Changes to historic town centre building rejected

An application to turn a Dudley landmark building into five short-term letting rooms has been thrown out.

Charlton House had operated as a pub but in 2024 was converted to provide five single occupancy rooms.

Dudley Council was asked to consider a retrospective application a change of use following the work in the Grade II listed building.

The authority had also been asked to grant listed building consent to make changes to the historic property on the corner of New Street and Priory Street in Dudley town centre.

A statement from Leicestershire-based DPM (Design Project Management) Services Ltd in support of the application said: “The premise owner achieved his target to preserve this important building for the future usage and allow more people to enjoy it some time ago. 

“However, to ensure the status quo, it must be a self-financing business, hence the need following Covid 19 and the nationwide knock-on effect of the decline of bar/restaurants an alternative income had to be provided to maintain the building and importantly retain the valued employees.”

Although the applicant said no external alterations have been made to the Regency-era building, which is a designated heritage asset in the Dudley town centre conservation area, planners were critical of the plan.

In their report, council officers said: “Whilst the majority of works to convert the building have been internal, these alterations include the subdivision of historically intact rooms, disrupting the original 19th-century plan form.

“The proposal has failed to demonstrate any clear or convincing justification for the level of harm proposed, nor does it provide evidence of public benefits sufficient to outweigh that harm.”

Dudley’s historic environment officer recommended refusal of listed building consent having found problems including unauthorised work carried out without consent that were not shown on plans and no clear public benefits had been demonstrated.

The council rejected the application for a change of use as well as the application for listed building consent.