Sandwell Council is set to decide on ambitious plans to construct 100 new homes, including 74 flats and 26 houses, on the site of the former GKN factory on Cranford Street, Smethwick. This development is a significant part of a wider multi-million-pound initiative to regenerate old industrial land around the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital.
The planning committee is scheduled to review the proposal on June 10, with council officers already recommending approval. The project aims to transform brownfield land into an essential housing resource, contributing a varied mix of accommodation types to meet the borough’s growing needs.
Importantly, 25% of these units will be designated as affordable housing, secured through planning conditions to support local residents. Much of the site has been cleared, and plans include the demolition of existing three-storey structures fronting Cranford Street. Proposed new construction features five-storey apartment blocks overlooking the canal and hospital, along with two additional blocks and new three-storey houses facing Cranford Street.
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In their application statement, Sandwell Council emphasizes the creation of “a well-designed, simple residential environment” that fosters harmony among future residents and integrates smoothly with the neighborhood.
This housing project is backed by £18 million of government levelling up funding awarded in 2024, now extended to be spent by March 2028 following delays. The council is also investing £2 million towards the scheme.
The Midland Metropolitan University Hospital itself represents a £750 million investment and opened in 2024 after nearly a decade of construction and delays. Surrounding the hospital, up to 800 new homes are planned as part of the council’s broader regeneration strategy.
Sandwell Council has exercised compulsory purchase powers to acquire the abandoned GKN factory site, which has been vacant since the 1980s and briefly operated as a go-kart track before being damaged by fire in 2005. The site has since served as parking and office space for NHS Trust activities.
Nearby, the West Midlands Combined Authority owns a site on Abberley Street, earmarked for approximately 200 additional homes. Not all proposals have succeeded; previous plans for over 200 flats alongside shops, bars, and a large car park in London Street were rejected in 2021. However, updated permission was granted in 2023 for 392 flats in a new multi-storey building, though construction has not yet commenced.
Together, these developments represent a transformative push to revitalize the Smethwick area, providing much-needed housing and supporting community growth alongside vital healthcare infrastructure.