By Christian Barnett

Copyright birminghammail

An empty depot next to the M5 could be demolished to make way for a 24-hour storage facility according to new plans. The former Colas warehouse and depot off Cakemore Road in Rowley Regis will be flattened as part of plans by the major contractor to clear the site for storage after receiving the backing of planners at Sandwell Council. The latest move comes after Sandwell Council approved plans to demolish the majority of the buildings on the site to make way for a new waste recycling facility. While the work was signed off in October 2023, it has not been built and the recycling facility has not been included in the new application. Read more: Golf clubhouse to be demolished in first step towards new 190-home development Read more: Bar and grill could lose licence over ‘poor’ response after ‘attempted murder in toilet’ Read more: Crumbling former Black Country working men’s club could be demolished for new flats Read more: Refit revealed for Greggs store next to West Brom’s Hawthorns Colas, which works with various councils and local authorities across the country, as well as Transport for West Midlands and Birmingham Airport to provide transport infrastructure, left the 12,400 square metre site in February and it has remained empty since. The application for the 24-hour open storage yard by the Charterhouse Property Group asks for ‘flexibility’ over the site’s use which could include the storage of lorries and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), cars and vans, pallets, construction equipment and machinery as well as shipping containers. The opening of the 24-hour storage facility would also be a departure from the 2023 application which restricted business to 8am to 6pm during the week and 8am to 3pm every Saturday. A statement included with the last application said the hours of operation were restricted due to the now scrapped recycling facility which would have created more noise. “This consent included loud operations with heavy plant and machinery and the condition states that these operating hours didn’t apply to vehicle movements, which would make up the bulk of activity at the proposed development,” the application said.