Several apartments have been approved next to the huge development at the former quarry

The planning application to build 14 one and two bed flats off Portway Road, near the former Edwin Richards Quarry in Rowley Regis, has been given the green light by planners at Sandwell Council.

A separate plan by the applicant and landowners FCC Environment to build 278 new homes in the quarry was approved by Sandwell councilors late last year.

Initial plans for two blocks of 16 flats were opposed by Sandwell Council planners before the application was submitted with fewer rooms.

A report by the council’s planning department describing the approval said: “The site is suitable for residential use and does not raise significant concerns about the impact on the surrounding area. The proposal would help provide much-needed housing in the borough and the proposal may be considered further in a subsequent application on reserved matters.”

Planning permission to build up to 281 homes on the land was first granted by Sandwell Council in February 2018 and then a detailed application, which set out the design of the new homes and layout of the new estate, was supported by councilors last year .

The homes should be built over the next six to eight years, said applicant and landowner FCC Environment. The proposals included a mix of one and two bed flats and two to four bed houses – of which only 11 would be “affordable” homes.

David Molland from owners and applicant FCC Environment said the quarry fill work would continue for at least another 25 years, but the work was separated from the housing plans.

A multi-million pound plan to transform the former Edwin Richards Quarry was unveiled a decade ago – a scheme that included hundreds of new homes, a waste plant and a promise to fill the quarry with 12 million tonnes of imported materials in at least 12 million tons. 30 years – and the land has long been promoted by Sandwell Council as a site for future housing.

The quarry had a history of more than 100 years extracting dolerite, known as Rowley Rag and used extensively for road building, before it closed in 2008.

A statement included in the application said: “The proposed development would provide infill residential development, sustainably sited, with a safe means of access, of an appropriate scale which is consistent with the character of the local area, providing a high environmental standard for future occupants, increasing the value of on-site habitats and also addressing energy efficiency through a construction that helps reduce carbon emissions.”