Hospital site homes plan
The former Wordsley Hospital will be transformed into a multi-million pound housing estate of more than 300 homes under long-awaited new plans for the site.
Developer Margall (Wordsley Ltd) this week applied for permission to demolish part of the hospital and build 307 new homes in its place, ending a two-year wait about the future of the site.
The company began demolition work at the start of the year but was stopped by Dudley Council because of fears historic buildings and features on the site could be swept away.
Since then the site has been made a protected conservation area by the council.
Now the Solihull-based developers, who bought the hospital for £14.75 million last year, will have to convince planners their proposal will incorporate its historic features including a clock tower, administration block and chapel, which date back to the 1850s.
The planning application, the first for the site since it was put on the market in 2004, has now been lodged with the council although councillors said they were still waiting to see the plans in detail.
Wordsley Councillor Harry Nottingham said: "The site has been derelict for some time now and the sooner it is sympathetically developed the better, I do not like to see sites sitting empty and attracting vandalism and anti-social behaviour.
"I just hope the developer has taken into account the opinions and concerns raised during the many meetings which have taken place."
At original consultation meetings about the future of the site held two years ago members of the public said they were worried about the increase in traffic.
They also said they did not want to see a "rabbit-run" created through the site or historical features demolished. The plans will go before the development control committee later this year.
Margall (Wordsley Ltd) said no one was available for comment until next week.
