DUDLEY Council's leader has hailed news of a £250million investment to extend the Midland Metro to Brierley Hill as "a real game changer" for the borough.

Prime Minister Theresa May announced a multi-million pound investment would be made to the West Midlands Combined Authority to improve transport infrastructure and Mayor Andy Street has confirmed he will use it to fund the long-awaited Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Midland Metro extension.

The extension will run through Dudley to the DY5 Enterprise Zone at The Waterfront at Brierley Hill - linking both towns to the rail network for the first time since the 1960s.

Councillor Patrick Harley said bringing the Metro to the borough would boost regeneration, job creation and mobility around the region - and he said it was critical for Brierley Hill's DY5 Enterprise Zone.

He said: “This is a real game changer for Dudley – the Metro is vital to the town and the borough’s economy.

“It will bring improved transport connectivity and crucially help to deliver major regeneration, housing and employment opportunities across the area including our DY5 Enterprise Zone.

“We are delighted the Government and the Prime Minister have backed our bid. It is fantastic news and we now need to kick on and make this happen as soon as possible.”

Running from Wednesbury - the seven-mile route will go past Dudley's Castle Hill attractions, into the heart of Dudley town centre, on to The Waterfront, Merry Hill, and into Brierley Hill town centre.

The move will not only link the borough with the existing light rail system but also the new HS2 station at Curzon Street in Birmingham City Centre, paving the way for links to job opportunities and investment from the south.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “The Midland Metro extension to Brierley Hill is the WMCA’s priority transport project and the £250m from Government means we can now get underway on a project that is shovel-ready."

Dudley South MP Mike Wood said: "When I started campaigning for a tram line three years ago, people told me they had heard it all before, that they had been promised it for 30 years and it would never happen.

"It’s fantastic that, working together with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, we have secured this investment and it will be a big boost for Dudley.

"This announcement doesn’t just mean it will be easier to get round the West Midlands, it will mean 8,000 extra permanent jobs, 1,500 more houses being built each year on brownfield sites and more than half a billion pounds of capital investment in our region."

Work is set to start in 2019, with the line on track to open to passengers in Dudley in 2022 and Brierley Hill in 2023.

The Prime Minister made the announcement about the funding during a visit to the EEF Technology Hub in Birmingham, where she unveiled a national fund of £1.7billion to boost transport – the Transforming Cities Fund – along with plans to increase spending on research and development by £80billion over the next decade.