LONG-STANDING Halesowen residents who have submitted plans to demolish their bungalow on Spies Lane and build four homes say the development would provide much needed housing in the area.
Mr and Mrs Singh want to knock down their bungalow on Spies Lane and use the plot as well as disused land at the rear to build four contemporary homes.
If plans get the go-ahead two dormer bungalows, a single-storey bungalow and a two-bedroom flat above three garages, would be built on the site.
The disused land has been a magnet for trespassing and anti-social behaviour, which has been reported to the police on a number of occasions.
Mr and Mrs Singh, in their 70s, say developers have offered to buy the land, but they love the area and the community and want to remain there in their old age.
Plans, which have been submitted to Dudley Council, have led to a petition with 14 names on and a string of objections centring around concerns including the dangerous entrance on a busy road, the homes being too close to a neighbouring property.
Mr and Mrs Singh say they have worked with RIBA certified architects Gruhe, to create a low-density scheme that is sympathetic to the neighbourhood.
Mr Gian Singh said: "The motive here is not pure profit.
"If that was the case, we would have sold the land to developers, from which there have been a number of approaches.
"The need for the application has been driven by the fact that the land at the back of 220, Spies lane is far too large for garden amenity, at some eight times the size of the gardens for adjoining bungalows, and is being laid to waste.
"Given our current health and getting on in years we are no longer able to keep it maintained."
Dudley Council highways officers say if the go-ahead is given the access should be relocated and the parking layout should be amended
In recent years Dudley Council has granted permission for the development of similar pocket sites including on Clifton Street, Beaumont Road, Spies Lane and Southwick Road in Halesowen.
Mr and Mrs Singh also pointed to a recent case of residents of Attwood Street, Halesowen, backed by councillor Simon Phipps, in their call to get housing on a disused site.
Paul Burgess, director of Lewis and Co Planning, who submitted the planning statement as part of the application, said: "Small and medium sized sites can make an important contribution to meeting the housing requirement of an area and are often built-out relatively quickly.
"Due to access limitations, the site is of limited value in terms of either providing a facility for the general public or in terms of making a positive contribution to the visual appearance of the wider area.
"Left undeveloped, it will become even more overgrown, unsightly and lead to further issues with unwarranted access/trespassing and vermin.
"We would have thought this scheme is exactly the type the council should be welcoming."
A letter of support has been submitted from a resident of Gower Road which states the application "seems well thought out and considered" and that "there is a real need for investment in housing and the provision of high quality housing for more mature residents in the area."
The News would like to point out that a petition submitted with 14 names on was not led by councillor Alan Taylor, he handed it in to the council on residents' behalf.
Cllr Taylor has submitted neutral comments on the scheme.
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