Dudley bus interchange hits delays over land purchase deals
Dudley's new £24 million interchange has been delayed as council chiefs battle to thrash out deals for more than a quarter of the site.
The scheme, which will see the 36-year-old bus station demolished and replaced with a new site linking bus and Metro services, was granted full planning permission in September.
Work had been expected to start this autumn but it has yet to get underway after it emerged Dudley Council was struggling to secure the rights to around 27 per cent of the site.
The authority has now engaged compulsory purchase order (CPO) powers in a bid to take control of 28 pockets of land in the area around Birmingham Street, Bourne Street, Fisher Street, St Joseph Street and Trindle Road.
They include Farmfoods, which has a lease on its Fisher Street store until 2027, and plots on Birmingham Street owned by Castleview Ltd.
Council leader Patrick Harley said he was confident the land would be secured "quite quickly" and that work was expected to start early next year.
A statement accompanying the notice of CPO, said the council had been "unable to acquire all of the interests" in the land despite negotiations starting in 2020.
It says that including the existing bus station, the council currently owns approximately 73 per cent of the freehold land required to deliver the scheme.
It adds: "Where interests cannot be acquired by private treaty, it is the intention of the council to acquire them using its compulsory purchase powers.
"Private treaty negotiations with the holders of those interests are at a stage where offers have been made but agreement has not been reached, such that no real progress is now being made.
"The council has and will continue to consult and negotiate with all third parties that have interests in the order land to acquire their interests and new rights by agreement, but it is clear that compulsory purchase powers will need to be employed to ensure that vacant possession can be achieved, and that the scheme can be delivered."
Councillor Harley said: "I am confident we can conclude this quite quickly and get on with building what is a desperately-needed new bus station."
The scheme, which is backed by the West Midlands Combined Authority and Transport for West Midlands, is considered a key part of the town's regeneration plans.
It comes after a plan for a new police 'super station' collapsed after the council failed to strike a deal with West Midlands Police for a site off Hall Street.
Meanwhile the completion of the Wednesbury-Brierley Hill Metro line beyond Dudley remains in the balance due to a huge funding shortfall.
