Waterfront white elephant

DUDLEY Council is once again attempting to create interest in its 'white elephant'—the Waterfront complex in Brierley Hill on the Dudley No1 Canal.

It was built on the site of a steel works not far from Merry Hill, one of the largest shopping precincts in the country, comprising mostly of office space and restaurants, but has never been successful.

Without success

Time and time again plans have been put into motion, rents reduced and initiatives introduced to attract new businesses, but without success.

In 2003, when the photograph was taken, there was very little activity, with a sense of desolation.  But good moorings.

The council admits that 40% of space is empty, so yet another plan has been put forward 'to attract 2,000 jobs' by once again reducing rents for two years in the hope of filling the many empty offices

Little interest

Even the flagship Point North has been empty for several years, with businesses showing little interest in the out of the way complex.

Out of the many bars and nightclubs that took up space in the site's early days, only Wetherspoons has survived.

The strange thing is though the waterfront is an obvious failure, the council are considering plans to extend it with up to a million square feet, that would 'bring in an extra 6,000 jobs'!