Express & Star

Planning permission approved for new apartment block opposite Graiseley Park

Planning permission has been granted for the demolition of a burnt-out Wolverhampton industrial unit to make way for 42 new apartments and a retail store.

Published
The perspective of the new apartment block from Graisley Park

Nadeem Ahmad, from Northern Gas Heating Limited, applied to Wolverhampton Council to transform Unit 4A, Lanesfield Drive, Graiseley.

Nadeem House will have 42 residential units with basement car parking, convenience retail unit and residents' gymnasium.

The application includes 19 two-bed apartments, 18 one-bed apartments and four studios. The basement provides parking for 37 spaces.

In a design statement to the council, the applicant said: "The new apartment building is to be simple in form and built from smooth red brindled brick which is the principal external facing material of the area before the rise of the tin clad industrial shed.

"The external facades are modelled and layered creating shadow and articulation and expressing the principal structure of the building. The apartments have narrow balconies and large glazed areas to light and ventilate principal rooms.

"The uppermost floor is fully glazed and set back from the building’s façade. The framed structure of the building provides shade and privacy for apartments within. All apartments are outward looking and form a ribbon of perimeter accommodation which clearly defines the boundary between public and private space."

The statement added: "The applications site is located on Drayton Street, Pearson Street and Bell Place, Graiseley. The site forms the end of an urban block and accommodates an open space where a building was destroyed by fire, a bathroom showroom and a youth training facility. The remainder of the urban block outside of the applicant’s ownership comprises industrial units and brick buildings, some of which are barely occupied."

Wolverhampton Council's planning department approved the application last week. Planning officer Kirsty Hodson approved the application with several conditions.

These included: "Details of the landscaping of the site (including hard surfaces, boundary treatments) shall be submitted to, and approved in writing by, the local planning authority.

"The approved landscaping scheme shall be fully implemented within one year of either the first occupation or use of the development or its substantial completion, whichever is the sooner, and shall be maintained thereafter for a period of not less than five years."