Co-op plan for Hare and Hounds pub carpark may leave bitter taste in mouths of Wollescote pubgoers

Property company NewRiver Retail has finally submitted a bid for planning permission to build a Co-op store next to the Hare and Hounds in Wynall Lane after plans were first mooted more than a year ago.

But councillors representing the area say the location is no place for a new shop and they will be vociferously opposing the scheme.

Cradley and Wollescote councillor Tim Crumpton said: "If it wasn't on that horrible corner it would be a totally different case. We'll do as much as we can to object.

"It's the same silly idea as they want to do with the Round of Beef in Cradley."

Fellow ward councillor Richard Body said building a shop on the pub car park would only create parking and traffic problems and he added: "It's at the end of a dangerous road with limited view.

"It's an accident blackspot. The loss of well over half the carpark will mean more cars will be parking on the roads."

However, a traffic report submitted by NewRiver Retail to Dudley Council's planning department states: "A road safety assessment indicates a low level of road collision history within the study area and the proposed development’s calculated traffic effect is unlikely to exacerbate any pre-existing road collision patterns that may exist."

It also says an assessment indicates the proposed parking provision would be adequate for the site.

A spokesman for NewRiver Retail, which acquired the pub from Marston's plc in December 2013 as part of a portfolio of public houses, said the plans "aim to inject substantial new investment into the site".

He added: “The new convenience store aims to offer local people high quality fresh produce at great value and it is expected the majority of customers will visit by foot from the immediate area."

The spokesman said the proposed convenience store was only part of the story as NewRiver also plans to upgrade the pub.

He said: "The proposal is to incorporate the current games/function room into the pub so it can be accessed without having to go outside and internalising the toilets along with a decorative upgrade to the existing facilities and new external decorations and signage.

"The refurbishment would be the first piece of major investment in the Hare and Hounds for many years and underlines NewRiver’s commitment to its pubs portfolio.”

He said the new shop and modernised pub would result in a "really attractive new community hub" which would increase choice and create 20 new jobs.

No date has yet been given for the scheme to go before Dudley Council planners.

Cllr Body said he would be writing to nearby residents and putting a petition in a local shop near the newsagents on Wynall Lane for people wishing to object to the scheme.