COUNCILLORS have given the go-ahead for 50 new houses on a vacant plot of land in Quarry Bank.

The development will be off Lynval Road and located in between industrial units to the south of the Sunrise Medical premises.

On July 22, members of Dudley Council’s planning committee voted unanimously to approve the application for a mix of semi-detached and terraced houses with two or three bedrooms.

Committee member Cllr Asif Ahmed praised the layout of the proposed estate for not attempting to fill every corner of the 1.77 hectare plot.

Cllr Ahmed said: “It is a positive application and the best fit, normally on a piece of land that size developers cram in as many buildings as possible.”

The council received objections from people living near the development site expressing concerns about the entrance to the estate on Lynval Road creating traffic congestion.

In a report for planners, case officer Richard Stevenson said: “The scale of the development at 50 dwellings is not likely to have any significant impact on the highway network.”

Several objectors suggested the main access to the development should be from Thorns Road at the other end of the narrow plot of land but planners rejected the suggestion, opting instead to give the green light for pedestrian access only from that end of the site.

In recommending approval of the plans, council officers said the design must include adequate measures for extra drainage to cope with surface water which can cause flooding on the site.

Councillors were also told it was proposed that the new homes would all be in the affordable homes category if they were funded with grant aid from Homes England.

If a grant application by the developer Harworth Group plc was unsuccessful the homes would be sold at market value and generate around £370,000 which would be paid to the council to build affordable homes at another location.

Cllr Parmjit Sahota complained that £370,000 would not provide the number of affordable homes the council aims for in new developments.

He said: “It is always down to the developer, we have got a policy but we are not getting affordable housing.”