A NEW ambulance hub could be built in Dudley as part of major plans to improve older stations.

West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) said five of its hubs across the region – including Dudley - will be reviewed for either an upgrade or replacement.

A report which was discussed by WMAS’s board of directors on January 26 states that ambulance hubs in Dudley, Worcester, Hereford, Shropshire, and Bromsgrove were “operating beyond their design limits” or unable to support the NHS future environmental goals.

The report outlines two options for Dudley’s hub on Burton Road as it is “an unusual shape”.

It notes: “It is in a good location but is also becoming very congested unless we grow the footprint of the site through purchasing adjacent land, the options are a) purchase additional adjacent land and redevelop the site or, b) dispose of the current site and replace it with a purpose-built new hub in line with our operating model.”

The improvements to all five hubs would “require significant funding over the next five years” but “provide a much-required capacity increase”.

Work has also started on the new site in Oldbury which is set to be completed by June this year.

The new site will initially be used as an operating base for support of the Commonwealth Games at the end of July.