THE long-awaited multi-million pound regeneration project for Castle Hill is to officially get underway this week.

The ambitious five-year scheme will be launched by Minister Baroness Hanham - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government during a ceremony on Thursday.

Baroness Hanham will cut the sod and kick-start the building of the new £6m state-of-the-art Dudley Borough Archives, on the site of the former Royal Brierley Crystal outlet in Tipton Road As part of the transformation of the gateway to the town, work will also include a shared visitor entrance for Dudley Zoo, the Black Country Living Museum and Dudley Canal Trust, new access roads and a car park.

The Council-led project, which is hoped will push visitor numbers to the area into the million mark, has been funded through the European Regional Development Fund and matched by Dudley Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Dudley Zoo.

Councillor Angus Adams, cabinet member for regeneration, said: “I am thrilled that this major development is now ready to get underway.

“This is a major part of our regeneration plans for Dudley town centre and the borough as a whole and I’m delighted that for the first time visitors will be able to see a physical link between all of the attractions, including of course the new archive building, which will be a fantastic addition to the area.

“Yet again, we are proving that Dudley is more than punching its weight and we are certainly a borough to keep an eye on in terms of seeing all of our exciting plans come to fruition.”