Flat plan in Wolverhampton office block with views of industrial estates thrown out by inspector

Wolverhampton Council rejected a planning application to transform the Saturn Centre in Spring Road in Ettingshall into 77 apartments saying it would expose future tenants to too much noise, dust and fumes from the surrounding factories.

The applicant Crown Choice Investments then appealed to the government’s planning inspectors in a bid to get the decision overturned but was rejected for a second time.

The government planning inspector agreed with the council that the 77 apartments would overexpose residents to grime and loud noise.

Noise assessments found that the level of noise along Spring Road and the surrounding area, day and night, meant windows would have to stay closed permanently to maintain an “acceptable” level of noise and prevent people from being disturbed.

The four-storey office block and conference centre in Spring Road is surrounded by factories and commercial units including a steelworks, an asphalt quarry and manufacturers that work through the night.

Rejecting the application last year, the council’s planners said: “Due to the location of the site within an industrial area, the proposed residential development would be exposed to an unacceptable level of noise disturbance, dust and fumes associated with the surrounding uses.

"The impacts of the nearby industrial uses upon the future occupiers of the proposed flats would be such that occupiers would not enjoy an acceptable level of residential amenity."

The council said there was nothing to mitigate against the level of exposure and was also concerned that building apartments could disrupt the surrounding and long-established businesses.

“This proposal could also have repercussions for the surrounding industrial uses, as they could be subjected to noise abatement notices which could prohibit their effective operation to the detriment of the economic development of the city,” the council’s planners said.

“The proposals would also likely result in restrictions to existing industrial occupier operations which would be detrimental to economic development.”

The council said the application would also need to include more parking spaces as it was an ‘unsustainable location’ – with hardly any access to public transport – and would rely more on cars. It said the lack of management of the spaces could also create off-street parking problems in surrounding roads.