Shed at former Oldbury brickworks set for approval
A scheme to build industrial units on the banks of the Birmingham Old Main Line Canal in Sandwell will head before planners this week with a recommendation for approval – despite the site being earmarked for residential development.
Applicant Ryedale Property Development lodged plans to build a 7,700 sq ft industrial unit on the edge of a residential area on Summerton Road in Oldbury in September.
The site, which sits in an area of mixed industrial and residential uses, is allocated for residential use in the area’s local development plan as part of a wider allocation – however a previous residential scheme was turned down in 2017 over noise concerns for residents.
That decision was later backed up by government planning inspectors, who dismissed an appeal over the decision in 2018.
Sandwell Council’s planning committee will meet to discuss the scheme as part of a busy agenda on Wednesday, 7 January, after the proposals received the backing of the authority’s planning officers this week, who admitted the site would be “very challenging to develop” for residential purposes.
And while the scheme attracted no objections from neighbours at the nearby residential area in Summerton Road, the Canal and River Trust urged planners to consider the impact of the scheme on the canal’s historic setting.
The trust said its records show that the site was previously home to two historic canal basins, which served a 19th century brickworks on the site – and urged the council to consider an archaeological assessment of the site.
The organisation also called for a discussion with the council and the applicant on towpath improvements, which it said could serve “increased usage resulting from the proposed development”, and improve the quality of the canal environment.
In response to the concerns, Sandwell Council have recommended a condition be added to ensure the area’s “potential heritage value” was recognised.
The application will be discussed at a meeting of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council’s planning committee on Wednesday, 7 January.
