In this month’s Civic Matters column, Gill Pawson, chair of the Vale of Evesham Civic Society, talks about how people living in Wychavon district still need to be vigilant about speculative planning applications from housebuilders.
By Gill Pawson
Way back in 2017, the three south Worcestershire councils – Worcester City, Malvern Hills District and Wychavon District Council – started a review of the South Worcestershire Development Plan.
This document sets out the policies and site allocations for future development in the south Worcestershire area up to 2041.
Work on the document was slowed down by the Covid epidemic, but at the end of 2022 it was expected that it would be adopted within two years, providing the basis for all future planning decisions.
Another two years on in 2025, we are still awaiting the final stage…
Vale of Evesham Civic Society (VECS) has been involved in the consultation process on the plan preparation and has not found reason to object, as very little new housing is proposed for Evesham.
This position reflects the constraints to any expansion of the town, namely the river corridor and feeder streams, the designated battlefield site, and the bypass.
The majority of the new development for south Worcestershire is to be accommodated in large schemes such as those at Throckmorton Airfield, Worcester South, Rushwick, and Worcestershire Parkway.
We very much welcome the recent announcement that the Development Plan is nearing final approval. At long last!
It has taken far too long to get to this stage, which has meant that speculative developers have taken the opportunity to apply for permission for housing on land that has not been allocated for building.
We have objected to a number of such applications in recent years, as have many residents, but the lack of a five-year housing supply has forced the Wychavon District Council (the authority responsible for planning decisions) to give permission.
Examples include land off Highfield Road and off Stewart Close (both in Hampton), plus additional houses off Cheltenham Road.
It is still going to be another six months or more before the Development Plan will carry any weight in decisions on planning applications, but it is heading in the right direction.
So we still need to be alert to the possibility of more applications by builders in the next few months, hoping to take advantage of this period without a plan.
Following final approval, it is likely that a review of the Development Plan will need to commence without delay, to ensure that the Government’s requirement for Wychavon to make provision for increased levels of house building does not lead to a repeat of the current issues.
VECS will take a keen interest in this next review and will become involved if it looks as if proposals will have a significant impact on the town.
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