A PETITION calling for an eyesore building in Dudley to be torn down has attracted thousands of signatures.

Ian Austin MP launched the petition earlier this month in Dudley town centre in protest that the derelict office block on Trindle Road is still standing.

The now-independent MP said: “Cavendish House is a disgraceful eyesore. I am sick and tired of being told by the council that they are going to get it knocked down. It is a blight on Dudley and it must be delaying and deterring investment in the town centre.

“I have lost count of the number of times they have told me it is about to come down, I am furious that it is still standing, and I want local residents to join me in signing my petition to put pressure on the council to sort it out.”

The petition, which can be signed here, has garnered over a thousand signatures from disgruntled residents who want to see the derelict block finally torn down.

Mr Austin now plans to take it to Dudley Council and Parliament in the coming weeks.

The demolition of the building, long regarded as a blot on the Dudley landscape, was formally approved last April after Dudley Council's development control committee unanimously gave permission to an outline planning application submitted by developers Avenbury.

Once demolished, the site will be transformed as a £82 million multi-development of retail, residential and leisure buildings.

Speaking at the planning meeting in April, then-chair of the committee, councillor Asif Ahmed, hailed the plan as a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to regenerate the town centre.

A date for the demolition has yet to be revealed.