Bid for Halesowen apartment block turned down after complaints

The application to build a three-storey apartment block housing four flats on land behind the existing block of flats at 22, Melbourne Road has been refused by Dudley Council.

Sixteen objections, including one from councillor Simon Phipps, were received from people living nearby with concerns around over intensification of development on the small plot, overlooking and loss of privacy to neighbours, noise disturbance to neighbours, loss of wildlife, inadequate parking, loss of existing parking and inadequate access.

Planners turned it down stating it is "overly intensive, excessively large, cramped and contrived."

The planning application was a resubmission of a previously refused application for a three-storey block housing five flats.

The new application reduced the number of flats to four - one studio apartment and three one-bed flats.

The land from above (Image: Google satellite)

The land is used as a car park for the existing flats and is accessed via a narrow single track from Furnace Lane.

Planners at Dudley Council said: "The residential use of the site would be acceptable in principle however the development proposal remains as an overly intensive, excessively large, cramped and contrived form of development that has failed to overcome any of the previous reasons for refusal of the previous application.

"The development would remain contrary to the appearance, established pattern and built form of development locally, that would be detrimental to the character and distinctiveness of the residential area.

"Furthermore, the proposal would fail to provide a suitable and sustainable form of residential accommodation failing to protect the amenities of the existing and future occupiers of the dwellings and would be detrimental to highway safety."

They also said "insufficient information is available to assess the impacts of the development on the adjacent trees, the wider Green Network, and the wider ecological merits of the site."