'Too small': Homes plan for Walsall art studio-turned-office thrown out
A bid to turn an empty Walsall town centre office building into homes has been thrown out as some of the proposed flats were deemed too small.
High Gate Developments Limited wanted to transform the Goodall Street property, originally built as a studio for an art college, to create five one- and two-bedroom apartments above existing shops.
The developer said there isn’t the demand for office space in Walsall town centre any more, prompting the application for permission to convert.
But the proposal has now been refused by planning officers at Walsall Council who cited several reasons.
They said: “The proposed flat numbers 1 and 4 would have gross internal floor areas of less than 37sq. metres per flat and would fail to comply with the nationally described space standards.
“This is considered it would fail to provide an adequate level of amenity for future occupiers of the development.
“This application fails provide details of refuse bin storage and collection arrangements to ensure the satisfactory functioning of this development and to ensure that wheeled bins are not stored on the highway to the detriment of highway safety and the visual appearance of the area, which would impact on the nearby heritage assets.”
The property was built more than 100 years ago and intended as a painting studio for the old art college but was later converted into offices and shops.
Plans to convert the space into residential use were given the go-ahead back in 2015 but were shelved and remained as offices instead.
In the application, a planning statement said: “The applicant wishes to create high quality flat units suitable for medical and care staff as it is well positioned to Walsall town.
“The first floor has been used as office accommodation for a number of decades until recently.
“The current owner has concluded that there is little demand for town centre office space and it is desirable to convert the upper floor to residential use.”
