Fame! Music performance school on the way as plans approved for Brierley Hill

The school proposed at Cable Plaza, Waterfront West, was given the green light at a meeting of Dudley Council's development control committee on Wednesday night.

It will provide 600 places and 44 jobs.

Higher education and post graduate music courses will be taught at the performance school, with students being able to benefit from facilities including a lecture theatre, classrooms, practice rooms, a library, recording studios, an independent radio station, a sound and light control room, a live music venue, a retail outlet, licensed bar and student accommodation.

It will give students the chance to gain fully-accredited degrees, which will specialise in performance, production, education, management and composition.

Dudley Council is contributing £25,000 towards the build, with the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and private partners providing further funding.

As well as providing education to students, the new school aims to develop a close relationship with community groups in the area, further education providers, organisations and charities, through a variety of workshops, weekend courses and events.

The planning documents which accompanied the application to Dudley Council outlined how the ground floor will be divided into smaller practice rooms, recording studios, and rehearsal spaces.

On the first floor there will be a number of classrooms, tutorial rooms, a library, ancillary spaces, and a large, open workspace to allow for informal lectures and seminars.

A staff room and offices will be located on the second floor.

The existing 188 parking spaces allocated to Cable Plaza at the Waterfront site, will be kept for the use of the school.

The plans were submitted on behalf of the Birmingham Institute of Contemporary Musical Performance.

The application was approved at Wednesday's meeting. Chair of the development control committee, Councillor Jackie Cowell, said: "I think it's a good thing to bring to the area, and will bring life back."

"I think all of us councillors were pleased to see this plan."

A letter in support of the application was submitted by a Brierley Hill resident, who stated: "It would bring an unused building back into use and the music institute could potentially benefit Brierley Hill not only economically but also socially and culturally.

"It could also act as a catalyst for regeneration by promoting the town and attracting more occupants to the Waterfront complex in particular and the area in general."