Express & Star

Dudley bus station rebuild expected to start in 2020

Long-awaited work to rebuild Dudley bus station is expected to start in 2020, it can be revealed.

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Dudley bus station

The town's ageing bus station is set to undergo a complete redevelopment to link up with the Midland Metro, which will be extended into Dudley.

Initial plans for the station were revealed earlier this year but it has now emerged work on the rebuild, which has been in the pipeline for years, will not start for at least another two years.

Transport chiefs hope to get the nod for planning permission next year before then heading towards getting work started. Securing a new bus station for Dudley has been a long and drawn-out challenge for council bosses.

The latest timetable for the project was revealed in a new Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership report.

Town centre councillor Ken Finch said a revamped bus station was long overdue for the town, which he said had been starved of investment.

He said: "At last we are getting somewhere regarding the bus station. We have been after it for ages.

"Anything that improves the town centre and brings more success to the area is a good thing. The money has got to come to Dudley, it comes to Wolverhampton and places like that. Let's get some money into Dudley.

"All I hear is criticism of the town centre and that it is on the way out - but I don't believe it is on the way out."

The station will undergo a complete rebuild and a new junction will be built to allow buses direct access onto the Duncan Edwards Way bypass. Initial plans for the bus station rebuild have been lodged by Transport for West Midlands.

Buses would be able to access Duncan Edwards Way from Trindle Road, under the plans, while the new station would also link to the major retail development planned for the derelict Cavendish House office block site.

A new single carriageway road would connect Birmingham Street to Castle Street and footways would be provided around the new site. An access route for buses would be provided along the realigned, improved and two-way St Joseph’s Street to allow bus movements onto Trindle Road and onwards to Duncan Edwards Way.