Major housing plans in Willenhall approved - first phase of town's 'masterplan'

Five brownfield sites in Willenhall are set to be converted into housing after huge plans were approved at Walsall Council’s planning committee last night. 

The project will form the first phase of the Willenhall Masterplan which will see sites on Temple Bar, Moat Street, Cemetery Road, Villiers Street and New Hall Street converted into 109 homes. 

The area was once a thriving hub for the town’s lock making industry but the vacant factories had fallen into dereliction. More recently the area became a hotspot for arson and antisocial behaviour. 

Earlier this year Walsall Council started to demolish the crumbling factories, the majority of which has now been cleared. 

Two long-standing businesses had continued to operate in the development area, Winfield Industrial Services, a steel fabricators on Stafford Street and SJS Engineering metal foundry on New Hall Street. 

However, both were forced to vacate the premises after the council was granted Compulsory Purchase Powers for the five sites. 

The government inspector found that while the potential loss of employment at both sites would be ‘regrettable’, it would be outweighed by the public benefit of the wider scheme.

An outline planning application for the homes was approved back in 2024.

Last night planning committee members approved the full planning application, subject to Section 106 agreements to include education, healthcare and open space contributions. 

It was heard that 25 per cent of the properties will be classed as affordable housing. 

David Bainbridge, representing Saville’s on behalf of the developer Keepmoat, said: “It’s a really exciting regeneration project which has come from many months, in fact years, of negotiation and evolution of design of the site.”