Dozens of new homes could be built on Walsall community centre due to close down

Walsall Council has put forward proposals for the demolition of buildings and erection of 73 houses to be built at Sneyd Community Association on Vernon Way in Bloxwich.

The land was once home to Sneyd Comprehensive School and the Black Country University Technical College (BCUTC) which closed in 2011 and 2015 respectively.

Sneyd Community Association currently operates from the site but trustees agreed to wind down the services provided at the site in March next year.

The community swimming pool closed last year after a huge crack was discovered in it and the repairs were deemed too expensive by the local authority.

The 14.29 hectares land is situated in the Green Belt but representatives for the council said the development would not result in any harm and provide much needed housing for the area.

Agents Lambert Smith Hampton said: “The Sneyd Community Association (CA) currently provides educational, recreational and social activities from the building and its surrounding outdoor facilities.

“However, at a board meeting on 1st March 2024, the trustees of the CA agreed to wind down the service it provides from the site, with a view to closing the charity at the end of March 2025.

“It is important to note that over the course of the following year, the CA intends to seek alternative accommodation within its catchment area in order to ensure the continuation of community facilities.

“It has been possible to establish an illustrative residential development scheme of 73 dwellings, comprising 23 two-beds, 41 three-beds and nine four-beds.

“The illustrative scheme is formed of a mix of terraced and semi-detached and detached properties, which responds both to the ‘urban fringe’ character of the site and residential surrounding, most notably the residential estate of Mossley to the east.”

They added: “With reference to national planning policy that concerns ‘exceptional development’ within the Green Belt, it is strongly considered that the proposal qualifies as the redevelopment of previously developed land, which notably would not have a greater impact on the openness of the Green Belt than the existing building, nor cause substantial harm to the openness of the Green Belt.”