Residents concerned over housing plans impact on roads
Concerns over potential parking issues and school over-crowding have been raised in relation to proposals to build new homes on disused land.
A planning application submitted by whg is set to be discussed at a Walsall Council planning committee meeting on Thursday which would see 33 new homes built on land to the west of Teddesley Street, in the St Matthews ward of the town.
The site had previously housed two high rise sets of flats, with 46 parking spaces provided.
However, councillor Aftab Nawaz, who represents the ward, says that the site is currently used by vans belonging to whg to park up and claims residents are concerned that the space being transformed into homes will see those vans move onto nearby streets.
Councillor Nawaz said: "In principle, I am not against the plans, they are bringing a disused area back into use and creating new homes.
"However, this has to be done right, we need to know that whg are going to be working with us to ensure that these problems don't become a reality.
"The roads in this area are busy as it is, so taking away this space which is used for these vans could lead to all sorts of problems."
The plans are set to be delegated to the Head of Planning, Engineering and Transportation to grant permission subject to conditions and completion of a S106 agreement for affordable homes and urban open space.
A statement compiled by council planning inspectors addresses these concerns and reads: "The Booth and O’Hare House high rise flats were demolished some years ago an part of the site is used for trade parking for WHG.
"WHG confirm they are committed to ensuring that the parking of WHG vans does not create problems for local residents and will be minimising the need for trades colleagues to attend meetings at Hatherton Street.
"WHG has an agreement with the Council that vans can park on Ward Street public car park."
Councillor Nawaz also says that there are concerns amongst residents regarding the potential for over-crowding at the nearby Butts Primary School.
He said: "We have issues across Walsall at the moment with pupils not getting into the schools they want to.
"If you think that there could potentially be an extra 33 children or more coming to the area, with the school just down the right, that could lead to problems there."
