Express & Star

250 homes on way to old Wednesfield High School site under new plans

Plans to revamp an arson-hit former high school site and build more than 250 homes in its place have been submitted.

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An artist's impression of homes on the former Wednesfield High School site

And this artist's impression shows what the homes on the site could look like once work is finished.

Developers have submitted an application for 210 houses and 56 flats on the old Wednesfield High School site in Lakefield Road.

The school closed down in 2013 and was targeted by arsonists in 2014.

Twenty firefighters attended a blaze in the disused school building which created a plume of smoke which could be seen three miles away.

Now developers Architype are hoping to bring the site back to life.

Wednesfield South councillor Bhupinder Gakhal said he welcomed the plans – as long as the infrastructure is built to cope with the influx of hundreds of new residents.

Councillor Gakhal said: "I'm all for redevelopment of Wednesfield but we do need to take into consideration the issue of infrastructure.

"We need to make sure there are enough doctors' surgeries and the highways are sorted.

"But we do need more affordable houses and I am in favour of redevelopment in Wednesfield.

"Residents have brought concerns to me that we have got some issues in regards to school places and doctors so we need to address those problems as well."

A design statement submitted as part of the planning package says: "The proposed site forms part of the former Wednesfield High School site in Wolverhampton.

"The site is approximately 6.9 hectares in size.

"It is three miles from the city centre which provides a range of services, shops, schools, health-care, culture and attractions with good public transport connections to the surrounding area and nearby local urban centres.

"The site is located in a predominantly residential area with a large industrial area to the south of the site.

"The level site appears to be a good choice for residential development due to its proximity to existing residential areas and access to local amenities.

"The site sits to the east of the A4124 and is currently vacant after the demolition of the old Wednesfield High School.

"The predominantly flat site slopes gently from north west down to south east, is surrounded by metal fencing with rough grass land and a band of trees along the western boundary."

The developers set out their plans for the site in the statement.

This says: "The proposals are to develop the site to provide 266 new residential units through a mix of houses and apartments incorporating and vehicle and cycle parking with 17 per cent of the site given over to open public amenity space.

"The application proposes a mix of two- to four-bed houses of two and three storeys, and two-bed apartments in four-storey blocks.

"The development is designed to be tenure blind, comprising of 25 per cent council units with the remainder for market sale/ rent / shared ownership."