Eyesore Cavendish House will finally be bulldozed as mayor provides cash

West Midlands Combined Authority, which is headed by Mr Street, is to provide about £700,000 to break the deadlock over the derelict building overlooking Duncan Edwards WayDudley, the Express & Star understands.

It is expected the seven-storey former office block will be reduced to rubble in the first half of this year.

It is understood the deal with the combined authority will be signed off in the coming days.

The long-running saga over Cavendish House – the 1970s-built former base of the Inland Revenue – has long been a cause of frustration in the town and politicians and residents have been calling for it to go for years.

Demolition was agreed last year but it is believed a wrangle between Dudley Council and the developer has held things up.

As well as removing an eyesore building which has been labelled a blight on the town, the demolition of Cavendish House will also pave the way for the £82 million Portersfield retail, leisure and residential development. Crucial funding from the WMCA, expected to come out of its Town Centre Fund, will speed up the process.

Getting rid of the run-down and vandalised Cavendish House, on a key site in the heart of the town centre with its smashed windows clearly visible, has proved impossible for successive council administrations over the last decade.

The Express & Star revealed last week that the Portersfield development would no longer include a cinema and large supermarket, with the focus instead shifting more towards homes and student accommodation.

Dudley Council has come under fire for the time it has taken to get rid of the despised Cavendish House, empty since the 1990s. Former MP Ian Austin submitted a petition, signed by 1,300 people, calling for it to go. Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley said: “We want the right development for the town. We are not going to rush.”