400 homes plan for Walsall set to be finally approved
Plans for more than 400 new homes in Walsall which have been on the cards for two years are set to clear the final hurdle tomorrow.
Planning bosses gave Keepmoat Homes and Walsall Housing Group the green light to built 426 houses on land at Goscote Lane in April 2017, but no work began and then a fresh application for 407 homes was submitted at the end of last year.
Walsall Council's planning committee approved the plans subject to conditions in November last year, but now the plan is coming back before councillors to allow officers to approve the plans after some tweaks have been made.
The 407 total number of homes includes 281 dwellings for private sale, 126 for affordable general needs which compromise of bungalows and houses.
Ward councillor Ian Robertson said he was delighted that work will finally start on site as the area had been plagued with anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping.
He said: "I knew there was a hold up because the developer was finishing building the other site next door, they were going to use the machinery on the new site too.
"Also there is infrastructure that needs to go in when building houses and a partnership between the developer and various other parties involved is needed to help towards the building of schools, roads and those sorts of things.
"The area has to be upgraded to accommodate all these new houses.
"The principle of the development has already been agreed, the application is just being tweaked.
"I welcome the fact there will be a new community starting up in that area and I look forward to working with them to integrate them into the existing community.
"The anti-social behaviour, people who have been going and tipping stuff and some of the travellers have also been moving onto there, so I would hope this will all come to an end and we can look forward to a positive future there.
"I would welcome the affordable houses as part of the application as they are very much needed and I look forward to the community moving in there."
The main entrance onto the site would be along the western boundary at the junction with Goscote Lane and Goscote Lane Crescent. A secondary entrance would run parallel to this, further south.
There would also be 714 car parking spaces if the plans are approved.
It is another boost for the wider Goscote Lane Corridor project that will see around 700 homes built in the area.
At the end of last year, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) announced it was allocating £3.6 million to unlock disused land along Goscote Lane to enable developers St Francis Group to bring forward a separate 263-housing scheme.
The application will go before Walsall Council's planning bosses tomorrow.
