Developers 'misleading' residents over Wolverhampton retirement apartment plans

McCarthey & Stone has revealed plans to bulldoze The Clock House in Stockwell Road, Tettenhall and replace it was a block of 22 retirement apartments.

But the move has led to a residents revolt, with one community activist questioning the accuracy of the information supplied in the firm's planning application.

Alex Murray, a resident of The Cedars and leader of Save Tettenhall's Open Spaces, said: "McCarthy and Stone have stated that they had changed their proposals following consultation with residents, reducing the height of the wings from three storeys to 2.5 storeys.

"What they failed to say is that they had made the building four floors in the centre.

"They stated that they had removed a coach house but failed to say they had added these residencies into the main building, making the overall mass larger.

"They also said they are going shield the development from properties on their southern border by additional trees and shrubbery.

"As the building is going to be at least 10 metres tall and runs the length of the boundary I can't see how this will happen.

"The biggest joke is that they state they have responded to local residents wishes.

"The message from local residents at the last meeting they attended was that we don't want it, we don't need it and we want them to leave our conservation area alone."

The concern over loss of conservation land is shared by Colin Carr, who runs the website tettenhall.co.uk.

He said: The many local residents, who love and use Tettenhall Green and its open spaces are concerned about these plans.

"Developers, and in particular McCarthy & Stone with their continuing plan for homes for the elderly, are turning Tettenhall into a place to die rather than a place to live.

"The mass and scale of what McCarthy & Stone are proposing and indeed building already on the High Street in Tettenhall, are jaw dropping, and simply not needed or wanted by most village residents.

"The price of this progress isn't right."

Darren Humphreys, Regional Managing Director at McCarthy and Stone, Midlands, denied the claims.

He said: "We appreciate that planning applications can generate considerable local interest.

"As a result, McCarthy and Stone is committed to consulting with local communities prior to submitting a full planning application".

"For Stockwell Road we have carefully revised and improved the design of our original plans to take on board, where possible, local comments and to ensure neighbouring amenity is respected.

"Specific amendments include reducing the development's footprint, removing the separate coach-house element and reducing the height of the building's wings from three storeys to 2.5 storeys.

"I can confirm that no part of the proposed building's height has been increased from the original plans, which were first presented to neighbours for comment in July 2014".