Campaigners set to meet council chiefs over 'eyesore' land in Attwood Street

More than 200 people have signed the petition calling for action over the land in Attwood Street, which has stood empty since 2016, when six terraced cottages on the site were demolished.

The properties had been empty for far longer and were uninhabitable at the time of demolition and people living nearby are fed up with burglaries and anti-social behaviour fuelled by the land standing empty.

Peter Dobb, Daniel Bevan and councillor Simon Phipps will meet with council chiefs today (Wednesday January 20) in the hope of kick-starting action.

Peter said: “We started this petition because residents who live near to the site are fed up with the eyesore, anti-social and criminal behaviour associated with the land.

“I’m pleased that we have the backing of a good number of local residents who also share our frustrations about the lack of development here, especially when we need to build as many homes on brownfield sites to protect our green spaces.”

Daniel said: “Our next step is to meet with the head officers at Dudley Council, along with councillor Simon Phipps, to put forward our proposals and start a discussion that we hope will result in some positive action.

“At the very least we want to see some short-term outcomes, such as getting the site properly secured so neighbouring properties don’t have to live in fear of the burglaries and criminal behaviour that has been enabled by the site being so poorly fenced off.”

Plans for five homes were approved in 2018 (design above).

A planning application for five houses was granted back in 2018 to a Solihull based applicant, but no work has started.

A previous application for homes was also approved in 2015.

Campaigners had called for Dudley Council to use its CPO powers to buy the site but the council said last November that it wasn't an appropriate move and that it had been in contact with the proposed developers to encourage them to go ahead with the proposal.