Plans seek to turn former Stourbridge industrial site into two care homes and apartments for the elderly

The proposed scheme includes retaining the landmark old Titan Works building which fronts Amblecote High Street.

MACC Group Ltd, a leading Midlands developer and operator of turnkey care homes and residential schemes, has submitted the application to redevelop the site, which sits alongside Taylor Wimpey’s new Titan Wharf housing development, and turn it into homes for people who are not able to manage daily life without regular care or nursing assistance such as those with dementia.

The application seeks a change of use for the Titan Works and adjacent buildings to turn them into 14 elderly living apartments.

The plan also seeks permission to create 25 elderly living apartments on the site, and to build an 89-bedroom care home to provide general nursing and residential care for the elderly plus a 69-bed care home specialising in dementia care.

A planning statement submitted on behalf of MACC Group says the majority of buildings within the site are “in a poor condition, affected by unsympathetic extensions/additions that detract from the historic character”.

It adds: “The whole development will be developed to be a homely, safe and comfortable environment with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, allowing residents to live an enhanced quality of life.”

It says the proposed development has been designed to respond to the site’s shape and constraints, the retention of buildings and surrounding context.

The statement says a fence would be sited around a rockface surrounding the site due to a potential risk of rock fall and it adds that three old World War II air raid shelters within the rockface will be maintained and left untampered with, with access preserved.

The document gives more detail about the layout of the proposed properties, saying: “Titan House would be converted into apartments alongside the adjacent building which would also be partly demolished and extended to the upper floor. 

“Next to this building a new apartment block would be created that would continue into the main body of the site in an L-shape, allowing for a courtyard to be created which would provide outdoor amenity for residents. 

“The existing building fronting onto Old Wharf Road would partly be converted into an apartment, with it mostly being used for ancillary parking, cycle store and bin store for the wider apartment complex. 

“Also retained would be the façade of two buildings which would run alongside the courtyard area, providing an entrance when coming in from the west. 

“In total 39 apartments would be created with 27 two beds and 12 one beds.”

The largely three-storey apartments would be served by 48 parking spaces (including two disabled spaces).

In the centre of the site is where the 81-bed three-storey care home would sit, incorporating the existing retained building fronting Old Wharf Road. 

The planning statement adds: “The existing building would be converted to become the main entrance and ancillary café, and part of it would be used for bin and cycle storage. The new build element would provide rooms and alongside this there would also be a gym, hairdressers, cinema and lounges for the benefit of residents.”

A courtyard would be created in the middle of the care home to provide outdoor amenity space for residents. Vehicle access would be shared with the proposed apartments and the care home would have 31 parking spaces (including two disabled spaces) plus a dedicated ambulance space.

The 69-bed care home would be four-storeys and built at the western end of the site. This would have a rear garden for residents and parking area with 26 spaces (including two disabled), plus dedicated delivery and ambulance bays. There would also be cycle parking included.

The ground floor of the development would have the entrance area and ancillary café, with the remaining rooms used for services such as kitchen, laundry, staff rooms, cinema, gym and hairdressers; while the bedrooms would be on the upper floors, alongside lounges.

All of the new buildings would have solar panels on the roof and a zone for air source heat pumps would be included for the apartments and care homes. 

The plan also includes a comprehensive landscaping scheme and the planning statement adds: “The overall design of the buildings not only respects the buildings of historic interest that are to be retained, but also pays homage to the site’s industrial past.” 

It says the development of the site for residential use is in line with the local plan and the scheme would make use of an urban brownfield site to deliver new housing.

And it adds: “The proposal will deliver much-needed older person housing accommodation, including general nursing and specialist dementia care, which is a pressing need.”

The statement says the proposed development would bring a number of positive changes to the site, which sits within the Stourbridge Canal (Canal Street) Conservation Area, and that it would “have a ‘less than substantial harm’ on Titan Works, the conservation area and any surrounding heritage assets”. 

And it adds: “The public benefits that the scheme would bring is that a rundown non-heritage asset would be brought back to its former glory and this would in turn have a positive impact upon the conservation area and the surrounding public realm. 

“It would allow for the realisation of the housing allocation to come forward, delivering much needed housing and care for the borough’s residents. During construction and operation, it would create jobs for local people and boost the local economy through spin-off trade.”

It concludes the proposed development “will create new important views, vistas and skylines, and be a positive addition to the locality”.

To find out more about the plan and have a say go to Dudley Council's planning portal and search P25/1231.

You can find out more about planning applications and planned roadworks where you live. Visit publicnoticeportal.uk.