New homes plan cancelled after no answers received to canal safety concerns

The application for outline planning permission for a change to residential use of a derelict building opposite 206 to 218 Moor Street in Brierley Hill dated back to November 2020.

The old office building had been the subject of a number of previous planning applications including a refusal due to highways issues.

Councillor Paul Bradley, deputy leader of the council, said: “We have made repeated attempts to contact the applicant requesting further information, but without success.

“The application has therefore been finally disposed in accordance with the correct planning procedures.”

The site is bordered by the canal and The Canal and River Trust was among the organisations asking for more information.

In a report to the council the trust said: “The offside bank of the canal would, as a result of the proposal, be bounded by the upper and lower car parks and the single width interconnecting access ramp.

“We consider that full details of the proposed ramp are necessary to assess the risk of structural failure affecting the adjacent canal.”

The trust added it considered the matter to be pertinent to the safe functioning of the waterway and also said there was insufficient information in the application regarding surface water drainage.

Severn Trent Water also had worries and asked for more details on drainage plans for surface and foul water.

Severn Trent said: “The scheme shall be implemented in accordance with the approved details before the development is first brought into use.

“This is to ensure that the development is provided with a satisfactory means of drainage as well as to prevent or to avoid exacerbating any flooding issues and to minimise the risk of pollution.”

In a planning statement submitted with the application in 2020, John Flavell for JKF Ltd said: “There are no reasons to withhold permission and this should be done swiftly so the site can can be brought back into use and rid the area of an unsightly building which is attracting the wrong type of attention causing distress to the local residents.”