A DERELICT Dudley building that was transformed into a modern day pub and restaurant has been nominated for a prestigious planning award.

The Old Glasshouse in Priory Street has been shortlisted for the Royal Town Planning Institute’s National Awards for Planning Excellence 2017, which celebrates exceptional examples of planning.

Thee town’s former Victorian fire station was brought back into use by Dudley Council’s planning and regeneration team following years of neglect and has already scooped the institute’s West Midlands Regional Award for Excellence.

In order to develop the site, the project team worked closely with Historic England and the Heritage Lottery Fund to negotiate terms of the development and adopt an approach which would allow sensitive restoration of the building, while ensuring it had a sustainable future.

The team managed to bring a tenant and business on-board in the very early stages of development, working with current business owner Shakeel Zafar to ensure the final product, a high-end bar and restaurant made the most of the building’s features and location without compromising the site’s historic importance.

The project has reinstated a number of key architectural features, lost through previous alterations.

These include the original fire station frontage, the rebuilding of a former hose drying tower, the reinstatement of windows and doors within bricked up openings, the repair and reinstatement of the stables roof, the reinstatement of gates across the driveway between the buildings and the adjacent Elizabeth House and the revealing of the glass works foundations through a transparent viewing panel in the floor.

Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, cabinet member for planning and economic development, said: “I’m really pleased that the work by the planning and regeneration team to protect and preserve a building that dates back hundreds of years has been shortlisted for this national award.

“In recent years, Dudley town centre has benefited from millions of pounds worth of investment and this has helped to breathe new life into the town and transform many of its historic buildings. "Thanks to the sympathetic planning and attention to detail, the Old Glasshouse is now one of the finest examples in the town.”

Stephen Wilkinson, President of the Royal Town Planning Institute said: “The finalists represent some outstanding contributions to planning which are making a positive impact for the community and environment. The judges will find it difficult choosing the winners given the high calibre of entries this year.

The winner will be announced in the summer.