Collapse-risk pub finally set to be demolished for flats

The latest proposals would see the empty former Waggon and Horses in Smethwick flattened to make way for 11 new flats.

The pub was forced to close in August 2021 with Sandwell Council fearing the dilapidated building was at risk of ‘total’ collapse.

The application by Nottingham-based Sir Harry’s Properties includes 11 one-bed flats in a new three-storey block with 11 parking spaces.

The crumbling pub was not only a risk to patrons but passers-by and was fenced off in 2021.

Sandwell Council made several attempts to inspect the building but were brushed off by the pub’s then-owners Jasbinder Singh Kang and Amandeep Singh Shanker.

An inspection carried out by the council before the order was served found dry and wet rot throughout the building with a large leaking hole in the roof.

West Midlands Fire Service, which had raised concerns about the “dangerous condition” of the building in January 2020, accused the pub’s owners of “aggression and abuse” when refusing officers entry to inspect the crumbling building.

The order in 2021 said: “The respondents have done all but nothing to address the problems and the risks to members of the public have increased as the premises has been allowed to become increasingly dilapidated.”

Before its forced closure, the pub on the corner of Lewisham Road and Halfords Lane was a favoured haunt of West Bromwich Albion supporters with it being a short walk from the club’s home ground the Hawthorns.

Sandwell Council’s planners approved an application by Sir Henry Properties to demolish the hole-filled building in March 2022 but the work was never carried out.

A statement included with the application said: “We believe that we have compiled with the spirit of the relevant planning policies both local and national level and I’ve followed the guidance on the council’s officers. The proposal provides new apartments that are close to local centres in the city and the city centre, close to the main road, and several bus routes and therefore is in a highly sustainable location where high-density development should be encouraged.

“The proposal is considered to be in accordance with government guidelines and recent advice on planning and the emerging local plan.”