£2m animal hospital takes a step forward
A new £2 million animal hospital has taken a step forward after plans were recommended for approval. The plans come after an increase in demand for services by the PDSA at its current base in Hagley Road, Quinton.
The new centre would be built on Wolverhampton Road, in Oldbury, if councillors back the scheme at a meeting on April 23. The charity has been raising money to fund the construction of the new hospital, which would have a spacious, two-storey waiting area, which has been designed to keep the area cool and well ventilated.
The rest of the building would be single storey and have two operating theatres, a dental theatre and six consulting rooms as well as staff accommodation.
Plans to build a new animal hospital in the borough have been in the pipeline since 2011.
A letter sent to Sandwell Council's planning department by Anthony Keith Architects Ltd on behalf of the charity said: "The PDSA is a charity which provides veterinary services free to those who cannot afford them and has a centre on Hagley Road, Quinton, which is too small for their current needs.
"The staff from Hagley Road will be transferred to the new centre and additional staff taken on.
"The site has been chosen because it is located within the community it seeks to serve and is on a main public transport corridor thus making the site accessible by both private and public transport."
It adds: "Veterinary medical procedures are developing rapidly and it is essential that the maximum flexibility is built into the design.
"It is steel framed with no internal support structure to allow for maximum flexibility in use and the layout to be changed and developed to maximise the life of the building."
The letter goes on to say that around 30 full and part-time staff from the old centre will be kept on.
It says this will safeguard jobs locally and there will be potential for the creation of more jobs in the future.
It would be open to the public from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays.
It would also offer an out-of-hours emergency service.
The charity provides free veterinary care for those who cannot afford expensive vet fees.
The patch of land earmarked for the new hospital, which is opposite Oldbury Academy, was originally owned by Sandwell council.
It was sold to the charity to allow proposals for the building to move forward.
