A MAJOR £20m ‘levelling up’ project which will see new council flats built in Tipton has been backed by councillors.

Sandwell Council has been given permission to build 55 one-and-two-bed flats in Union Street, Tipton, after councillors voted in favour of the work. 

The much-needed flats would address a chronic shortage of affordable housing and long waiting lists in Tipton and across Sandwell, the council said. 

The blocks in Union Street, which date to the 1950s, and the adjacent Albion Street car park would make way for a new three-to-four-storey block. The land on the opposite side of Union Street and a council-owned car park would also be used for a new three-to-four-storey block of flats. Kiddies Playhouse Nursery in Union Street would remain. 

The application was rubber-stamped by the Black Country authority’s planning committee at a meeting in Oldbury on October 23. 

The local authority was given millions in ‘levelling up’ money from the government to invest in regenerating Tipton town centre with the main plans demolishing the 70-year-old flats in Union Street to make way for new flats. However, initial plans to breathe new life into many empty and run-down shops were scrapped due to rising costs.

A statement included with the application said: “The central aim is to regenerate two key underused sites within the town, by replacing 15 obsolete flats and derelict buildings to deliver new affordable, low-energy, socially rented housing. The council will also secure frontage improvements to the properties along Owen Street and invest in further highway improvements throughout the centre to improve safety and security. 

“The canal walkway will also be reinvigorated and upgraded, with other additional public realm upgrades and improvements. 

“Together, these initiatives will act as a catalyst for further regeneration, by offering the town a new heart and focus.”

Permission to demolish the row of shops and flats in Union Street to make way for the new housing was granted in February. The council said the ageing shopping parade would be demolished by August to allow work to begin next year. Construction was expected to have then finished the following year.

Sandwell Council said the much-needed flats would address a chronic shortage of affordable housing and long waiting lists in Tipton and across Sandwell. More than half of the units in Tipton town centre are empty according to the council.