A Telford housing association wants to breathe new life into Wellington with plans for a £6m development.
The Wrekin Housing Trust has submitted a planning application to Telford & Wrekin Council to create 59 new homes in an area of Dothill.
If given the nod by planning officials the Trust wants to demolish seven of eight existing blocks of flats. But an eighth block, which houses a bat roost that is protected by English and European law, will be retained and redesignd. The upstairs maisonettes will be modernised and ground floor flats will be tailored to meet disabled needs.
Another block, which is also planned to be bulldozed, will be replaced by a similar-sized building so not to interrupt the bats’ flight path. This block will provide two bedroom flats for single people and couples.
It is hoped work will start in summer of 2010 and it has been estimated to cost around £6m.
To help pay for the plans The Trust has applied for funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
Head of development at the Trust, Jean Teichman, said: “We have applied for Kickstart funding from the HCA, the expression of interest submission has gone in and we are awaiting the outcome.
“The sale of 10 homes will produce a surplus which will go towards subsidising the building of 49 homes for affordable rent and rent before you buy.
“We carried out consultation in the summer with local residents and planners. Their feedback has been very positive with a lot of support.
“The only concern from residents was that they would like the development to be mixed tenure and not all affordable housing, which will be the case.”
There were plans to re-develop the site in 2004 but the discovery of bats roosting in two of the blocks put projects on hold.
The Trust says future plans for the site will safeguard protected wildlife with plans including the provision of bat boxes, restricting demolition and pruning of shrubbery and planting new trees to provide feeding berries for birds.