Plan to turn 'eyesore' Willenhall chapel into 14-bed house is blocked
Controversial plans to turn an 'eyesore' chapel in Willenhall into a 14-bed house of multiple occupation have been refused by development chiefs.
Members of Walsall Council's planning committee defied the advice of the authority's development officers who recommended the conversion of Providence Chapel on New Road, be granted.
Councillor Diane Coughlan, who had objected to the plans, welcomed the decision.
She said: "Residents were thrilled to bits. There are two trees on the site which hampered the planning and there is not a lot of parking on there."
"It is an eyesore and I accept that, ideally I would like to see it turned into apartments to house families rather than a HMO. Fourteen is too many for it.
"It is a beautiful building and if anyone else has ideas of what else it could be then I would like to see it."
Residents had raised concerns the HMO would attract 'undesirables' leading to anti-social behaviour and crime but council officers reiterated the findings of a Government planning inspectorate who declared there was 'no firm evidence' to associate HMOs to crime.
