Former health centre could become flats after HMO scrapped

A former health centre could now be turned into flats after plans for a 38-bed HMO were scrapped after a wave of objections.

The former Mesty Croft Clinic in Alma Street, Wednesbury, would be converted into ten flats under new plans after an application to build a 38-bed house of multiple occupation (HMO) was pulled in 2024.

The single-storey former health centre closed when services moved a mile away to the state-of-the-art £5m Richard Nugent Centre  off High Bullen in Wednesbury town centre at the end of 2023.

The former Mesty Croft Clinic was sold by Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust after it was deemed “surplus to requirements.”

The building would have been extended and converted into the small flats and shared facilities under the HMO plans but the move was met with criticism from Antonia Bance, Labour MP for Tipton and Wednesbury, who said it was “clear the property could become unmanageable and a site of anti-social behaviour.”

“I do not believe that concentrating one type of accommodation of this sort in such numbers is conducive to community safety. 

“This is particularly the case given it is opposite a primary school,” she said in her objection to Sandwell Council.

“An application for an HMO development of this size is extraordinary, and will be incredibly hard to manage sustainably and effectively,” the objection continued.

“Low-cost single or couple shared accommodation in this area is likely to provide homes primarily to people who may experience multiple disadvantages. 

“Despite the application arguing that there is HMO demand from students, young professionals and young working couples, I think it is unlikely that this development will serve these markets.”