Plans to demolish ‘condemned’ former Wolverhampton church for new houses turned down by council

The City of Wolverhampton Council turned down a move to knock down the empty former Fordhouses Methodist Church off Stafford Road, Wolverhampton, and replace it with nine two- and three-bedroom homes.

The local authority’s planners said the site had been “established” for community use and would be ‘overdeveloped’ with nine new homes – calling the plan’s layout, design and landscaping “poor.”

The council also said the asking price for the site had been set “unrealistically high” at £450,000.

“There are thus significant shortcomings associated with the marketing exercise undertaken, which is an important factor in leading the council to conclude that ‘all reasonable efforts’ have not been made to retain the facility or provide an alternative community facility,” a council report outlining the decision said.

“Even if we were to accept that the marketing was robust, as stated above, the offer from a fitness centre operator would have been a better use of the building, and that an offer was made shows it was viable as a use.

The council also said the building should have been marketed for at least 18 months rather than the six it had been.

City of Wolverhampton Council’s planners criticised the plans for being cramped and including “too small” gardens.

“The number of houses should be significantly reduced and provided with far larger rear gardens to respect the character and appearance of the surrounding pattern of development and the surrounding spacious garden land to be an acceptable scheme in this regard,” the council added.

The church closed in March 2020 because of falling congregation numbers and has been empty since. The 90-year-old building has since been condemned by the council, according to the application by Birmingham-based developer Meronford, after its roof collapsed exposing asbestos.

The building sold for £205,000 last year. An enquiry over building 13 homes and flats on the land was met unenthusiastically by Wolverhampton’s planners when it was put forward in 2023. The council said the scale of the plans would be “too intensive” for the area and bemoaned the loss of a community facility.

The revised plans were “in keeping with the character of the area” according to Meronford and it was “uneconomic” for the church to have stayed open or re-open.

A statement included with the application said: “The existing site is currently in a semi-derelict state having ceased functioning as a Methodist church over four years ago. The building is now condemned as unsafe by the council following a partial roof collapse.

“The proposal is to repurpose this derelict site to provide low to mid-range housing with a social mix of two-and-three bedroom semi-detached and terraced dwellings.

“Overall, the repurposing of this site for residential development is considered the most appropriate reuse of this vacant brownfield site.

“It represents the opportunity to provide a windfall site with a scheme of architectural merit whilst assisting the city to meet its housing supply commitments.”