Priory Estate - North Priory Redevelopment

North Priory Redevelopment

On 2 March 2006 a consultation firm employed by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council recommended the demolition of between 40 and 100 per cent of 260 homes on the northern part of the estate. The consultation firm had studied four scenarios. The first had been refurbishment of all the existing properties, many of which were currently in disrepair as well as being unsuitable for elderly and disabled occupants. But this scenario would not alter the estate's "isolated" position, highlighted by just two out of the six road links to the estate being accessible for vehicles. Nor would it make any difference to the narrow roads in the estate, one of which is now one-way. The second option had been 20% redevelopment along Pine Road, which would include refurbishment of the remaining properties but no major alterations to the road layout. The third option had been 40% redevelopment, which would have seen the demolition of all homes in Pine Road and Berry Road, as well as some in Thornhill Road. The fourth and final option was total redevelopment.

The planned demolition was deemed necessary as most of the houses in this area were in a poor state of repair, with low demand for properties, a high demand for moves away from the area, and the environment has been plagued by vandalism, arson attacks, litter, graffiti and urban decay. The report also criticised the "isolated" layout of the estate, which is accessible from six points but only two of those points are accessible by motor vehicles. Most of the roads on the estate are relatively narrow (including one which is one-way) compared to roads on other parts of the Priory, which was less of a problem when the area was first developed – as virtually none of the local residents owned a car when the estate was built during the 1930s. The rising level of car ownership in recent years had led to many local residents parking their cars on pavements and even gardens, mainly due to the narrow streets.

Four properties on Pine Road had been demolished in the late 1990s due to mining subsidence, which also affected several other properties in the area, and another four properties on the road had been converted into community facilities.

The plans for total redevelopment were backed by council officials on 4 December 2006 despite being opposed by residents.

31 homes in North Priory had been bought from the council under the right to buy scheme.

The redevelopment of the estate will see a mixture of rented and privately owned homes being built on the site, as well as the re-opening of the exit onto the Birmingham New Road via Castle Mill Road, which was closed in 1993 for road safety reasons. Some residents in the condemned area expressed concern that they would not be able to move back once the redevelopment was complete, as the rebuilt neighbourhood would include fewer rented homes than before and few of the current residents would be able to afford the new private houses.

The new-look North Priory, when completed, will include the shortening of Primrose Crescent with a public park on the south side and housing on the north side, the re-routing of Castle Mill Road at its most eastern point to join onto Pine Road, with defunct vehicle exit onto Birmingham New Road being re-instated, while Fern Road, Berry Road and Heather Road to be extended to join up with Pine Road. Heather Road and Berry Road will gain a vehicular link to Priory Road, while a residential square surrounding public gardens will be developed from current corner of Pine Road and Thornhill Road. There will also be a home-zone running parallel with Thornhill Road and joining up to form a crossroads at the current Forest Road junction.

A signalled crossroads may be erected on Birmingham New Road, also incorporating Woodcroft Avenue on the nearby Foxyards Estate.

Commercial units and flats to be built on site of current homes on Priory Road, between the junctions with Castle Mill Road and Fern Road.

Dudley council had hoped to complete the rehousing programme by Christmas 2008, but that deadline was missed and when the initial demolition work (on Pine Road) commenced in April 2009, one house on the estate remained occupied (on Berry Road). The final house was not vacated until nearly two months later. Demolition was completed in October 2009.

There has also been speculation that other parts of the Priory Estate are due for redevelopment once North Priory's regeneration is completed, but council officials have denied this; public spending cuts have meant that any regeneration in the area in the foreseeable future will take place in the form of improvements to existing properties rather than their demolition and replacement.

When complete, the rebuilt North Priory estate is expected to consist of 329 homes, with an approximate 50:50 split between private and rented homes. There will be a more varied type of housing than before. The old North Priory estate consisted of 262 houses (built in the 1930s) with either two or three bedrooms and a block of four flats (built in 1974), but the new estate will also included bungalows as well as three-storey apartment blocks and townhouses. Construction of the new homes began in March 2011 and the first residents will move there later in the year.