Plans to demolish 12 terraced houses and a shop in Walsall to make way for a new chapel of rest at a Sikh temple are set to be approved.
Guru Nanak Gurdwara, in Caldmore, is looking to demolish the terraced properties next to the temple on West Bromwich Street and the adjacent Sandwell Street and replace them with a four-storey chapel which would support funeral services in the area.
Six new three-bedroom semi-detached homes will also be built on the site.
But the plans have met with strong opposition from neighbouring residents who have raised a string of concerns including an increase in traffic, noise, disturbance and the loss of shops and housing in the area.
Officers have recommended approval and the proposal is set to be discussed at Walsall Council's planning committee meeting on Thursday (October 3).
In the application, the temple said the chapel of rest was needed by its congregation who didn't have the facilities to accommodate mourners. It also said the existing houses, currently used as rental properties, were small and not energy efficient while the shop - previously a clothes store - had been vacant for a number of years.
But the plans have attracted dozens of objections, including an 89-name petition and around 70 individual letters of objection to the scheme.
Residents believe the chapel will result in a huge increase in traffic on the roads in the area and add to the already "chaotic" parking problems in and around West Bromwich Street and Sandwell Street.
Others believe the existing temple facilities are sufficient to cope with funeral services while some also objected to the size of the proposed development and feel it would be out of place with the rest of the area.
