New 260-home Bloxwich estate set for go-ahead
Plans for more than 260 homes at a former industrial site in Bloxwich blighted by anti-social behaviour are set to get the go-ahead.
Outline proposals for the 263 new homes on the old Elkington brass works and Cerro EMS factory in Goscote Lane have been recommended for approval.
The site has lain derelict for nearly a decade and has ‘fallen into disrepair’, according to the developers.
Walsall Council bosses have been urged to give the plans the green light at a planning committee meeting tonight.
Blakenall ward councillor Ann Young welcomed the plans, saying they would inject life into a vacant site and help meet the borough's housing need.
Councillor Young told the Express & Star: “If it goes through I will be very pleased as it’s a site that’s been derelict for so long.
"There has been anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping there, and it looks like an eyesore.
“Of course it’s also in our regeneration belt so ties in nicely with work that has already been done.
"I just hope there is enough affordable homes for local people.
“Anything that improves that site given what residents have had to put up with will be a bonus.”
As part of the plans there will also be three new points of access, and main estate roads built for the site.
A report for the meeting urges councillors to ‘delegate to the head of planning, engineering and transportation to grant permission subject to conditions’.
A design statement submitted by developers St Francis Group and the Homes and Communities Agency says: “The regeneration of brownfield land formerly occupied by the Cerro EMS and Elkington Works presents the opportunity to comprehensively redevelop this long-standing redundant industrial site to create a new residential development .
"The underlying strategy is to regenerate Goscote Works to help transform the area and create a high quality environment which is fully integrated within the existing urban structure and meets the needs of modern living, offering a range of housing options that reflect varying housing needs.
"The site has the opportunity to provide a range of new housing, identified as a strategic priority for Walsall Council and WHG as well as enhanced links to the natural features of the area which will benefit the community as a whole."
