Former Dudley post office going under the hammer for £525k

The Old Post Office, on the corner of Wolverhampton Street and Priory Street, will be put up for auction next month with a price tag of more than half a million pounds.

Plans to convert the historic building into flats have been in the pipeline for the last three years but, with a buyer yet to be found, the development has stalled.

The Grade II listed former Post Office building has been granted planning approval for conversion into 21 one-bedroom apartments and it is hoped a new owner will finally be found to bring the development to fruition. The Georgian building's guide price is more than £525,000.

The four-storey building, which was constructed in 1909, was once of the most grand in Dudley town centre but has fallen into disrepair in recent years and last used as a nightclub called Nulla Nulla more than decade ago.

It is described by auctioneers SDL as a 'dilapidated Grade II listed building with a total floor area of 15,000 sq ft'.

Dudley Council's deputy leader David Vickers said he hoped a buyer would come forward to take on the building.

He said: "It is an iconic building and it needs new life.

"It needs some work doing to it and it has got planning permission. I don't know how much it is going to go for but hopefully someone will take on the application that is already valid.

"It would be nice to see more people living in the town centre."

The Post Office will be among a lot of 157 properties from across the Midlands to go under the hammer with SDL Auctions at Aston Villa's Villa Park ground on Thursday, July 6 from 10.30am.

Rory Daly, SDL Auctions chief executive officer and auctioneer, said the huge total was proof that the Midlands property market was 'extremely buoyant'.

He said: "We are seeing great optimism being shown by buyers and sellers alike, despite an erratic political background.

"This suggests to us that the underlying Midlands economy is strong as property is one of the principal barometers of economic confidence."