Plans to turn historic pub into car-hire yard rejected after 'overwhelming objection'
Plans to turn part of a 162-year-old Black Country pub into a car-hire centre have been rejected following objections from residents.
Dudley Council has rejected an application to partially redevelop the vacant Blue Brick pub in Brierley Hill by Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
Fourteen residents, backed by Dudley North MP Marco Longhi, lodged objections to the plans, which would have seen the installation of a car wash. The scheme included parking for 25 vehicles at the site on the corner of Dudley Road and Wallows Road.
The Dudley and South Staffordshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale has also lodged an objection saying that the Blue Brick still has potential to reopen and serve the community.
The pub, originally The Commercial Inn, has been empty since the summer of 2022 when licensee Sarah Hetherington shut up shop due to falling trade. It was sold by Admiral Taverns the following October.
The ground floor was damaged in a fire that broke out in the four-storey building in July last year.
