Crown House, Oldbury - a small planning curiosity!

Thanks for all the calls about Crown House on the corner of Green Street and Birmingham Road, Oldbury which has just come on the market. May I firstly point out that this property is registered as being in the ownership of two gentleman named Dhadda and not with our "old friends".

This building was being used as a cosmetic surgery clinic but in 2013 a planning application (DC/13/55788) was made to SMBC to convert it into 9 flats. In this day and age you would think provision of 1 parking spot per property would be an essential prerequiste. There was an objection from a local resident about parking and also the Council's own "Head of Highways" but when the scheme was reduced to 7 flats the latter felt able to withdraw the objection on the basis that the provision of just 5 parking spaces on site would be sufficient plus 2 on-street parking permits from the Council! (Good job it wasn't our "friends" moving in with their huge fleet!) This was included in the delegated report and planning permission was duly granted by Nick Bubalo.

But then there was an application to vary the planning (DC/14/56804). It is not clear whether the applicants here are connected to the original applicant but a different agent was used. The new applicants wanted to make the property a "House in Multiple Occupation" with 18 (eighteen) rooms each with a kitchenette and shower room. With the new plan there were to be eight parking spaces plus the two parking permits from the Council (ie 10 parking spots for a minimum of 18 residents).

The oddity here is that there is no reference in the SMBC documents to any objection from the original objector and now the "Head of Highways" suddenly had no objection at all - indeed that person thought the 8 plus 2 parking allowance was now "suitable". And so Nick Bubalo granted the application.

Perhaps the secret to this mystery lies in the design and access statement from the developer (which as you will see contains an error):

"The proposed use will provide affordable accomodation and the tenants are unlikely [sic] to have no cars but be more of the type to use public transport".

Clearly Sandwell Labour think this public transport "type" will never amount to much and own a vehicle so that's alright then! No parking spaces for you scumbags! How f'ing insulting is that? (Pardon my French)

(Incidentally, there are a number of Sandwell Councillors and their relatives who have gone straight to the top of the list and been given "affordable accomodation" in the form of council housing but who run cars eg Cllrs Rouf and Frear not to mention Hussain's daughter who not only runs a car but OWNS a house up the road with her husband!)

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