Revamp of Dudley's Trident Centre back on course

An ambitious overhaul of the Trident Centre in Dudley was shelved earlier this year after a row between developer John Sykes, of Atlantis Property, and council chiefs.

However, the leadership of the local authority has since moved from Labour to Conservative.

And Mr Sykes said he has had a successful meeting with new council leader Patrick Harley – which could see a scheme to revamp the centre resurrected.

Councillor Harley described talks as ‘very positive’ and said new investment in the borough is ‘vital’.

The previously mooted renovation of the shopping centre was included in a council masterplan to change the face of the town centre.

New shops and leisure attractions were to be added to the centre, while the firm also wanted to create 185 apartments. Councillor Harley said: “I think it would be a mix of residential and retail outlets as has been mentioned before.

“It’s vital that we engage with people like John Sykes and try to make Dudley an attractive place to invest. He doesn’t have to invest here so we need to give him a reason to.

“We need to get more people living in our town centres to create more of a night-time economy.

“If we could develop the Trident Centre it would really provide a boost for that part of the town. It looks very positive and hopefully we can get people to invest in Dudley.”

Mr Sykes is the chairman of Atlantis Property, which owns shopping centres up and down the country.

He said: “When we purchased the Trident Centre it was my focus to invest and contribute to the regeneration of the area.

“From my observation there have been many promises of regeneration [by the previous leadership] but they haven’t come to fruition.

“The leader of the council has changed and I’ve been quite overwhelmed with [Councillor Harley’s] attitude and how proactive he is, “ he added.

“I met with him and the meeting was very positive.

“We need to work in synergy as we both want the same things and the right thing for the area.

“It’s looking better and we seem to be back on the right ground again.

“I think Councillor Harley genuinely wants what is right for the local community and we want to work with him – but it it still early days.”