Residents oppose plans to downsize former B&Q in Halesowen

The former B&Q, now operating as a Towsure caravan supplies shop, is hoping to downsize to get rid of unwanted floor space.

But neighbours say plans would increase traffic and pollution, lead to serious noise and disruption, lower the value of their houses and affect their mental health.

As part of the plans, Towsure plans to split the warehouse into two units, with the spare unit becoming a storage unit operated by a separate company.

However, residents fear this could mean vehicles coming and going throughout the night to access the storage facility. One resident said: “The proposed plan to change one half of the building into a storage facility is not acceptable. It could potentially mean it would be accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week which would mean increased traffic to the area which is already busy.

“Increased pollution from increased traffic, noise and further problems for parking in the area and personally, I would not appreciate being woken up by people entering the storage area throughout the night. This is a street popular with families and many of my neighbours have small children and I believe this proposed facility would have an adverse effect on them.

“I also enjoy gardening and take a lot of pleasure from it – this would be affected by being able to hear cars/lorries loading and unloading at the site which would affect my mental state. The fencing included in the plans which would be 2.1 metres high would affect my view and light and I also strongly believe it would affect the value of my property. ”

The current application for the new warehouse does not include details about hours of opening or deliveries of the retail unit or the operational hours of the warehousing unit. The application form states that opening hours are “not relevant” but a Dudley planning officer has responded saying “they are a material consideration in this application and will need to be provided by the applicant.”

In a design and access statement, a representative for Towsure defended the subdivision as necessary for the company to maintain its presence in Halesowen. The representative said: “Towsure has two locations, its Sheffield headquarters and Halesowen as well as a significant online presence.

“However, the retail floor space in the building is now far too big and Towsure needs to downsize, therefore, if Towsure is to remain in Halesowen, the building needs subdividing.”