Homes vision for former Dudley school
It was used to teach hundreds of schoolchildren when it first opened its doors for lessons in 1879.
But now, more than 130 years later, a former school in Coseley will convert into 16 modern homes in a £2.2 million project.
The old Mount Pleasant School in Coseley will be transformed under the plans by Dudley Council.
The ambitious scheme has been backed by council planners, paving the way for work to start if members of the council's planning committee agree and give the proposals the go-ahead.
Councillors have been recommended to approve the vision for the site, which was built as a board school in 1879 at a cost of £3,600 to accommodate 500 pupils.
The school closed in July 1986 and the building then became the home of Dudley archives and local history service. The archives moved to a new purpose built centre near the Black Country Living Museum in Tipton Road last year and since then the building has been empty.
Under the plans, the building will be converted into 16 new homes for rent. There will be 15 terraced houses located within the structure of the converted building and one detached house on the site. All but two of the houses will have gardens and there will be 27 parking spaces provided.
The architect's plans will see as much of the original architecture and features retained as possible.
A report by planning officer Faisal Agha, which will go before councillors at a meeting on April 27 says: "The development proposes the conversion of a vacant heritage asset and would make a positive contribution to the character of the area."
The proposals to convert the site into housing follows a campaign by the Friends of Mount Pleasant – which includes several former pupils – to protect the building from the bulldozer.
The Friends group had called for the old school to be protected.
Speaking at the time Brian Guest, head boy at the school during the 1950s, said: "The school played a vital role in the education of countless people in the area since it was built in 1879. We are really over the moon the council has decided to put the building to good use."
It is part of a wider £40m project by Dudley Council to create around 350 new council homes over the next five years.
