Go-ahead for 11 new homes on former Bilston tennis club site
Council bosses in Wolverhampton have approved plans to build 11 new homes on the site of the dilapidated former Bilston Tennis Club.
The proposal for nine two-bed and two three-bed houses was granted this week.
The club, on the corner of Villiers Avenue and Harper Road, closed down in 2016 and land previously occupied by the tennis courts has not been used since. The new development will be a mix of detached and semi-detached houses, managed by Wolverhampton Homes.
Section leader for planning Vijay Kaul told committee members to note that there was still an outstanding live application for 10 two-bed dwellings on the site, granted in 2021.
“Following the club relinquishing their lease on the site several years ago, it became vacant and fell into disrepair and a planning application was granted. However, a principal change to the design now is that these are no longer one and-a-half storey dwellings – they are two storey houses,” he said.
“Contextually, this fits better within the street scene. One of the things that we have worked really hard on with this application is to protect the street’s trees. Rather than having several individual drives serving each property, there is now a single-vehicle access point that retains integrity and will help maintain the trees in the long run. And for that reason, this application is recommended for approval subject to conditions.”
Councillor Alan Butt (Lab. Oxley) added: “I don’t want to keep echoing how wonderful a tennis player I was, because that’s not quite true. Although I was team captain of Brewood, it was for my organisational skills rather than my tennis skills. I’m sorry to see the tennis club go because I played there many times in the league.
“But we’ve been there before and it is in disrepair. So I think the decision to put these properties on the site is a good one that will improve the council’s housing stock. I personally have no objection to this, so I move the proposal.”
The application was seconded by Councillor Bob Maddox (Con. Tettenhall Regis) with all members voting in favour of the recommendation.
Bilston Tennis Club, one of the oldest clubs of its kind in the Black Country with more than 100 members at its peak, closed due to falling numbers and relinquished its lease on the site soon after.
In June 2017 the council approved plans to redevelop the land under the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). Sport England and the Lawn Tennis Association agreed to the site being used for 100 per cent affordable housing, subject to a payment of £40,000 from HRA funds to mitigate for the loss of the tennis courts. The cash was used to improve tennis courts at East Park.
