Landmark Aldridge factory set to be demolished and redeveloped

The former McKechnie Brass factory has sat abandoned in the middle of Aldridge for nearly four years, falling prey to vandals, and was set on fire last year by arsonists.

The St Francis Group, also based in Aldridge, has applied to demolish the remains of the factory in Middlemore Lane, changing the use of the site to include light industrial purposes as well as storage and distribution.

Walsall Council planning bosses are set to give the go ahead to the plans at a meeting next Thursday.

McKechnie dated back more than a century moving to Walsall in 1954 but shut down in 2013 amid debts of £3.8 million causing 60 job losses.

Councillor Keith Sears, who represents the Aldridge North area, said that he was 'very excited' about the proposed approval of the plans.

He said: "I am pleased to see that the plans are looking likely to go ahead.

"They will bring much needed jobs to the area and bring a famous part of Aldridge back into use.

"McKechnies was a huge employer for the area in the past, it was one of those places where if you lived in Aldridge, you knew somebody who worked there.

"Hopefully the same thing will happen at this site, it is certainly big enough to provide hundreds of jobs, so I am very excited for the future of the site."

Before its closure,the site was thought to be the UK’s last remaining factory making brass rods and copper wires for a range of products including copper alloys and padlocks.

Sketches and mock-up designs for the new plans show two large units fronting on to Middlemore Lane with an access road running between them into the middle of the scheme towards three smaller units backing on to the Daw End Branch Canal.

The developer has stated this initial application, should it be approved by Walsall Council, will be followed up by more detailed plans which would set out the exact size and layout of the buildings.

Planning documents put together by the St Francis Group state the the scheme will be 'locally important' and 'of the highest quality'.

Planning documents say: “This scheme will be a locally important employment led development.

"It is critical that the proposals are of the highest quality, with the site master planned so that it maximises the benefits for the occupiers and neighbours alike.

"Key to this objective will be the considered siting of buildings within a well-designed site.”

Founded in St Helens by Duncan McKechnie, the McKechnie firm moved to Birmingham in 1894 before building its Aldridge factory in 1954.

Like many manufacturing firms, it had been been hit by the 2008 credit crunch when it made 129 workers redundant and it went in administration in 2011.

It was bought out with the backing of West Midlands industrial group Grove Industries, led by the late David Grove.

Following that, despite a growing order and significant operational improvements, McKechnie was making substantial losses.

Accounts for 2012 showed the firm turning over £16.9 million but costs accounted for more than 90 per cent of that and it made a £1.2 million loss that year.