Talks on Oldbury homes being included in £30m plan
Homes could be built as part of a long-awaited £30 million development in Oldbury that was originally earmarked just for shops and leisure.
Plans for the 16-acre development known as The Junction at Oldbury Ringway have been in the pipeline for more than a decade, but the project has repeatedly stalled.
Last year the land was taken over by retail group Hammerson and today Sandwell's deputy council leader said the possibility for introducing housing at the site was now being discussed.
Councillor Mahboob Hussain, deputy leader at Sandwell Council said: "The new owners have taken over, we are talking to them and we are talking to them about what they are proposing to do.
"We are hoping that in the next two to three months a final decision could be made, whether they are going to submit the new planning application or what the they are going to do with that piece of land.
"They will need to resubmit a new planning application and we have the other option for housing.
"Before it was only retail but I have said to the officers they need to start talking to them if they cannot attract big stores, the possibility for considering housing."
In November the council started negotiations with Hammerson to sell them land for the £30m leisure development in Oldbury.
Hammerson acquired the Oldbury site along with the rest of The Junction Unit Trust's portfolio for £255m in October.
The council owns 4.3 hectares of the development land and the existing council car park and they had been expected to be part of the development.
