Tettenhall retirement flats row: We've been hung out to dry, say furious residents

Furious residents claim they have been 'hung out to dry' by council bosses after controversial plans for a block of retirement apartments in Tettenhall were granted following an appeal to the planning inspectorate.

Last year Wolverhampton council's planning committee threw out McCarthy and Stone's scheme to build 22 flats on Stockwell Road in a unanimous decision.

It prompted the firm to lodge an appeal with the national planning inspectorate.

The appeal was heard at a meeting at the Civic Centre last October and resulted in the original decision being overturned.

But nearby residents claim they have been 'let down' and 'hung out to dry' by the council, after it emerged that the authority failed to provide any legal representation at the hearing.

McCarthy and Stone was represented by a team of 10 at the meeting, including a top barrister and several other legal experts.

The house that will be demolished in Stockwell Road, Tettenhall, after plans for retirement flats were granted

Councillor Jonathan Yardley, who represents Tettenhall Regis and sits on the council's planning committee, said: "We feel we have been completely let down by the council. We had threadbare numbers representing our case and no legal representation because the head of planning said we couldn't afford it. We were up against a crack team and ended up getting slaughtered.

We are now left with the prospect of a development that will be the equivalent of having the QE2 towering over the village green."

The development had met strong opposition over concerns about the negative impact on the village's conservation areas. The plans will see the current building bulldozed and replaced with a giant complex of apartments and a car park.

Some residents have accused the authority of 'deliberately fielding a weakened team' so the city could receive £360,000 in section 106 money as part of the deal.

Cyril Randles, chair of the Tettenhall District Community Council, said: "Part of the reason the LNP was set up was to preserve conservation areas in the village. We feel the council did not place enough weight behind our work.

Nick Edwards, Wolverhampton council's service director for city assets, said: "The council fielded a team of professional, senior planning officers appropriate for an informal inquiry of this nature.

"The officers involved provided a robust defence of the council's decision."