Plans to turn Dudley Zoo into a world class tourist attraction have been handed a blow, as Advantage West Midlands has withdrawn its pledged £5m of funding.
However, the zoo, along with Dudley Council, is still hoping for some European funding to come through, with the zoo’s chief executive, Peter Suddock, telling local paper the Express and Star: “It is not a question of if we will get the money, but when.”
The original proposals, planned back in 2005, included a 20m-high rainforest dome and the creation of Origins at the foot of Castle Hill, containing exhibitions and educational facilities setting out the geological history of Dudley and palaeontology – the origins of dinosaurs and the creation of the earth.
However, these plans – which also included a garden centre, fitness club, pub, motel, a number of food and drink outlets, creche and 43 retail units – were dropped in 2008, when developer St Modwen pulled out.
