demands."