Plans for 'huge' HMO at former Smethwick police training centre rejected
Sandwell Council has rejected plans to convert a former police training centre into a huge HMO.
The empty West Midlands Police training centre Windmill House in Windmill Lane, Smethwick, would have been converted into a 76-bed house of multiple occupation (HMO) under plans by Kamraan Ahmed of Meizon Ltd.
The three-storey building, which dates back to the 1970s, had been used by the region’s police force as a training centre and accommodation until it closed last year.
The council said ground floor rooms would be greeted with “unacceptable” views of warehouses, boundary treatments and cycle storage” and called the plans “oppressive” and “substandard.”
Planners also said the conversion would be unacceptable for neighbours leading to “direct and intrusive overlooking” and a loss of privacy and called the building’s communal facilities “inadequate.”
“The proposal lacks sufficient usable and accessible external amenity space, demonstrates poor pedestrian connectivity from the car park to the rear of the site, and provides inadequate accessibility to cycle storage,” the council said in its rejection.
“The first-floor communal terrace is poorly accessed and fails to provide appropriate defensible space and privacy for adjacent residential units.
“Furthermore, the siting and scale of the refuse storage to the front of the site, without additional provision to serve the rear wing, would result in unsatisfactory and impractical waste management arrangements for future occupiers.”
The site’s 47 car park spaces would have been reduced to 23 spaces as part of the work which the council’s planners said was a “significant shortfall” than the 38 spaces required.
The council said: “The insufficient provision would lead to overspill parking onto surrounding streets, increased competition for on-street parking, and additional vehicular movements within and around the site, giving rise to noise, disturbance and harm to the amenity of neighbouring occupiers.”
Windmill House was sold to MNP Investment Holdings in June last year as one of several West Midlands Police properties deemed ‘surplus to requirements.’
The planning application said the proposed HMO at Windmill House had been designed to support healthcare workers at the nearby Midland Metropolitan University Hospital which opened in 2024.
The surrounding area is being primed for regeneration with plans including hundreds of new homes and a new school.
Smethwick and Oldbury police stations were also put up for sale by West Midlands Police.
A statement included with the application said: “The project seeks to retrofit the existing 1970s utilitarian structure into a high-quality house of multiple occupation (HMO), delivering 76 rooms specifically tailored to the needs of key workers and young professionals.
“Strategically positioned just 500 metres from the Midland Metropolitan Hospital, the scheme is designed to directly support the local healthcare workforce by providing affordable, flexible accommodation in an area identified for regeneration.”
