Flats plan revisited despite government rejection

The building is surrounded by factories and commercial units including a steelworks and an asphalt quarry

A fresh bid has been made to turn an office block on a Wolverhampton industrial estate into more than 70 flats.

A planning application to turn the Saturn Centre in Spring Road, Ettingshall, into 77 flats was rejected by the city council in 2023 as it said it would expose tenants to too much noise, dust and fumes from surrounding factories.

Developer, Crown Choice Investments, appealed to the government's planning inspectors in a bid to get the decision overturned but it was rejected for a second time.

However, the firm has now submitted a new application to convert the five-storey building into 77 flats

At the time of the first application, assessments found the level of noise along Spring Road and the surrounding area, day and night, meant windows would have to stay closed permanently to maintain an "acceptable" level of noise and prevent people from being disturbed.

The building is surrounded by factories and commercial units including a steelworks, an asphalt quarry and manufacturers that work through the night.

When it rejected the plans, the council said there was nothing to mitigate against the level of exposure and was also concerned that building apartments could disrupt the surrounding and long-established businesses.

The council said the application would also need to include more parking spaces as it was an 'unsustainable location' with hardly any access to public transport and would rely on cars so a lack of spaces could create off-street parking problems.

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