New crossing ordered for multi-million pound Dudley casino
A company behind plans to move a casino and bingo hall to a Dudley retail park have been told a new pedestrian crossing is needed as part of the scheme.
Planning officers have warned changes are needed to make the proposed site at Castlegate Park more accessible for pedestrians.
The new casino would increase the number of people coming to the retail park, raising questions about the suitability of the site for those on foot.
Castle Casino, currently based on Castle Hill, will relaunch as Casino 36 and move to a newly built site at Castlegate Park, as part of a £12 million investment announced in May.
Artist's impressions show a modern-looking two-storey building, which will operate as both a casino and bingo hall on separate floors.
The entertainment complex is expected to open next year but has already hit its first obstacle with highways experts not happy with the current layout around the site.
They said there is no footpath near to where the casino would be, something that would likely need to be rectified if the development was to go ahead.
Casino 36 has been advised to look again at the plans to include improvements to surrounding roads.
However, bosses at the firm said it was 'early days' and that they would be happy to hold discussions with roads experts about any potential changes to the plans.
A report from Dudley Council's highways team said: "The proposal should look further into the connectivity of pedestrians into the site and potential crossing facilities.
"The link from Birmingham Road is poor, there is a bus stop but no footpath on the development side which is has not been proposed as part of a new development outside of the application site.
"This should be looked into and provided as this lack of footway compromises this development in terms of accessibility and makes it more reliant on access by vehicles."
Craig Dobson, general manager at Casino 36, stressed such concerns were not uncommon with planning applications.
He said: "It is very early days. There are a few things like pedestrian crossings which I can't see being a problem.
"I don't think I've done a project where the roads team haven't had something to say."
