Former scrap firm set for the bulldozer
A scrap firm which went out of business after 111 years is now destined for the bulldozer - with a housing development potentially lined up in its place.
WH Marren in Willenhall collapsed last year with dozens of jobs lost.
Now an application to demolish the site at Temple Bar has been lodged with Walsall Council.
Council leader Sean Coughlan, who represents the area, said the company was another symbol of Willenhall’s ‘industrial decline’.
He added he was waiting for formal plans to come forward but stated the fact the buildings were to be demolished indicated the company which now owns the site indicated they wanted to deliver housing.
Councillor Coughlan told the Express & Star: "I knew some of the staff there and the owners.
"For many years neighbours had been living next to and backing on to what was in the last six or seven years and intensive business on that site. It has always brought its problems.
"Now a company has come in and we could potentially see a housing development in a planning application.
"It would suit the area better and certainly the council as we need more housing in the area.
"All we have at the moment is an application to knock the buildings down which I would take to mean they do not want to continue the business that's there.
"We will just have to wait and see, I have asked officers to find out what the company's long-term plans are.
"It is an area in Willenhall which has been in industrial decline for a long time.
"We need to do things positively with the new owners and if it is not going to be brought back into use and create jobs then something different needs to be done."
Administrators were brought in to WH Marren last July when the company collapsed.
Out of 52 staff 45 lost their jobs immediately with the remaining workers staying on a short while after to wind the business down.
It was established in 1906 and specialised in collecting and processing metals to be used in the manufacture of goods, supplying raw materials for companies across the UK. Europe and Asia.
Administrators KPMG had stated the company stopped trading due to cash flow issues due to a HMRC investigation into financial irregularities in the supply chains in which WH Marren had traded.
