CASTLE and Priory councillors have called for Dudley Council to step in and take action over an eyesore piece of land on the “gateway to Dudley”.

Councillors Ken Finch, Alan Finch and Margaret Aston are calling for the council to contact the owner of the site of the former Duncan Edwards pub, which they argue has become a drug haven and rubbish dumping ground, in an area of on-going improvement.

The site, on Priory Road, has lain derelict since 2006, after the pub was razed to the ground following a number of serious fires, which gutted the building.

Pub owners, Punch Taverns, confirmed at the time they had sold the land for redevelopment.

But four years later the site still remains derelict.

And despite the best efforts of the three ward councillors to contact the developers, the trio are now calling on the council to step in and intervene.

Cllr Ken Finch, said: “It has been a long time that this particular area has been like this.

“It looks like an eyesore and we have been trying for a long time to get some movement, but we just can’t get hold of the developer.”

He added: “We have had a lot of improvement in this area recently.

"North Priory is on-going and we have had new high tech street lights.

“They have modernised a number of shops down Priory Road and we now have the pharmacy which is proving to be really successful and Priory Park is looking well.

“This is a nice area, it is the gateway of Dudley and it is so depressing and such a shame that people have to see it.

“When we did our weekly walkabout this week, there was a lady with a dog who was collecting rubbish from the site. We are letting down these people who are trying to keep their area tidy.

“I am appealing to the council officers to try and contact the developer. Can the council please put pressure on the powers that be.”

A spokesman for Dudley Council said: "No planning application has been submitted for the site. As soon as any plans are submitted the council could work with the developers to make appropriate use of the land."