Industrial plan for site of former Walsall hotel destroyed by fire
Land which once housed a Walsall hotel which was destroyed in a huge fire is set to be used to create a new industrial and storage facility.
Pegasus Group wants to construct a new building on the former Holiday Inn site off Wolverhampton Road West which it believes will provide employment opportunities in the area.
The company has earmarked it for general industrial and storage uses while also looking to have space for parking and manoeuvring HGVs.
And the proposal has already cleared a first hurdle after Walsall Council planning officers concluded the development would not to go through an assessment for potential significant.
Pegasus will put forward a full, detailed planning application on the proposal but said mitigation measures will address any increase in noise and emissions while the existing junctions will be able to handle extra traffic generated.
The old Holiday Inn was closed when a blaze ripped through the building in August 2019, resulting in the remaining building being demolished.
No staff or guests were hurt in the incident but plans for events and occasions such as weddings were left in tatters.
A subsequent review by West Midlands Fire Service concluded the fire may have spread rapidly due to the lack of sprinklers inside the building.
In their application, Pegasus said: “The development site is a 2.2 hectare parcel of land located adjacent to Junction 10 of the M6 motorway in Walsall.
“The site formally accommodated a large hotel complex with associated parking facilities which was recently raised to the ground.
“The site is accessed off Wolverhampton Road West, a classified road which also serves a small number of residential properties. The land immediately surrounding the site to the west falls within residential use and to the north is an area of open space.
“The Highways Agency are currently carrying out significant roundabout junction improvement works to Junction 10 of the M6 which is immediately adjacent to the site to the east.
“The proposed development is for a single employment building together with HGV parking and manoeuvring areas and car parking areas.
“The development will utilise the existing access to the site from Wolverhampton Road West. The proposed uses will include storage, general industrial) and any industrial process.”
