Approval for plans to demolish college buildings

All six buildings at the Croft Street campus of South Staffordshire College are set to be demolished to make way for new homes

Plans to demolish a college in Staffordshire have been approved despite concerns about traffic.

Planners at Tamworth Borough Council voted in June to postpone a decision on proposals for the South Staffordshire College site in order to gather more information about its effects on highway safety.

The plans include the demolition of all six buildings at the site off Croft Street in Tamworth to make way for housing.

Since the June decision, conditions have been added to include a traffic management plan.

The application received no objections from statutory consultees however three letters of objection were submitted over traffic concerns.

Councillor Samuel Smith said he had researched road incidents in the area including around the A513 and he had safety concerns.

He recommended some sections of roads have their speed limit reduced to 20mph and the transport management plan for the site should come back to the committee for review and feedback.

In response to the recommendations, a council highways officer commented: “The A513 is a primary route network, it’s a strategic network to move traffic around the county, that’s what it is.

“To put a temporary 20mph on you will have to advertise a road traffic order, I bet my mortgage you never get it, not on an A road.”

He added he did not recommend the change and did not believe that drivers would obey it if it was introduced.

The officer instead recommended traffic issues could be managed in the traffic management plan which the applicant needed to submit before carrying out the work.

A new college is being built to replace the demolished 1960s section of the former Co-op building in Tamworth town centre.

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