Work on £9.5m Black Country music school almost complete
Work on a £9.5 million music school is almost complete as the keys were formally handed over by the contractors.
Finishing touches are being put to the Resonance music institute in Brierley Hill which will soon be welcoming its first students.
It will launch at the Cable Plaza building on the Waterfront Business Park, which has undergone a complete refit over the last six months.
The building includes a mixture of classrooms, lecture theatres, recording studios, practice rooms and a radio station, completely transforming the former office building, which has been empty for eight years.
Resonance will cater for 600 students, is due to open later this year and will boast top facilities.
The facility will teach everything from music performance and production to composition and business and is expected to be among the leading music schools in the region.
The revamp has been carried out by Overbury and the work is now almost complete, with the school already planning for open days.
David Barnard, co-director at Resonance, said: “The building looks fantastic. Overbury has done a wonderful job. The project was completed on time and to budget.
“Now comes the fun part, breathing life and music into this amazing institute.”
Andrew Wood, managing director at Birmingham-based Overbury, said: “Resonance has been a fantastic project for us to work on, and we’re proud to have been part of this remarkable transformation.
“We wish Resonance all the best in the future and hope its students enjoy the facilities.”
Councillor Ian Kettle, regeneration boss at Dudley Council, said: “It’s great to see that the conversion works at Cable Plaza have been completed to turn the building into a state-of-the-art music institute.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have a look around and it is really, really impressive what they’ve done with the place.
“I look forward to the first intake of students coming on board in September, and for this facility to become a flagship development on the Waterfront and at the heart of our DY5 Enterprise Zone.”
Applications to Resonance are now being accepted and must be made directly through the institute via its website resonance-edu.org.
