Plans have been lodged to develop a 392-home build-to-rent development in Smethwick, West Midlands.
Metropolitan Holdings plans to construct a building of between seven and 14 storeys, comprising one- and two-bedroom apartments, 20% of which will be affordable. The Grove Lane/London Street site will also include almost 6,000 sq ft of ground-floor commercial and retail space.
The application is the developer’s second attempt to gain permission for a scheme on the site. Last year Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council refused consent for a multi-storey car park, 201 homes and retail space in part due to “excessive and unjustified levels of parking”. The new, Four Architects-designed plan includes 354 car-parking spaces and 632 cycle spaces.
The site sits within the Grove Lane Masterplan Area, part of the council’s regeneration proposals for Smethwick and the borough. It is currently occupied by a vehicle rental/sale business.
A statement filed with Sandwell council on behalf of the applicant by consultancy Williams Gallagher said: “There is an overriding need to boost the supply of housing as required by the [National Planning Policy Framework], especially within a borough where an increase in the rate of housing delivery needs to be secured.
“An appropriate housing mix is provided through the development that will be attractive to new residents and help to provide a balanced residential mix when set alongside the new family dwellings being developed to the east of Cranford Street.”
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Image: Four Architects
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