“IT can’t become another Cavendish House – not on my watch," the leader of Dudley Council declared ahead of a meeting that could see the keys to the town’s Hippodrome handed back to the local authority.

Black Country Hippodrome Ltd (BCHL) – which was handed a five-year lease to the building by the council in December 2016 – has failed to achieve key milestones, according to council officers.

A report, which will go before the council’s cabinet next Thursday (February 8), states that BCHL drafted five key milestones to be achieved by August last year as a condition of the lease.

But four of those – completing and documenting a feasible funding strategy; providing that funding strategy to the landlord; carrying out a complete feasibility study on the project; and starting to carry out building surveys and drawing up a proposed scheme – have not been achieved, despite being given extra time.

Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of the council, said: “It is with regret and a heavy heart that we have to do this. We wanted BCHL to make it work.

“But we have given the group every opportunity, including extra time, to prove it could get this off the ground.

“Now we feel is the time to say enough is enough."

He continued: “Overall, while some progress has been made in certain aspects, that progress has been slow. The council feels there is not enough clear evidence in place to give us a belief the group can deliver what it wants to deliver.

“Let’s not forget, when the group were handed the keys, they pledged to have it open by 2020. We’re only two years away from that and it’s difficult to see what has been done other than a lick of paint.

"It’s still full of asbestos, they can’t even get in there at the moment because it’s so unsafe.

“While this is ongoing, the Hippodrome building is an eyesore."

Cllr Harley added: “It can’t become another Cavendish House – not on my watch, particularly as we have finally got a solution for that building.

“We’re going to finally get rid of Cavendish House, and have exciting plans for the land and Dudley town centre as a whole.

"We can’t afford to have another large building lying empty as a blot on the landscape as long as that did.

“We’ve given BCHL every chance – now is the time to look forward and see what other options we have.”

At the meeting, the cabinet will be asked to approve recommendations which would see the authority’s legal services department instructed to start procedures “leading to forfeiture of the lease”.

If that is approved, a further report will go before the cabinet at a meeting later in the year setting out proposals for the future use of the building and site.