Sandwell Local Plan - Reg 19 Publication

Blackheath

9.122 Blackheath is a town centre in the Rowley Town area of Sandwell, which comprises Tividale, Blackheath, Rowley and Cradley Heath and Old Hill wards. It is the principal town centre in Rowley Regis. Blackheath has seen a fall in population of about 2% in the latest census data over a 10-year period, compared to an increase across Sandwell of 11% over the same period.

9.123 22.5 % of Blackheath's residents are from ethnic minority backgrounds, compared to 48% of residents across Sandwell as a whole.

9.124 Latest census data shows a proportionally older age profile than Sandwell, but a younger age profile than England. Blackheath ward has the highest proportion of residents who are retired (22.5%).

9.125 Rowley town has the second highest proportion of residents who are economically active (59.7%) and the proportion of those who are unemployed is lower than the average for Sandwell as a whole.

Figure 7 - Blackheath Town Centre

Retail and Town Centre Uses

9.126 Blackheath Town Centre is focussed on the Market Place, where five routes to surrounding towns converge, and has a High Street extending westwards from Market Place. A by-pass was constructed in stages around the town centre during the 1980s /1990s, but due to an absence of parallel traffic restraint measures in the town centre, the central streets and Market Place remain congested with through traffic.

9.127 The town offers a good mix of retail and non-retail uses. It is anchored by a medium-sized Sainsburys food store, which opened in 1997, and a more recent Lidl store just beyond the eastern edge of the town centre, at Oldbury Road / Archer Way. The centre has a range of retail shops, covering national brands (Poundland, Iceland) and local independent traders. It has a thriving indoor market off Market Place, with over 60 market stalls, which trades three days a week and is fully let. The centre is noticeably busier on market days (Monday, Friday, Saturday) than at other times and the market has a wide draw. There are a range of non-retail uses and a reasonable evening economy, with cafes, restaurants, traditional pubs and a microbar all represented. Towards the western end of High Street there is a modern purpose-built library, which functions as a busy and popular community hub and warm space in the town.

9.128 The Centres Study and its addenda show the town is stable, with no great increase in vacancies or extra floorspace from previous studies. Blackheath appears to have weathered the pandemic and benefited from increased local demand as travelling was discouraged. The town has relatively few vacancies and a good mix of uses. It is a vital and viable town centre.

9.129 The quality of the public realm, and that of shopfronts varies through the town. Retail is forecast to decline in relative terms, meaning there is likely to be an increased role for social and community functions in Blackheath, building on its improved access. The Centres Study noted a lack of appropriate street furniture such as benches and planting in the town, which would assist public and personal interactions if provided.

9.130 Britannia Park, although around 500 metres outside the town centre, is Blackheath's main public park. It is benefiting from Towns Fund investment. This includes the provision of new changing rooms, play facilities, skate park, parking and access improvements, with improved links to the town centre for cyclists and pedestrians provided through the complementary Rowley Connected project – a walking, cycling and wayfinding Towns Fund project.

9.131 The Centres Study shows that Blackheath, like other towns in Sandwell, demonstrates no capacity for additional comparison retail - and limited capacity for convenience retail - as far ahead as can be forecast. To protect the centre's vitality and viability, new out-of-centre and edge-of-centre town centre uses should be robustly tested via impact and sequential tests, with any new retail proposals being focused on the redevelopment and reconfiguration /extension of existing capacity within the centre.

Historic Environment

9.132 Blackheath has no listed buildings, Conservation Areas or Areas of Potential Archaeological Importance.

Primary Shopping Area

9.133 No Primary Shopping Area (PSA) has been identified; the current Town Centre boundary acts as an appropriate PSA.

Hot Food Takeaways

9.134 Blackheath has nine takeaways according to the 2022 centres survey; this is close to but still under the 7% limit under the HFT threshold.

Accessibility

9.135 Blackheath is sustainably located, with many existing bus services available and a railway station outside the centre. It is an important hub for local bus services to a variety of destinations, with over 35 departures on ten different routes in a typical weekday off-peak hour. Rowley Regis railway station has frequent direct trains to Birmingham city centre, Stourbridge, Kidderminster and Worcester. It is located around 500 metres east of the town centre and the route between it and the town centre, was improved in 2021 using funding from the Government's Towns Fund initiative. Bus services will benefit from the Towns Fund-supported new bus interchange at Market Place, along with an improved public realm and pedestrian space at the heart of the town centre, again in Market Place. These works, which are currently undergoing design refinements, are scheduled to be implemented by 2025.

9.136 Rowley Regis Connected (also a Towns Fund project) will improve access for pedestrians and cyclists to bus and rail and employment nodes in Blackheath and wider Rowley Regis.

SWOT

9.137 The Centres Study Health checks noted the following characteristics for Blackheath:

Proposals

9.138 Development opportunities are limited in the centre. However, a few small sites have been identified as potential development locations and are identified in the table below, together with other possible improvements to local amenity and character.

9.139 BH2 and BH3 are small sites left after road improvements.