Major development plans receive mixed response

Plans for the development have been submitted to Malvern Hills District Council

Plans for thousands of homes in Worcestershire have sparked concern over the loss of countryside while other residents have welcomed them.

Developers want to build the homes on fields between St Peter's and Kempsey, on the edge of Worcester.

Some have lamented the potential loss of "beautiful countryside" and say more GP surgeries, hospitals and dentists are needed.

Outline planning approval was granted for the development of 2,204 homes on land south of Taylors Lane, between Bath Road and Norton Road, in 2018.

The first of several applications setting out the finer details of the Hopfields plans has now been submitted to Malvern Hills District Council.

Reacting to the plans one resident said: "Appreciate that Worcester is expanding but what a shame all that beautiful countryside will go."

But another said the promise of shops, sports facilities and primary school were "positive aspects of a development of much-needed homes".

They show the 20-hectare site is allocated for housing in the South Worcestershire Development Plan, a planning blueprint for the Malvern Hills, Worcester and Wychavon districts.

Developers say the scheme will include grassland habitats and tree-lined streets, and that brooks running through the site will be "sensitively protected and enriched".

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.