Garage sites to make way for new homes

GARAGE sites are set to be pulled down in Smith’s Wood to make way for affordable housing.
Plots of land in Anglesey Avenue and Willow Way are among those around the borough which have been identified as being suitable for development.
Solihull Council has been actively looking at options for developing some of the sites, to help address the severe shortage of homes.
A meeting last month heard many garages were riddled with asbestos, no longer used or had become a hiding place for stolen cars.
Coun James Burn (Green, Chelmsley Wood) said: “You wouldn’t believe the anti social behaviour some of them have attracted.”
The council has accepted, however, that there are only a certain number of sites where it would be appropriate to put homes.
Part of the problem is that the design of the facilities often means that they are already surrounded by houses and it would be difficult to fit more in within the available space.
A number of councillors have suggested that Solihull could be more ambitious in its proposals.
Coun Ade Adeyemo (Lib Dem, Lyndon) has raised the prospect or building town houses, with garage facilities underneath.