LAST Friday I was invited to officially open the West Bromwich Building Society's new offices at Falcon House in the town centre.
It was great to meet the staff who were busy raising money for a children's hospital - and fantastic to hear about the investment and jobs the building society is bringing to Dudley.
The West Brom has taken two floors in the office block already and has 80 staff processing all its mortgages from right around the UK. They're taking on new staff from Dudley and further a field and planning to almost double the number of people working at the Dudley site.
Ranked eighth in the UK at the moment, the West Brom is aiming to be the UK's third biggest building society in the next few years, which could bring more jobs to our town.
It's exactly the sort of step forward I want to see for the town centre. It shows Dudley's economy is on the move.
It's a major vote of confidence for Dudley town centre. It shows other companies that Dudley is a great place to invest and open new offices.
We've got more people in work than ever before in the area and the new investment that the West Brom and others are bringing to the town shows we can do even better in the future.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article