Wednesbury housing development expected to go ahead

The two, three and four bedroom houses and bungalows will be built at Harvills Hawthorne in the town. The scheme is part of the Hawthorne Field Private Finance Initiative development which will see 21 parcels of land covering 5.7 hectares redeveloped.

The initial phases of regeneration within the area have already been undertaken which saw 900 homes refurbished, and the demolition of more than 130 properties which have been rebuilt or replaced with new council homes.

The new development is being undertaken by Lovell Partnership Ltd, and will see land off Wedgewood Place, St Vincent Crescent, Pemberton Road, Dial Lane, Norbury Road and Ashmole Road developed.

A planning application has now been submitted to Sandwell Council for the development. This has previously been cleared of outdated and unsuitable homes.

The plans say that design of the houses has been influenced by the existing houses in the area, and are of a similar size and will have similar frontages.

A report by Kamaldeep Saini from Alliance Planning said there will be 205 two storey houses, 17 bungalows and 11 three storey homes. They will be mostly built out of red brick and will have a modern contemporary feel. The bungalows will be for sheltered housing.

Ms Saini adds in the report: "Furthermore, the development will see the delivery of a variety of house types through the varied plot sizes and internal layouts."

Sandwell's housing boss Councillor Mahboob Hussain said: "We have allocated £15 million worth of land for development for housing in Sandwell.

"I expect it to go through within eight to ten weeks."