Barriers installed at Dudley nature spot over off-road motorbikes nuisance

The measures will be installed next to Castle Hill Woods, just behind Dudley Castle and which stretches across to the Black Country Living Museum, after a long-running campaign to protect the area.

It comes after the issue was raised by Dudley North MP Marco Longhi – and backed by councillors – after he was approached by concerned residents.

Mr Longhi said the issue had been going on for decades with motorbikes and vans damaging the area – whilst others had been using it "as a tip", with him being alerted to it shortly after being elected.

He said: "Soon after the election in 2019 I was approached by local residents who were in utter despair who said nothing was being done about it, and I got involved following that.

"I worked from the experience I had as a local councillor for over 20 years and I knew what levers I could pull to get this moving. I established the council owned it and should be looking after it."

The Conservative MP said he continued to champion the issue throughout lockdown in 2020 and managed to get the authority to commit to the measures, which are now being installed.

Councillor Keiran Casey, who represents the Castle and Priory ward on Dudley Council and has also been working for improvements, said: "I’ve been working with a number of residents to push for these improvements for some time now, so it was great when we secured the commitment from the council for these to happen.

"We’ll be monitoring this work and have asked the council to also visit the site to ensure that the contractors are doing as they say and that we can get this work completed as a matter of urgency now."

Councillor Casey has arranged follow up meetings with West Midlands Police and the region's Police and Crime Commissioner to see what else can be done to tackle the issue and "stamp out" the nuisance of off-road motorbikes.