Town centre £500m plan can begin
The £500million regeneration of West Bromwich town centre can finally begin after Tesco won planning permission for its new store.
The supermarket chain is funding plans 10 years in the making for a police station, 70-bedroom hotel, shops, parking and public area in return for a Tesco Extra store.
Sandwell Council's planning committee unanimously backed plans to create 2,000 jobs last night.
But planners warn there may be a final hurdle as surveys have not been done to see if bats, great crested newts or black redstarts – a bird that thrives in derelict buildings – will be endangered.
The move on the 37-acre £200million development will kickstart the area's long-awaited regeneration worth a total of £500million. Centrepiece of the transformation will be a Tesco Extra supermarket with a floor-to-ceiling glass front.
Tesco spokeswoman Jane McFarland revealed phase one will begin in 2010 and open in autumn 2011 to West Bromwich to compete with Birmingham, Walsall and out of town shopping centres.
Developers have a list of high street favourites they would like to attract to the development, including Debenhams, Marks & Spencer and Primark.
People in Summerfield Avenue raised concerns about losing the Cronehills roundabout and feared they would not be adequately protected from traffic noise by a grass bank.
Tesco pledged to be a "good neighbour" and added roadworks on the West Bromwich Ringway would divert much of the traffic away from the residents.
