DUDLEY Council has approved the construction of 10 new homes on the site of a former gas works in Lower Gornal.

The plan is a revised version of previously approved proposals for the Musk Lane Works on Brook Street.

The derelict and overgrown site will be cleared and buildings demolished to make way for six three-bedroom semi-detached houses and four two-bedroom semi-detached houses.

Council planning officers recommended approval after risk assessments for possible contamination of land from industrial activity found further work to make the site suitable for development was needed but could be included in planning approval conditions.

Conditions were also imposed in relation to any shallow mine workings discovered on the site which would require remediation work before building could commence.

Planners also concluded that a nearby industrial estate would not cause problems for residents on the new estate.

In their report officers said: “The activities at the trading estate do not currently involve unduly noisy activity during daytime or take place at unsociable hours. 

“First floor bedrooms on plots 9 and 10 are therefore unlikely to be adversely affected by noise. 

“There is a tall three/four storey office building to the north that has windows which face towards the site. 

“The layout has been designed to place as many habitable room windows at the front of the building with the only habitable window for each apartment facing towards this building being a combined kitchen/living space. 

“These rooms would have two other windows and therefore it is considered that the impact, in terms of privacy, would be minimised.”

Previous concerns about the impact of the development on roads and pavements in the area have also been addressed.

In the latest proposal, pavements around the new development would be two metres wide while concerns about parking spaces being located away from new properties were not considered to be serious enough to refuse the application.