New homes approved at former paint firm site

City of Wolverhampton Council has backed plans to demolish the paint firm S.J. Dixon & Son’s former warehouse in Cleveland Road

Plans to build new flats and homes on the site of a historical paint company have been approved.

S.J. Dixon & Son’s former warehouse in Cleveland Road, Wolverhampton, is set to be demolished to make way for 99 affordable homes and apartments.

The new homes, managed by Walsall Housing Group (WHG) and YMCA, would also be built on the site of the former Newmarket Hotel and Working Men's Club, which was demolished in 2015.

A previous bid to open a Costa Coffee drive-through and Greggs bakery on the site was rejected by City of Wolverhampton Council in 2020.

The site will become a mix of houses and apartments

Tim Dixon, managing director of S.J. Dixon & Son, said the firm’s warehouse had become a “sanctuary for pigeons” and was full of moss and ferns.

The warehouse’s roof was “shot” and leaking damp into neighbouring listed buildings, he said.

A statement included with the application said: “It will deliver much-needed residential accommodation in the city centre and ensure the long-term beneficial use of another of the city’s most iconic buildings.”

S.J. Dixon & Son, which was founded in the city 170 years ago, moved to Carvers Building Supplies in Littles Lane, leaving the historical building empty.

A previous bid to open a Costa Coffee drive-through and Greggs bakery on the site was rejected by the council in 2020

The site, which borders Bilston Road and Hospital Street, lies within the Cleveland Road conservation area. This includes the nearby Grade II listed Royal Hospital and former Baker’s Shoe Factory.

The Dixons building was originally built in 1885 as a carriage manufacturer. The former Newmarket Hotel and Working Men's Club was demolished in 2015 to make way for a new Tesco supermarket and the site has been empty since.

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