Category: Developments

Church Street wall update…

Temporary repairs – including buttressing – are to be undertaken on the wall in Church Street in front of the war memorial.  The concrete blocks will, sadly, remain in place for the time being to protect members of the public from any falling masonry.

It had been hoped that a more permanent solution could be found with support from Advantage West Midlands, and the wall rebuilt at a cost of £2 million.

However, as a result of the demise of the regional development agency, new ways of tackling the problem will have to be sought.

Options being considered include reducing the height of the wall with a section of the historic brickwork being retained, Criblock or Gabions (see illustrations).  These options will be cheaper and provide a potential solution, but, nevertheless are costly in themselves.

No decisions have been arrived at as yet and given the present state of public finance it may be some time before a permanent solution is arrived at.

Area Action Plan nearing completion

Brierley Hill Area Action Plan – a key planning document which will guide future developments in the area – is reaching its final run in to adoption following an ‘Examination in Public’ held at Dudley Council House in December.  Planners are now looking to formally adopt the plan this summer.

The proposed plan which will guide the creation of over 10,000 new jobs, a significant expansion of the Merry Hill Centre, the building of over 3,000 new homes in the area, and the introduction of more leisure and community facilities, was subject to questioning by Inspector Vincent Maher during a week of meetings and visits.

Community groups, council officials, traders, environmentalists, developers and landlords all attended the examination.

Overall the process was very positive – not a surprise given the amount of consultation that has taken place over the last decade.

Points of debate centred around how to improve public transport to the town, how to enhance the High Street, the impact of the introduction of car park charging at Merry Hill, how best to protect and enhance wildlife in the area and  the role of manufacturing within the plan.

Mr Maher is now considering his report on whether the plan conforms to national requirements and is realistic in its delivery prospects.  His report should be available at the end of this month, February.

All being well the plan should be ready for adoption this summer and the hard work of implementing it will gain a further boost.

What do you think the new Brierley Hill should look like?

As one of the key regeneration areas in the West Midlands Brierley Hill is expected to provide over 3,000 new homes, an increase in shopping facilites and 250 thousand square metres of new offices.  Transport improvements are also planned.

Already new buildings have been constructed: the £25 million new Health and Social Care Centre, the Merry Hill £24 million food court ‘Eat Central, and the new Brierley Hill Creative Industries Campus for Stourbridge College.  Improvements to transport are already underway with the completion of the £28 million Venture Way.

But it as old Brierley Hill, Merry Hill and the Waterfront are linked together it is important that the town looks and feels good, and there is a real positive sense of identity for residents and visitors.

One way of achieving this is to set out expectations that develpers will have to meet when designing new buildings.  This is done througha ‘Supplementary Planning Document’ and Dudley Council is seeking views on what this should contain now.

You can read the document and questionnaire below and have your say by 18th October 2010.  Enquiries should be addressed to rachel.gandolfi@dudley.gov.uk.

More information is available at:

http://www.dudley.gov.uk/environment–planning/planning/local-development-framework/bhill-urb-des

Brierley Hill Supplementary Planning Document Report – With Answer Boxes

COLLEGE VENTURE TAKES OFF

Stourbridge College has proved that it’s cutting edge when it comes to creative industries and its designs on a new campus are on track for success with work about to begin on the Venture Way site.  The £12m investment in a new Centre in the heart of Brierley Hill is all set to contribute to the regeneration of the area and is the first phase in a rolling investment programme by one of the best performing colleges in the region. Continue reading COLLEGE VENTURE TAKES OFF

Brierley Hill Treasure Trail Weekend

It blazed, it rained, it blew a gale… but still teams of treasure hunters from Brierley Hill and across Dudley Borough raced around historic Brierley Hill, along the Pony Trail route to search for clues and work out where the treasure is hidden. Winners of this event on 28 and 29 August to be announced shortly!

89% of people who gave feedback felt the Treasure Trail had increased their knowledge about the heritage in the area, 94% felt it had given them the opportunity to spend some quality time together as a family.

“We had a lot of fun! Something great to do”

“An enjoyable morning out with the family”

It’s not too late to do the Treasure Trail yourself before the ponies are moved and auctioned off in a couple of weeks!

Download a free copy of the Treasure Trail here (best printed to A3).  You can also download the answers to see how you got on!

 Over 100 local people also took part in an English Heritage survey about living and visiting historic Brierley Hill using a digital touch screen kiosk. There will be more opportunities to have your say over the next few months – so look out for a silver inflatable tent and lots of free balloons! Dates and locations will be posted on the blog – so watch this space!

Designing the new Brierley Hill: Powerpoint presentation

On 2nd September Brierley Hill Town Centre Partnership received a presentation on how the drawing up of new guidelines for Brierley Hill. View the presentation below. If you want to take part in the consultation they you can do so by going to the website:
http://www.dudley.gov.uk/environment–planning/planning/local-development-framework/bhill-urb-des
Power Point Presentation – 021092010

Work on Brierley Hill’s new college set to commence

Work on Stourbridge College’s new creative industries campus, set in the heart of Brierley Hill will be commencing on 23rd August.  The college will bring brand new arts and digital based courses to Brierley Hill and replace the outdated Longlands campus in Stourbridge.  Over 600 hundred students are expected to attend on a daily basis – bringing much needed business to the town centre.

Stourbridge College will use the Brierley Hill Town Centre Partnership group as a communication vehicle to keep key stakeholders and the local community informed of the progress of their new college building in Brierley Hill. This will include providing regular agenda items, blog postings and emails over the next year.

If anyone has questions or requires further information at this stage they should contact Mags Winthrop, the College’s communications co-ordinator by email: mags.winthrop@stourbridge.ac.uk or by calling 01384 344482 during working hours.

A representative from the College will also be in attendance at the Town Centre Partnership meeting in September.

Brierley Hill LIFT schemes wins new award

Brierley Hill’s new Health and Social Care Centre has won another prestigious national award for the quality of its design.

The LIFT national awards aim to encourage high quality health service buildings and the presentations  were made in London last Thursday, 8th July.

Dudley Infracare LIFT took the ‘Design’ award for its Brierley Hill development.  The judgest commented:

“The centre’s location on an awkward slope was resolved by careful placement of the building and floors.  Accommodation is over seven floors, with five floors above ground, one semi basement and one full basement level.

“Artwork has been incorporated creating colour, fun and a theme accessible to all.  Colours have been carefully chosen to add life to the interior spaces and make the patient journey a more positive experience.

“The confident and inspiring design, with its use of natural daylight and innovative architectural solutions, complementary colours and materials, gives a sense of optimism and wellbeing to the users and sets a precedent for future regeneration of the area.”

Dudley Infracare LIFT was also highly commended in the “Community Engagement and User Experience” category – for organisations which can demonstrate how engagement of the local community through a LIFT project has resulted in enhancement of the scheme – to complete a successful night.

College plans still on course

Plans for the Brierley Hill Campus of Stourbridge College remain on course despite the withdrawal of AWM support for the scheme.

The college has confirmed that the move from AWM was not unexpected in the light of the cuts in public sector spending and it had already moved to put contingency plans in space.

The £12 million building is due to open in September next year and will bring a variety of creative facilities to the town centre.