KINGSWINFORD'S former police station could become nursery if new plans are approved.

An application to convert the two-storey listed building in Moss Grove into a crèche was submitted to planning officers last month.

The application would see the former police base turned into seven classrooms with two existing Portacabins used as baby nurseries. It also includes a 1.8-metre high boundary fence to reduce possible noise nuisance to neighbours from children playing in the garden areas.

In a report to planning officers, the environmental safety and health team said:  “The provision/retention of these fences is an integral part of mitigation of noise from the application site.

“However, it is not clear whether maintenance of the existing fences is the responsibility of the owner of the application site or others.”

The station was one of 13 closed by West Midlands Police in 2017 to save £8 million.

It was put on the open market in 2017 with a price tag of £450,000.

The proposed conversion follows planning officers’ approval to allow the former Stourbridge Police Station in New Road to be converted into a residential development.

It dates back to 1885 and included a ‘Wendy House’ which contained offices, and an accommodation block.

Lovell Partnerships Limited, which bought the property for £1,125,000, has said it will retain many of the building’s original Victorian features while creating luxury apartments and maisonettes close to the town and Stourbridge Railway Station and the Stourbridge Interchange bus station.

Police chiefs are presently in talks about taking on the old Citizens Advice building in Market Street to create a permanent presence in the town centre.

Nationally, police stations across the country have been turned into family homes, flats, offices, care homes, independent schools, nurseries, restaurants and veterinary clinics.