WORK is finally set to begin to bring down notorious Dudley eyesore Cavendish House after years of delay.

The dilapidated building is set to disappear from the town within the next 20 weeks and workers have been at the Trindle Road site since Monday (January 27) to begin the long-awaited project.

Long regarded a blot on the town centre's landscape, the saga of its demolition has rumbled on for years and has faced a series of setbacks and delays.

The demolition, which once completed will pave the way for a £82 million redevelopment of the site, was pushed ahead after an agreement was signed and ratified by developer Avenbury and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) earlier this week.

Leader of Dudley Council, Councillor Patrick Harley, speaking at the site where a compound has been set up, said the demolition promises a brighter future for the town.

He said: "The building has been vacant for 16 years and it has been vandalised and in decay. I think if we waited any longer it may well fall down on its own.

"I can’t express how excited I am, finally we are going to see the back of this building. The demolition signals the start of an £800 million regeneration project in this borough, which is absolutely crucial as we’re crying out for it.

"It will showcase the borough in its best light, it will show our best days are ahead of us, not behind us, and it really will highlight that this is our time to prosper and flourish."

Concerns had been raised about the delay of the demolition of the former Inland Revenue block, which was originally planned to take place in early 2019.

Cllr Harley acknowledged the delay and thanked West Midlands Mayor Andy Street for releasing £724,000 from the WMCA to demolish the derelict seven-storey building and clear the site ready for development.

The planned £82 million Portersfield development, which required the demolition of Cavendish House to progress, is set to include a mix of residential properties, shops, offices and leisure facilities.

News of the imminent demolition was welcomed by councillor Shaukat Ali, whose ward of St Thomas covers the site, but he called for more details about the Portersfield development.

Cllr Ali told the News: "In terms of the demolition its welcome news, however there are still issues that need to be looked at in relation to the development itself because plans keep changing by the day.

"What we don’t now want is for Cavendish House to be demolished and we have the eyesore gone and then we have a site that’s not developed for years to come."

A number of other surrounding buildings around Cavendish House are to be knocked down as part of the regeneration of the town centre, including the former B&Q building, the former Rickshaw restaurant, a taxi office, a disused scout hut and the former Metro Bar pub.

The demolition work coincides with the first stages of construction of the Midland Metro extension to Dudley, which has seen work begin off Castle Hill to build a large retaining wall to get the site ready for the construction of the line.

Construction work to the line itself is due to begin later this year.