Brownhills apartments plan refused leaving developer with ‘fall-back’ position of HMO
A company hoping to develop a bungalow in Brownhills has had its latest application rejected.
Morethan Property Ltd has submitted a total of three applications to develop empty offices at 205 High Street.
The first submitted in 2023, proposed to demolish the existing bungalow and replace it with a block of seven self-contained apartments.
But Walsall Council refused the plans due to the proximity of the building to a nearby home, and the position of the vehicle access which could lead to unacceptable pollution to nearby properties for noise, light and fumes.
Morethan Property then submitted an application to convert the property into an eight-bedroom House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) last year.
Despite a petition against the plans launched by nearby residents, this application was approved.
Morethan Property described the HMO proposal as a ‘fall-back position’ and this year, it put forward new plans more similar to its first.
The newest proposal sought to demolish the bungalow and replace it with a 3.5 storey building with seven self-contained apartments, but this was refused.
Walsall Council’s planning department said the building would be too overbearing, that vehicles would create unacceptable pollution for nearby residents and the application fails to provide mitigation for the Cannock Chase Special Area of Conservation.
