Dudley Hippodrome is set to be knocked down to make way for Dudley s new university park. WHILST the new Dudley university park has been welcomed by most of the borough, the national body for theatres has called it disappointing. The old Dudley Hippodrome on Castle Hill will be demolished to make way for the multi million pound higher education complex after Dudley Council secured £25 million to boost the plans. However, campaigners had hoped the hippodrome would play a key part in the regeneration of Dudley. The Theatres Trust said it was a missed opportunity and will work with the council to make a case for theatre provision in the town.
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The Station Hotel in Dudley, which was sold recently, will become The Station Hotel & Banqueting.
The hotel in Castle Hill is currently closed and the new owners are carrying out refurbishment work.
A reopening date has yet to be announced.
The 38-bedroom hotel dates back to 1898, had just opened a new tea room in March last year before it was forced to close by the coronavirus pandemic.
The later hotel building from 1910 was demolished in 1936 when the current larger building on the junction with Trindle Road was built.
It was used by entertainers appearing at the old Dudley Hippodrome, directly opposite in Castle Hill, with Laurel and Hardy staying there in 1947 on their theatre tour of the UK that featured in the 2018 film Stan and Ollie.
3 hours ago
We take an in-depth look at the political situation in Dudley ahead of the borough s 2021 election in May.
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Dudley Profile
Politics
Control of this classic marginal authority has switched repeatedly since 1973. The Conservatives currently run the council, although they have one less seat than Labour. The borough has swung towards the Tories in recent years, and now has four Conservative MPs in Mike Wood, Marco Longhi, Suzanne Webb and James Morris.
History
Originally a municipal borough, Dudley became a county borough in 1889 based around the main town centre, along with the suburbs of Netherton and Woodside. Although surrounded by Staffordshire, the borough was associated with Worcestershire for non-administrative purposes, forming an exclave of the county until 1966, when it was transferred to Staffordshire after an expansion of the borough boundaries. Following local government reorganisation in 1974, Dudley took in the
The Station Hotel. Pic - Google Street View DUDLEY S famous Station Hotel has reportedly been sold. The landmark hotel, which dates back to 1936, in its heydays in the 40s and 50s welcomed the stage stars of the day appearing at what was the Dudley Hippodrome over the road and in more recent years it has been famed for its spirits of a ghostly kind - often staging ghost nights and welcoming top mediums. The venue in Castle Hill had been closed through the coronavirus lockdown but a note posted on its Facebook page says the hotel has now been sold and has ceased trading.