Dudley's Cavendish House to finally be demolished
An eyesore tower block which has sat empty for years in Dudley is expected to be demolished next year, a council leader has revealed.
Cavendish House will be pulled down to make way for a multi-million pound retail development, under proposals to regenerate the town centre.
Plans have been in the pipeline to demolish the multi-storey building, off Trindle Road, for some time, but the project has been delayed by setbacks.
Now Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley has revealed he expects the property to be demolished some time next year.
A planning application to demolish the former office block is expected to be submitted by its owners, Avenbury, to Dudley Council in the next few weeks.
It will pave the way the way for a new development which will consist of leisure and retail enterprises and homes, said Councillor Harley.
“It is quite an exciting time for Dudley, there a lot of things that are about to start,” he said.
“There is a lot of money being pumped into the infrastructure of Dudley that is long overdue.
“We expect the planning application to develop the whole area to take place in late July or early August.
“A light demolition of the site will probably take place at the end of the year. The full demolition will probably take place next year. It has been long over due.
“Cavendish House has been a blot on the landscape for more years than I can remember.”
The tower block has stood empty for years. It overlooks the Duncan Edwards Way bypass – one of the major gateways into Dudley.
Avenbury bought Cavendish House for £800,000 at a property auction in London in 2015.
The project to regenerate the site around the building will be a partnership between Dudley Council and businesses and developers in the town, including the owners of the derelict building. The proposed development of the site will tie into a series of major projects that are planned for Dudley over the next decade, which will help to regenerate the town centre and wider region. The Black Country Living Museum has secured almost £10 million from the Heritage Lottery to go ahead with a major restoration project.
It will see the attraction expanded by a third as a new town will be built, creating 100 jobs at the museum and more than 400 during construction. Meanwhile, the Midland Metro is set to be extended from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill under plans by the West Midlands Combined Authority.
It will run along the former South Staffordshire railway with 17 stops, including at Dudley Zoo and Castle and Merry Hill.
