Victory! Two eyesore silos to be torn down at Black Country factory

Sandwell Council has told cooking oil manufacturer KTC Edibles to stop work on the structures following complaints they were towering over homes.

Now the authority, which stepped in to resolve the row, has ordered them to be taken down from the site on the Tipton and Wednesbury border following talks with the firm.

There are plans for the silos to be moved to another part of the site, where they would be out of sight, but a planning application will need to be submitted to the council.

Planning officers, who met bosses at the firm, say the silos which are at the back of the factory cannot be seen from the front of the site, off Moorcroft Drive.

They believe that moving the silos to the front of the factory would mean the reverse would also be true and the residents would no longer be able to see them.

Nick Bubalo, Sandwell's director of regeneration and economy, said: "We have met with the company owners who have been very cooperative and there are plans for the removal of the silos and for them to be positioned in another part of the site.

"The new plans will be submitted as a planning application and we will deal with it as quickly as possible."

"Given the silos cannot be seen in their current position from the front of the building I am of the view that the reverse will apply and that sited to the front of the building they will not be able to be seen by neighbouring residential properties," he added.

Residents had branded the silos, which had been built without planning permission in recent weeks, 'eyesores that must be removed'.

Many had been concerned their house prices could plummet as a result of them being built.

Lin Brooks, who lives in Charlotte Road, which is a half a mile away from the factory, welcomed the news that the silos would be taken down.

"They really are unsightly. I can see them from the road in front of my bungalow.

"I am pleased they are going to move them. Fingers crossed it works and no one can see them anymore," she added.

It is expected a planning application to relocate the silos will be submitted next week.

The proposal will then go before councillors at a meeting in June when a final decision will be made.

KTC Edibles has written to residents to inform them of the plans.

The firm declined to comment when contacted by the Express & Star.