Plan to 'shoehorn' flats in move 'at odds' with rest of estate could still go ahead

A controversial move to demolish a garage and ‘shoehorn’ in new flats could still be allowed to proceed despite being rejected by a council. Sandwell Council blocked a move by Manminder Singh to demolish a side garage in Brookfields Road, Oldbury, and build three flats, saying the new building was too big.

But the decision has been appealed to government planning inspectors, who can overrule Sandwell Council. They will be now tasked with deciding whether the decision was unreasonable. The move, which included a new two-storey building containing one one-bed and two two-bed flats, was rejected by the council in March with the authority’s planning officers calling the move a “classic overdeveloped proposal.”

Planners said the application was “at odds” with what was already there and showed “no regard” other than gain.

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“They have shoehorned a building on a plot in which it was not designed for,” the council’s planners said in a report outlining the rejection. "New development must complement the existing context and generally aim to ‘fit in’ and not ‘stand out’ unless clear justification can be demonstrated.

"There appears to be no regard to this in this proposal other than plot maximisation and gain. The character of the existing plot structure and existing street scene will be eroded significantly.” Other planning officers said: “The proposal in my view is a cramped form of development; shoe-horned into small area that provides parking for the existing property.

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“Brookfields Road is characterised by mainly semi-detached family housing and flats in this location are considered to be out of keeping.” One objection was raised by a neighbour in Brookfields Road about parking problems.

Six parking spaces were included in the application and Sandwell Council’s highways department raised no objections. But while highways had no issues with the amount of parking spaces, the council’s planners did have a problem with the parking being placed at the front of the building. “The amount of frontage car parking, the general design scale and massing and vernacular style and appearance of the proposed provides an incongruous appearance to the street,” planners said.