Disused social club could be bulldozed to make way for bungalows

The proposals for the former Albrighton Sports and Social Club in Cross Road have been drawn up by Maythorn Developments Ltd, owned by architect and former Shrewsbury Town and West Brom player Jake Sedgemore.

The developer says the club is no longer viable as a community asset, and replacing it with five bungalows would address a need for homes for elderly people within the village while making use of a site that would otherwise remain derelict.

Details including the design and layout of the bungalows will be covered by a later application if outline permission is granted, but the scheme is expected to include a mix of two and three-bed properties.

A design and access statement produced by Shropshire Planning & Urban Design, agent to Mr Sedgemore, explains how the once thriving club struggled to stay afloat in recent years.

It says: “With its history as a ‘Working Men’s Club’, in modern more times, despite the change of name and other concerted attempts to attract a younger clientèle, it struggled to shake off this ‘old-fashioned’ image and attract younger members.

“Its clientèle steadily declined in numbers and increasingly grew elderly in age structure.

“To remain financially viable, it needed at least 300 members. So when membership declined to less than this in the 2000s, members finally voted to close-down the club in November 2020, when the site was put on the market.”

However the statement goes on to say that the permanent loss of the club under Mr Sedgemore’s plans would not impact the village as there are number of other community facilities close by.

It concludes: “The site is in a highly sustainable location well within an existing residential area.

“It is on easy transport links to the everyday services in the centre of the village by bus, foot, and bicycle and to a very wide range of services and leisure facilities by bus and rail at Wolverhampton and Birmingham.

“The site contains an unsightly two-storey building with hard-standing car park area at the front representing a poor street scene.

“Its use as a social club is at odds with all of the residential uses surrounding it and has potential for considerable disturbance to those residents.

“Its removal will be a substantial gain for residents and its replacement with suitable residential buildings will improve the street scene.

“Its replacement with five single storey dwellings might prove attractive to elderly ‘down-sizers’ could thereby free up family homes for occupation. It will therefore help towards housing needs in both these respects.”

The planning application will be decided by Shropshire Council.