Factory to be demolished for 125 apartments

The former Tentec site, Guns Lane off West Bromwich High Street

Plans to demolish a factory to make way for 125 new apartments have been approved.

The majority of the former Tentec site in Guns Lane behind West Bromwich High Street has been empty since the engineering firm moved to the i54 business park near Wolverhampton in 2017.

The planning application for the apartments was first put forward nearly two years ago, but amended six times before being approved by Sandwell Council.

The site would be replaced with eight new apartment blocks and 60 parking spaces.

Several changes were requested by Sandwell Council before its planners were satisfied with the application.

The original plan was for more than 140 flats in several buildings, with some reaching five storeys, which the council said would be "overbearing".

Planners also said the proposed layout was "cramped and overcrowded" and looked "shoehorned".

Since then, changes have seen the site reduced in size and the height of buildings lowered.

A statement included with the application said: "In light of the recent influx of working professionals moving into the local area and across West Bromwich, the housing sector is under increasing pressure to provide enough housing stock in order to cope with the demand."

It added that most of the people living in the apartments will be working in the city centre and will have access to cycling and bus routes, encouraging "a more environmental mode of travelling".

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.