£6m housing estate finally gets go-ahead for old Dudley College site
A long-awaited £6 million housing estate on the site of a former Dudley College campus has finally got the go-ahead after being in the pipeline for six years.
Work on 43 homes at the old Mons Hill college campus, near Wrens Nest Nature Reserve, will now gather pace after a £5.8 million deal was agreed.
Homes were first proposed for the Wrens Hill Road site back in 2011 when college bosses announced their intention to sell off its out-of-town campuses.
Delays over the demolition of the building and sale of the site meant the scheme was held up.
Housing association Midland Heart has struck a deal with developer Lovells to build the properties.
The development will be a mix of one-bedroom flats and two, three and four-bedroom houses.
The college moved out of the Mons Hill campus as part of the relocation to a new £12m training centre on Priory Road.
It was bulldozed in two phases and the land put up for sale. Demolition was only completed last year.
Developers have long wanted to take over the site but have only now been able to sign off on the plans. Funding for the scheme has been provided by the Homes and Communities Agency.
The development, worth £5.8m, is expected to be completed in spring 2018 and rental applications will be available by the end of the year.
Chris Miller, director for development at Midland Heart said: “We are delighted to be working with Lovell Partnerships on this new development in Dudley.
"This project will provide much-needed affordable housing for local people in an enviable location. I look forward to welcoming the new tenants to their homes following its completion next year.”
Tony Evans, regional operations director at Lovell, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this contract by Midland Heart and look forward to working together to deliver much needed high-quality homes to the Mons Hill area.”
The college had used the Mons Hill buildings since 1990.
It was formerly Wrens Nest Secondary School, before its name changed to Mons Hill School in 1975. The school closed in July 1990 and the facilities became part of Dudley College. It was expanded three years later.
