Council building to be pulled down making way for new heating system station
A dilapidated town centre building will be pulled down to make way for a plant room as part of a heating system upgrade for Walsall Council. The eyesore two-storey building on Darwall Street was previously used by the Electoral Services Department but has since fallen into disrepair.
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The building, which sits within the Lichfield Street Conservation Area, will be replaced with a new single-storey air source heat pump (ASHP) compound. Agent BCHN Architects LLP said the new building will be ‘sympathetically designed’ to match the surrounding character and appearance of the area.
The project forms part of the heating system upgrade for the town hall and council house, both Grade II listed buildings, to meet the council’s carbon reduction targets. The proposed works include related resurfacing works, radiator replacement and new air conditioning units in several of the committee rooms and the Lord Mayor’s Parlour.
Several conditions have been put in place as part of the planning permission. Before any works take place, construction statements and demolition plans must be submitted – and approved – detailing construction working hours, access and parking for the site operatives, waste disposal plans, and dust and flying debris mitigation.
A noise impact assessment must be approved to safeguard nearby amenities and occupants from any noise emitted by the air source heat pumps, a flood report to prevent an increase in flood risk, plus a detailed report of proposed materials used for the exterior of the substation to ensure it matches the surrounding listed buildings.
Finally, the gates must be installed in a way that they can not be deliberately or accidentally opened outwards across the footpath, only inwards onto the site.
