Plans to build six new homes next to Bilston church and primary school approved

City of Wolverhampton Council has approved a planning application to build six homes on the corner of Green Park Drive and Green Park Avenue in Bilston.

Six three-bed homes would be built on the land sandwiched between Stowlawn Methodist Church and Stowlawn Primary School as well as 10 parking spaces.

The 60-year-old Methodist church closed in 2016 as a result of dwindling numbers and funds and was later put up for sale. A planning application to convert the building into a furniture storeroom was put forward in 2024 but has not been decided by City of Wolverhampton Council.

A statement included with the application said: “Following various exchanges with the local planning authority regarding the conversion of the adjacent church and a residential development on the proposed site, we now concentrate on the adjacent site as the church has been sold.

“The principle of development has been accepted already by the local planning authority and we provide associated justification in terms of flood risk, ecological impact in terms of biodiversity with this application.

“The proposed houses will therefore contribute six new properties to the housing total of the Bilston area and will be sustainably designed and located to support the economy, social environment and to avoid harm to both the local and broader environment by reducing development pressure on potential development sites nearer the edges of the settlement.”

City of Wolverhampton Council recently announced £4m plans to increase the number of places at the neighbouring Green Park School.

The council has approved £3.87m from its capital budget to fund the expansion work at Green Park School as well as £180,000 for an extension to the adjoining Stowlawn Primary School.

The work at Green Park includes an extension with three new classrooms – a rebound room, sensory room, sensory pod, and reflection room – as well as a modular building to accommodate the increase in staff.

Extra parking spaces would also be built.

The number of pupils with an education health and care plan (EHCP) in Wolverhampton increased by nearly two-thirds between 2019 and 2024 according to the City of Wolverhampton Council – rising from 1,382 to 2,258.