About Dudley
Dudley borough is proud to be the historic capital of the Black Country. With a rich industrial past, built on the hard graft and work ethic of local people, the borough remains home to a host of innovative and prosperous businesses.
Residents live in close-knit communities across a borough made up of vibrant and diverse towns and neighbourhoods and the borough has a growing visitor economy which contributes to our ambitious future whilst celebrating our pioneering past.
Once at the heart of the Industrial Revolution, Dudley borough is a fascinating patchwork of towns, villages and smaller communities each with their own cultural identity. The four main townships are Brierley Hill, Dudley, Halesowen and Stourbridge.
Town centre specific partnerships are in place in the four townships and the Business Champions group provides additional opportunities for the Council to engage with retail and town centre-based businesses across the borough.
Located centrally, challenges with our transport network are recognised as we work to improve connectivity, which will be boosted by the arrival of the Midland Metro.
The Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro Extension, which will connect Dudley and Brierley Hill town centres to Wolverhampton and Birmingham city centres, is the biggest single infrastructure project being supported by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
Dudley borough is also home to many places of inspiring natural beauty. Approximately 30% of the borough is green space through its range of award-winning parks and nature reserves.
From our roads and towns to our parks and nature reserves, our environment is our most valuable asset, providing the landscape in which our residents live. We continue to develop and implement strategic objectives that are helping us deliver a cleaner and greener place.
Through an extensive package of regeneration and housing projects, we are making it clear that it is Dudley’s time to build, connect and grow. From the Midland Metro extension and DY5 Enterprise Zone, to the unique Very Light Rail scheme and the innovative Institute of Technology plans, we really are making great strides in growing the economy and creating jobs. The Council and partners are determined that the benefits of this regeneration will reach all of our communities, and contribute to reducing inequalities in health and wellbeing.
And through its local schools and colleges, including ongoing exciting developments at Dudley College, the borough is working to ensure it is home to the skilled workforce of tomorrow.
Dudley’s post-16 skills team has worked closely with West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to identify and procure our priorities for skills, employment and training opportunities.
The team has actively engaged in providing specialist support to evaluate, appraise and moderate applications leading to a £1.6m investment during 2019/20.
This work has helped to tackle worklessness and economic exclusion especially in areas of intense deprivation where residents face multiple barriers to work. A first roadshow event with WMCA was also held to showcase opportunities in skills and training for residents in the community. Working with FE colleges, training providers and schools, the team ensures there is sufficient and adequate post-16 provision (of high quality) for all residents in Dudley. Joint work with the funding agency helps to ensure that poor provision is addressed and good provision is extended. The team also works with the provider base to identify and meet gaps in provision as well as supporting infrastructure changes where these are required e.g. capital developments, college realignment, etc.
The borough's Health and Wellbeing strategy focuses on three priorities that are fundamental to poor health and demand for services in Dudley: overweight and obesity, poverty and loneliness & social isolation. Through the strategy all partners have also committed to focus on prevention, joining up services and developing a new relationship with communities.
Dudley's digital strategy aims to utilise technologies to provide better quality services and improve the customer experience at lower cost, by employing creative solutions and increasing our commercial activity. We continually strive to engage with our communities using a variety of face to face and digital channels to keep people informed and involved.
Multi-million pound regeneration plans are underway for Dudley town centre and with the launch of DY5, Dudley’s Business and Innovation Enterprise Zone, as well as a new metro line, there has never been a better time to live and work in Dudley.
Multi-million pound regeneration plans are underway for Dudley town centre and with the launch of DY5, Dudley’s Business and Innovation Enterprise Zone, as well as a new metro line, there has never been a better time to live and work in Dudley.
The borough benefits from nationally-recognised tourist attractions. Indeed the visitor economy is an important part of the economic mix. We work directly with our tourism stakeholders, establishing and leading the Discover Dudley brand to promote the things to see and do in the borough.
Each of our towns have their own individual character, charm and wealth of heritage, from Stourbridge’s Glass Quarter to Dudley’s 12th century castle, to Halesowen’s historic Leasowes Park and Brierley Hill’s modern retail delights. The towns contribute their own different qualities to the borough making it a fascinating place.
You can expect to be surprised by a prestigious zoo, seemingly endless canal networks, world famous geological sites and a nationally famous Black Country Living Museum. We also have more than 35 local parks and historically significant nature reserves. For more information visit Discover Dudley.
Getting to and from Dudley borough is straightforward and will of course greatly benefit from the introduction of the metro. By rail, the borough is around half an hour from Birmingham’s New Street, Snow Hill and Moor Street stations, from Wolverhampton and from Worcester. Stourbridge Junction has a direct connection with London Marylebone, operating at convenient weekday times.