Historic West Bromwich pub land up for auction sale

Land that was once home to a popular Black Country pub is up for sale with hopes of it being turned into residential property.

The Rising Sun pub, in Barton Street, West Bromwich, is being offered for sale by auction on February 9 (Wednesday) at Bond Wolfe Auctions.

The guide price is £50,000 plus.

The planning application, under DC/20/64786, was granted by the local authority in October 1 2020.

The main applicant listed in the document is Tammy Stokes, the then interim director of regeneration and growth at Sandwell Council. She was employed from March 2020 until September 2021 by the local authority, before being replaced by Tony McGovern as the full time director.

The agent, meanwhile, is listed as Chloe King, who was employed as a  planning regeneration support officer from October 2019 until September 2021.

The pub is hoped to be a residential development opportunity, after Sandwell council outlined planning permission for four one-bedroom flats or two semi-detached houses on the vacant plot.

In a planning statement, issued in September 2020, Sandwell council said: “The site is situated close to West Bromwich Town Centre and is well served by public transport opportunities which are close at hand with Metro Stops and bus stops some 900 metres away.

The site is located in area which has been the subject of major regeneration, in the very recent past. The general area around the site is mainly residential area in nature.

“The site is suitable for a small residential development of either a small block of apartments or a pair of semi-detached houses. The redevelopment of this site for residential development provides the opportunity to bring back the site into beneficial use in a well-established residential area.”

Although no objections have been raised by local residents, the council said it will be “prudent to keep a careful watch” over potential grounds issues, such as historic pumps, or landfill gases, which may impede the development.

It is unclear whether the houses and flat proposed for development will be council-owned, or listed in the private housing sector.

The land is situated approximately half a mile from the town centre, with junction 1 of the M5 about 1.5 miles away and Sandwell and Dudley railway station approx three quarters of a mile away.

The Rising Sun pub falls under the Greets Green & Lyng ward.

It dates back to the early nineteenth century, when there were two properties on the site with a shared brewhouse.

The pub changed hands several times over the next two centuries, before it closed its doors for the last time in 2005. The building was demolished in 2012 and the plot has remained vacant since.

The sale is taking place via a remote bidding auction with bidding by proxy, telephone or internet only. For remote bidding you will need to pre-register and provide identification and debit card details no later than 24 hours prior to the auction. Further details are available on Bond Wolfe’s website.

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