Wolverhampton homes to be axed due to noise
Part of the £5 million redevelopment of Heath Town has been scrapped due to fears over noise pollution.
The project would have seen flats, offices, garages and a GP surgery bulldozed to make way for 364 homes on both sides of Wednesfield Road.
But council bosses have ditched plans to develop a plot of land between Inkerman Street and Grosvenor Street after a survey found the noise level from a neighbouring plastics factory to be 'extreme'.
A report to the authority's petitions committee states: "The development of this site is rendered inappropriate in light of the consistent high noise readings obtained, and the fact that the factory runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"Whilst homes can be designed to protect the occupiers from high noise levels, this would be at great expense and would deliver units which are unlikely to be desirable.
"The effect of this finding is to show that the development of the site for housing is unviable."
The authority is now set to launch a public consultation over alternative uses for the land.
The report adds: "Officers will discuss what alternative options may be for this site, which is currently poorly used and subject to anti-social behaviour."
In December a 315-signature petition was submitted by the Heath Town Tenants and Residents Association opposing plans to build houses on the Inkerman Street site.
It asked for the land to be retained for use by local youth for sports, but council bosses said the development was vital to 'help the whole project work financially'.
Councillor Milkinder Jaspal, who represents Heath Town, said: "A lot of residents opposed the building of houses on this site as they wanted to retain it as an open space.
"The surveys conducted show that if development took place the issues with noise would be so serious that the site would not be attractive to potential tenants.
"We've made the right decision based on the facts, so I'm not too disappointed. This will not impact on the rest of the project."
The ambitious Heath Town Regeneration project has been in the pipeline for two years and is aimed at revamping one of the most rundown estates in the city.
It would see the Chervil Rise flats and shopping precinct demolished and replaced with new homes and the sports pitches on Long Ley revamped.
The first part of the scheme will see a new GP surgery built on the old Duke of York site.
