£50 MILLION BID TO MAKE BLACK COUNTRY GREEN

24-10-2007

The Black Country will battle for £50 Million in Lottery funding after making it through to the last four of a national regeneration competition. The winner will be decided in a TV and online vote in December.

All four local councils in the area - Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Walsall - have joined forces to try and create the Black Country Urban Park.

The plan is to unveil the "forgotten" caverns beneath Dudley, create a 12-mile 'green bridge' park linking Walsall and West Bromwich town centres, and spruce up Wolverhampton's canal network.

The Black Country will be fighting for the cash in an ITV programme starting in November.

The three rivals are the Eden Project which is planning an "iconic" extension; Sherwood Forest; and Sustrans2, designed to extend the national cycling and walkway network.