PLANS for a 12-bedroom house of multiple occupation (HMO) at the former Crown Inn in Gornal have been rejected.

An application for the building, which had also been a base for Ocean Swimming Pools Ltd, had attracted a number of objections, including from Dudley MP Marco Longhi, who said: “When HMOs are developed, there can tend to be an increase in anti-social behaviour in the area.”

Planners have given permission for the demolition of a house on Prospect Road in Lower Gornal to be replaced by a new home.

Dudley Council received two letters of objection from neighbours raising concerns about highways safety and parking plus overlooking from dormer windows.

However planning officers concluded the proposal was acceptable and recommended approval.

Meanwhile, planners have given the go-ahead for four new flats at a former cafe in Stourbridge town centre.

The site, on the corner of St John’s Road and Foster Street, would see the addition of a second storey to provide four one-bedroom apartments on two floors.

The ground floor would be converted to provide a lobby and a bin store, the application is a resubmission of a previously approved scheme dating back to 2020.

Plans for 10 new garages on the site of a former technical college in Dudley have been rejected after concerns over mine workings in the area.

Planners concluded the application, for a site on Sedgley Road, was at risk from recorded mining features either on the surface or at shallow depths.

They decided there would be a risk to public safety at the site from unstable ground and gas so a mining risk assessment report would be required with any application.

Proposals for two new homes on the site of Brotherhood Hall in Scotts Road, Stourbridge, have been rejected after planners found the designs for the scheme would be out of character with the area.

The application also requested permission to demolish the vacant former hall which dates back to the 19th century.

Planners also concluded the designs did not allow for enough parking spaces and there was a risk vehicles would be displaced onto the street.