New roof approved for historic building

Dudley Council has approved the replacement of a leaking outdated roof on a historic Stourbridge college building.

The council’s head of planning, Carl Mellor, gave listed building consent for replacement of roof tiles containing asbestos on a nineteenth century block at the Glass House College in Amblecote.

Repairs will also be carried out to brickwork and a steel gantry on a workshop building at the Wollaston Road site which is now used as an administration block.

A statement from the college in support of the application said: “The existing roof is likely to date from the 1950s and is covered with asbestos shingles. 

“These are in very poor condition and a section failed in the recent poor weather. 

“These contain asbestos as a binder and so cannot be replaced or repaired. The moss that sits on the east elevation also contains traces of asbestos and so is classed as hazardous waste. 

“The proposal is to lift the shingles and replace these with natural slate in blue which it is likely to have been originally.”

The site is now operated by the Ruskin Mill Trust  but was originally the Coalbourne Hill Glassworks; one the earliest known glassworks in Europe, dating back to the late 1600s.

The Ruskin Mill Trust acquired the site in 2000 and teaches a variety of crafts and arts with glass making at the centre of the curriculum.
Dudley Council planners recommended approval of the scheme.

A report from council officers on the proposal said: “The proposed development contained in this application are welcomed; the proposed repairs will reinstate the damaged and worn details and the proposed slate roof tiles would be more in keeping of the historic building and visual amenity of the area.”