Plan to build flats opposite new metro station in Tipton is approved

A council’s plan to build flats opposite a new metro station in Tipton has been approved.

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The application by SWG Construction and Sandwell Council to build a two-storey block with 12 flats on the corner of Horseley Road and Railway Street in Tipton has been backed by the local authority’s planners.

The under construction and much-delayed Midlands metro extension from Wednesbury to Dudley includes stops at Horseley Road – just opposite the proposed affordable housing site. 

Housing officers at Sandwell Council said there was a “critical shortage” of three and four-bed flats for families needing more space – which has been reflected in the mix of flats proposed in the application.

The high demand for one-bed flats from those classed with a ‘non-emergency’ need – such as overcrowding – was nearly a year according to the council’s figures with ‘very high’ waits of more than four years for a three-bed flat and nearly nine years for four-bed flats. 

The land around Horseley Road and Railway Street is included in Sandwell Council’s local plan as a site for around 50 new homes.

The council’s planners said: “The site accords with policy which allows windfall development to come forward on appropriate sites as it’s not protected as community open space and its development would bring an under-used piece of land back into beneficial use. 

“The site has been found suitable for residential development during the preparation of the new local plan and is proposed for allocation. 

“Therefore, the principle of residential development at the site is acceptable and would assist with meeting housing need in the borough.”