150 names collected on petition to stop Victorian school in Wolverhampton being demolished

The petition has been set up to try and save the old Tettenhall Wood Special School building from being demolished by developers who are looking to build homes on the site.

Set up by Patricia Hazenberg-Morris, the petition description says its purpose it to 'preserve local history' and 'maintain our village appearance'.

She says: "Local people have expressed their dismay and disappointment towards the new plans. The building itself reflects how village life used to be and has numerous happy memories from the parents whose children attended and from students who attended school.

"There has been an influx of new buildings wherever there is an opportunity. The area has been swamped with new housing and it is time to stop and preserve our history."

Plans to build 10 homes and a food store at the Woodland Avenue site have been shared with members of the community through a consultation leaflet by company Pegasus Group, delivered to 2,000 homes.

The plans have raised concerns within the Tettenhall community, whose neighbourhood plan specifically states the Victorian school building should retain its frontage so the streetscape can remain the same.

Cyril Randles, chairman of the Tettenhall neighbourhood plan steering group, has said the group isn't against development in the area in principle, but are very keen to preserve what they feel are important parts of the town's history.

The petition, set up on Saturday (MAY 2), has already attracted scores of online signatures.

Some have also commented on the page, with Mike Wedge, saying: "I was born and brought up 'on the Wood', and am disgusted that its village character is being destroyed. This is one development too far."

Hannah Ord says she has 'grown up here', and it would make a terrible addition to the area.

One commenter, whose name was not made public, says: "This was my village school and I had many happy times and memories. Do not spoil Tettenhall Wood by demolishing it."

David Onions, an associate at Pegasus said that planning policies are always open to interpretation and that he believes the proposals do fit in with the neighbourhood plan.