Plans to transform a vacant Wednesbury pub into an HMO have been revived after the council rejected proposals for an Islamic tuition centre
Wednesbury: So, there’s this old pub, the Forge Tavern, that’s been sitting empty for a while now. Plans to turn it into an Islamic tuition centre didn’t go through, which means it might finally get a new life as a house of multiple occupation, or HMO.
The council has been pretty busy rejecting various proposals for this place over the last eight years. They’ve turned down attempts to make it a community centre and even two bids for that tuition centre. It’s been closed since 2016, and folks have been trying to figure out what to do with it.
Back in 2018 and again in 2021, the council said no to the tuition centre because they were worried about parking issues and how hard it is to get there by public transport. They also shot down community centre plans in 2022 and May 2024. It’s been a bit of a saga!
Interestingly, there was a plan approved in 2017 to turn the pub into an HMO, but nothing ever happened. Now, that plan is back on the table since the original approval ran out. A charity even tried to appeal the last rejection, but the government said no.
The latest application claims they’ve got enough parking spaces for everyone, but the council isn’t convinced. They want to know how many cars the new centre would attract and if there’s even a need for it. The proposed plans include some cool features like multi-purpose rooms, a conference room, and even a library.
