120-year-old former Sandwell police station could become 30 new flats

A former police station could be converted into new homes.

A planning application has been submitted to demolish parts of the former Smethwick Police Station in Piddock Road, Smethwick and convert the 120-year-old building into 30 new flats.

The station’s former cell block would be demolished while the main buildings, which date to the early 1900s, would be converted into 21 flats. A further nine flats would be built as part of a three-storey extension to the building according to the plans lodged with Sandwell Council.

The local authority’s previous Labour administration agreed a deal with affordable housing provider Cornerstone to buy the former Smethwick police station in March.

A statement included with the application said: “The application is for the redevelopment of the former Smethwick Police Station into residential apartments alongside the formation of new vehicle, cycle and pedestrian accesses, and the resurfacing of existing hardstanding areas, landscaping, and other associated infrastructure.

“The proposal is designed with minimal change to the existing buildings’ form and structure, making best use of the existing prominent building’s embodied carbon, aiming to redevelop the site in a more sustainable way.

“The one new block proposed is a necessary replacement for an unsuitable structure and will make a significant improvement to the existing street scene as well as serving the needs of the site and contributing to viability.

“The proposal is considered to have minimal impact on the surrounding area by making use of a vacant building and is suitably positioned away from sensitive uses.

“The proposal offers new residential opportunities, which is considered a community benefit to supplement the residential areas already extant nearby.”

A planning application to convert the nearby former West Midlands Police training centre Windmill House in Windmill Lane, into a 69-bed house of multiple occupation (HMO) was rejected by Sandwell Council earlier this year after 823 objections and petitions totalling more than 1,100 signatures were submitted against the controversial work. An appeal to the government’s planning inspectorate was also rejected earlier this month.

The council had called the original 76-bed plan “oppressive” and “substandard.”

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