10.9 hectares of Willenhall’s green belt to be converted into employment space
Major plans to transform 10.9 hectares of Willenhall’s green belt into £40m employment space have been approved by Walsall Council.
The proposal for the former Beatwaste landfill site on Bentley Lane includes three employment units with office space, associated parking, internal access roads and landscaping.
Once completed, the three large units totalling 39,202 sqm of employment floorspace will create up to 700 jobs.
The decision to approve the proposals follows an earlier deferral by Walsall’s planning committee when members weren’t convinced issues around highway safety and contamination were addressed by the applicant, Total Developments Ltd.
The site neighbours three schools, Willenhall E-Act Academy, Old Hall Special Education School and Lodge Farm Primary School, and members of the planning committee had safety concerns for students, the majority of which access the school by walking along the busy Bentley Lane.
Councillor Amandeep Garcha and Councillor Josh Whitehouse, both representing the Short Heath ward at the meeting last October, raised concerns about HGVs turning left out of the site towards Lane Head, where the network is already under strain from haulage vehicles.
A Section 106 agreement has been put in place for Total Developments to provide details of a new bellmouth access with right turn lane onto Bentley Lane, a pedestrian refuge island, and two proposed pedestrian crossings on Bentley Lane.
Also in the agreement are conditions to control noise, dust and construction working hours, as well as contamination surveys and management plans.
