DUDLEY Council planners have given the go-ahead for 115 new homes in Kingswinford despite worries about noise and smells.

The land, on Stallings Lane and Oak Lane, is part of a larger redevelopment in the region which was first approved in 2018.

The latest application for full planning permission to get the green light is for homes ranging in size from one to four bedrooms and a small number of flats.

Bad smells from nearby businesses including a landfill site, scrapyard and abattoir are among concerns raised about the new housing estate.

A report from planning officers said: “ Environmental health have, at times, and often in the warmer weather, received complaints alleging problems caused by odour arising from Himley Landfill site, predominantly from residents situated to the west of the activity and the proposed development site. 

“To this end it is thought likely that, at times, odour from existing industrial activities may give rise to complaints from residents of the proposed dwellings.”

The report goes on to say that environmental health officers are satisfied measures, including building roads on the edge of the development to create a buffer zone, will be enough to mitigate the issue.

Bad smells are not the only thing to create a stink around the new estate, noise was also raised as a potential problem.

In their report to planners the council’s Environmental Safety and Health Team (ESH) said: “ESH have significant concerns about the potential for adverse impacts from industrial and commercial noise from existing businesses to the north of the development site at a number of plots along the western boundary.”

They go on to conclude they could not support approval of the application without further details about what measures developers will take to protect residents from excessive noise pollution.

Among conditions attached to approval, planners say building cannot begin until they have approved measures to control noise from neighbouring roads and businesses.