Collapsing pub forced to close after risking ‘total’ collapse to be replaced

The former Waggon and Horses in Smethwick will be flattened to make way for 11 new flats after the application was given the seal of approval by Sandwell Council’s planning committee.

The pub was forced to close in August 2021 amid fears the dilapidated building was at risk of “total” collapse.

The move attracted criticism from neighbours, with a total of 28 objections lodged ahead of the planning hearing – mostly due to a lack of parking.

One opponent told councilors at the meeting that “community sentiment is against the proposal” and called for greater public consultation on the future of the site. He also expressed concern about the lack of parking spaces.

“(Council) was previously concerned about the lack of visitor parking, so my question is, what has changed now and what was the concern then that is not a concern now?” he asked.

The opponent also said the proposed flats were out of character for the area and “much too tall”. He invited the council’s planning committee to visit the site of the collapsing pub on a Friday afternoon, when the area is busiest, to see “first-hand” how the flats would be added to parking problems. The invitation was put to a vote but was narrowly lost, with Planning Councilor Kay Miller using her casting vote to remove the chance to visit.

Councilor Bob Piper said the former pub needed to be demolished sooner rather than later.

“If we don’t demolish it soon, it’s going to fall on its own,” he told the planning committee at its June 26 meeting. “We have to do something with the building one way or another.”

Sandwell Council planners approved an application from Sir Henry Properties to demolish the hole-riddled building in March 2022, but the work was never carried out.

Sandwell Council’s planning officers recommended the move be approved in a report ahead of the meeting – saying it would bring “great benefit by regenerating derelict public land with much-needed housing”.

Council planners said the quaint pub had been the subject of “numerous” complaints over the years and its landlord had recently been served with an untidy plot notice. He worked “actively” with the building’s owners to demolish the pub.

Before its forced closure, the pub on the corner of Lewisham Road and Halfords Lane was a favorite haunt of West Bromwich Albion supporters, being just a short walk from the club’s home ground, the Hawthorns.

The collapsing pub was not only a risk to patrons but also to passers-by and was fenced off in 2021.

Sandwell Council made several attempts to inspect the building but were turned away by the pub’s then owners, Jasbinder Singh Kang and Amandeep Singh Shanker.

An inspection by the council before the order was made found dry and wet rot throughout the building, with a large hole leaking into the roof.

West Midlands Fire Service, which raised concerns about the “dangerous state” of the building in January 2020, accused the pub’s owners of “assault and abuse” when they refused officers entry to inspect the crumbling building .