Casino planned for Oldbury M5 spot

A £15 million new casino development in the Black Country is set to be considered by planning chiefs.

Developer St Modwen has submitted plans to Sandwell Council for the project near the M5 in Oldbury.

Amy Culora, spokeswoman for the Rank Group, which is behind the plan, said the company was keen to start work as soon as it was given the go-ahead.

"We've moved forward by submitting the application and now we are looking forward to receiving feedback from the planning department," she said.

"Obviously this is a long process and it does take time but it will all be worth it in the end."

The council, meanwhile, is seeking, more information.

The new casino, hotel and office complex would be built on a triangle of land to the south side of the Birchley Island adjacent to the M5 slip road.

It would create 180 jobs — 120 in the casino, 80 of which would be full-time.

The office complex would create 35 jobs, and the new hotel would have openings for 20 jobs.

Scores more positions would also be created in the construction industry as the development is built.

The new casino would be a Grosvenor Casino and could be open as early as 2012.

A blanket ban on casinos was introduced in Sandwell in 2006 because councillors feared that they might encourage gambling in an area of high deprivation.

However, Rank Group was awarded its licence five years ago, before the ban came into force.

The land is owned by Sandwell Council and St Modwen.