THE wait is now on to see if an eleventh hour bid to save Dudley Hippodrome from demolition has been successful.

Campaigners raced against time to put together what they hope is a "robust plan" to refurbish the iconic Castle Hill building and create a "high quality, affordable entertainment venue with state-of-the-art disabled access" by the December 31 deadline.

The plan, which was drawn up by Friends of Dudley Hippodrome with help from a recently formed steering group, set out a range of uses for the former bingo hall, including hosting touring theatre productions, live bands, comedy acts and an annual pantomime.

The group would also ensure there were conferencing facilities and allocate space within the building that could be leased out to local businesses and organisations.

The Friends are hoping that the proposal will tick all of the right boxes and halt Dudley Council's plans to raze the building to the ground and replace it with public open space.

Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, cabinet member for planning and economic development, said the council would be asking independent assessors to look at the revised proposal, before responding to the Friends group later on this month.

He continued: "In the meantime, cabinet made a very clear decision at the beginning of December to allow us to seek permission to demolish the building, subject to some further work about the most appropriate replacement development for the site, and we are currently working on this.

“We have listened long and hard to all of the alternative suggestions for the former bingo hall and hippodrome building, but we have to draw a line under this to avoid spiralling costs for all tax payers."