Inside ‘dystopian’ ghost city blighted by yobs which even ex-mayor admits is ‘ruined’
Once a 1970s shopping hotspot, Dudley has been branded a ‘dystopian’ ghost town filled with empty units and balaclava-clad yobs roaming the streets
Dudley which even local politicians admit is ‘falling apart and ruined’(Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)
A market town formerly hailed as a glittering hotspot of the 1970s has been labelled a “desolate slum” blighted by yobs which even local politicians admit is “falling apart and ruined”. Residents living in Dudley, West Mids., say their home has become a ghost town filled with more than 40 empty shopping units despite undergoing multi-million pound regeneration plans.
Depressing photos show how the town has become full of boarded-up and derelict stores while locals claim there’s also been a surge in antisocial behaviour making it unsafe to go out after dark.
Dudley Council has invested £24 million on a new bus-and-tram station which is due to open within weeks – but residents have branded the move pointless as “there’s no shops to even visit”.
It was formerly hailed as a glittering hotspot of the 1970s(Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)
Others say they dare not even venture into the town due to balaclava-clad yobs on e-bikes and youths taking drugs and drinking on the high street.
This week, a seating area added as part of a £150,000 market revamp was ripped out after 16 months after the the stalls became infested with pigeons and people gathering to drink alcohol.
Market traders have also reported taking as little as £60 a day as people swap the formerly bustling high street for out-of-town and online shopping. Councillor David Stanley, former mayor of Dudley, told a council meeting last month: “We have a derelict pub right in front of it which we have done nothing about.
“When you get off the tram or the bus that’s the first thing you see, the place is falling apart, when you walk up the town it is ruined.” Councillor Stanley said people had been talking about regeneration in the town for years, but little seemed to happen.
It is now a ‘desolate slum’(Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)
Many locals have since agreed with the comments, including Harriet Manly, 40, a mum-of-one, who said: “Dudley is dead. They have spent millions on new transport connections but nobody wants to come here anyway as all the shops are closed.
“I won’t come into town after dark, it’s proper rough. There’s idiots in balaclavas riding e-bikes and e-scooters.
“There’s loads of shoplifting, general antisocial behaviour and fighting – it’s just grim. It looks almost dystopian.
Residents living in Dudley, West Mids., say their home has become a ghost town(Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)
“When you’ve got your own politicians telling you it’s falling apart, that says everything you need to know.” For more than 800 years, the market place was the beating heart of the town, and in the 1980s it was home to Marks & Spencer, BHS, Littlewoods, Dorothy Perkins, Woolworths, Burtons and H Samuel.
All those big names are long gone and current market traders say the current climate is bleak. Chris Bradwick, 62, of Tipton, West Mids., has run a stall at the town’s historic open-air market for the last five years.
He said: “I have watched as Dudley has slowly gone to nothing day-by-day. It hasn’t been helped by constant broken promises by the council.”
The town has become full of boarded-up and derelict stores (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)
Even Dudley Council’s own walk-in shop closed last year while a former Debenhams is now partly occupied by a Wetherspoons pub. Famous residents include Sir Lenny Henry, Sue Lawley, Sam Allardyce and Duncan Edwards but locals say they have little more to be proud of.
Pub-goer Stephen Bradley, 33, added: “My dad used to tell me how vibrant it was in the 70s and 80s but now there’s nothing worth coming into town for apart from a pint. And even then you have to have your wits about you.
“It’s a shame as I’m Black Country born and bred but there’s little hope for the next generation if you stick around these parts.” Anne Boyd, director of growth and place at Dudley Council said: “Dudley Council is working closely with Dudley town centre traders and community groups as our programme of regeneration continues to bring investment to the town.
“Market traders in Dudley town centre recently raised concerns that marketplace seating, which was installed last year with funding from the Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, was sometimes creating issues around antisocial behaviour. We have now removed the seating from the marketplace with it now benefitting visitors to Himley Hall and Park.”
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