New attempt to convert Tividale substation into flats despite council rejection
A second attempt has been made to convert a former substation into new flats.
The previous move to transform the old electricity substation in City Road, Tividale, which has most recently been used for storage, into five new flats was rejected by planners at Sandwell Council in June.
The applicant Gurtej Deol has now re-submitted the plans to the local authority despite the previous rejection.
The application includes the same proposals for a two-storey extension to make way for the one-and-two-bed flats.
The plans also show a small garden and terrace as well as seven parking spaces.
Earlier this year, Sandwell Council said the scheme was “poorly designed” and the flats were “out of keeping” with the rest of the street.
Officers also called the extension “obtrusive, overly dominant and disproportionate.”
The former Western Power substation has been empty since 2022.
In rejecting the application, 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.”
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.”
