Flats rejected over congestion and parking

A move to build more flats above offices in Wolverhampton has been blocked over fears it would add to congestion on a busy route.

Plans to add another storey to Hazara House on Dudley Road have been turned down by City of Wolverhampton Council, which said there was "an under-provision of parking spaces" proposed.

The upper floors have been converted into 12 flats, and plans included adding a mansard roof to the building to provide space for six one-bed flats.

Proposed access near Cartwright Street would result in creating a "staggered junction arrangement", the council said in its rejection.

Building a junction to serve the extra flats on Dudley Road, one of the busiest routes in and out of the city, would contribute to blocking the road, the authority's planners stated.

In a report outlining the objection, they said "the constrained nature of the site would limit the ability to provide adequate levels of amenity space".

The "substandard parking provision and site layout would further exacerbate" issues, leading to "increased congestion, disturbance and general inconvenience for future occupiers", planners added.

The council said the proposed under-provision of spaces, when considered alongside "existing 'no waiting' and peak-hour loading restrictions" on streets, would likely result in "overspill parking on the surrounding highway network".

This news was gathered by theLocal Democracy Reporting Servicewhich covers councils and other public service organisations.

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