Landmark pub the Button Factory Inn is saved

A landmark Black Country pub has been saved from the bulldozer after plans to flatten the historic building to make way for a care home were thrown out.

Councillors in Dudley voted in favour of preserving the Button Factory Inn in Halesowen which had been earmarked for demolition.

Ideal Care Homes wanted permission to knock down the pub in Alexandra Road to make way for a three-storey, 48-bed home for elderly residents.

But conservation officers at Dudley Council objected to the proposals saying the building was important because it was designed by Black Country architect Albert Thomas Butler.

He drew up plans for the pub in 1911 and was also behind designs for the Cradley Heath Workers' Institute, which was rebuilt brick by brick at the Black Country Living Museum last year.

Councillors at a meeting last night agreed with the officers' recommendation to refuse the plans, saying the building was too important to lose.

Committee member Councillor Geoffrey Southall said: "Demolition would be a raging disaster. It is a really beautiful building. I accept it's redundant as it stands but I would be very unhappy to see it demolished."

Committee chairman Councillor Tim Wright said: "I can not see why the building cannot be incorporated into the design." Speaking on behalf of the applicant, Phil Brock said the care centre would create 34 full-time equivalent jobs.

"The building is no longer viable as a pub," he added.

Under the plans the red-brick, L-shaped design home would have bedrooms and bathrooms as well as offices, communal lounges and dining rooms. A courtyard garden would be built outside for residents and staff.

The pub, which is being marketed by estate agents James A Parker and is currently under offer, is still trading with temporary management. It was named after the James Grove & Sons Ltd button factory in nearby Stourbridge Road.