Lights out on plan to convert former Oldbury substation into flats
A plan to convert a former substation into new flats has been turned down by a council.
The move to convert the old electricity substation in City Road, Tividale, which has most recently been used for storage, into five new flats has been rejected by planners at Sandwell Council.
Sandwell Council said the application was “poorly designed” and “out of keeping” with the rest of the street.
Officers also called the extension “obtrusive, overly dominant and disproportionate.”
The council said: “The flatted development proposal is of a poor and unsympathetic design whereby the details of the proposed works do not highlight the wider character and appearance of the existing residential dwellings and commercial buildings to either side.
“As a result, the proposals massing and roof design in relation to the two storey dwellings would be considered to be harmful to the character and appearance of the surrounding area.
“Proposals for new build, alteration or extension within Sandwell’s areas should respect the both the buildings characteristics and architectural styles, as well as the scale, grouping, roofscapes, materials and fenestration designs of neighbouring properties.”
The planning application by Gurtej Deol said the former Western Power substation had been empty since 2022.
The application included proposals for a two-storey extension to make way for four two-bed flats and a one-bed flat.
The plans also showed a small garden and terrace as well as seven parking spaces.
Sandwell Council approved plans to convert the substation, just off the busy Birmingham New Road, into a storage unit for building materials in 2016 – after the work had already been carried out.
A roller shutter and windows were installed before first receiving planning permission.
Three people objected to the move when it was decided by the local authority’s planning committee in 2016 complaining that the site was untidy and that comings and goings from the former substation were “excessive”.
Separate planning applications to build four-bed and three-bed homes had also been approved by Sandwell in 2013 and 2014 but the work was never carried out.
The application from 2014 for three-bed homes came after the larger homes were ruled out due to a lack of space. The original application for four-bed homes included the relocation of the substation but with more space required, the size of the homes was reduced.
