Disused Rowley Regis pub to be demolished for ‘ultra-modern’ flats despite road concerns
A former pub will be demolished to make way for new flats.
Sandwell Council has backed a move to knock down the empty former Wheatsheaf pub in Rowley Regis and replace it with 20 ‘ultra-modern’ flats.
There were concerns about the flats plan by Jugraaj Singh with some objectors saying that two dozen more cars using the “perilous” and “dangerous” four-way junction on the corner of Turners Hill would be a recipe for disaster.
Objectors had also said the surrounding streets were already congested and the application did not provide enough parking space for visitors. This would also make the already congested roads during busy pick-up and drop-off times at nearby Oakham Primary School even worse, the objectors said.
But highways officers at Sandwell Council said they had “no serious safety concerns” about the plan and stated that the building’s former use as a pub would have attracted more cars than the proposed flats.
The council’s highways department also said that parking spaces for visitors to the flats could be “comfortably” accommodated on nearby streets.
The ‘ultra-modern’ design of the three-storey building also came into criticism from a dozen objectors.
Planning officers at Sandwell Council had welcomed the move and had recommended to councillors it should be approved.
“The development will not harm the openness of the Rowley Hills, provides a good quality scheme that would deliver much-needed homes within the borough and raises no amenity issues,” the council said.
Councillors gave the plan the green light in July and the council has now signed off on the work after a section 106 agreement was negotiated.
A section 106 agreement is a legal document between the developer and the council with stipulations that can include money for roads, schools, healthcare and town centre improvements.
A planning application was first submitted to the council in 2022 which included a ground-floor shop as well as a number of flats.
The application was later redrawn after receiving criticism and scrapped the shop for extra flats.
