COUNCIL chiefs have scrapped plans for a new community hall on Defford Road after a overwhelming public rejection of the controversial proposals by town residents.
Members of Pershore Town Council voted to shelve the project after the results of a ballot revealed more than two-thirds of those polled wanted to reject the plans.
A total of 2,290 voted ‘no’ while just 695 backed the plans for the proposed new 200-seat hall.
Councillors bowed to the public declaration despite having won planning permission for the hall following a long-running saga at Wychavon District Council which lasted more than a year.
Following a war of words on the town council last year which saw former Mayor of Pershore Coun Charles Tucker claim the project had ‘no legitmacy’, Pershore Town Council bosses submitted their application for at a meeting in January.
A majority of town councillors backed the plans which were initially approved by members of the public during a consultation in 2017.
Councillors deferred the application in January to enable members to visit the site to view the potential access to the new hall from the busy Defford Road.
A second debate on the application resulted in a further deferral for legal advice.
Planning chiefs approved the hall by seven votes to two in April despite all three Pershore district councillors voicing their disproval at the plans which they claimed would take business away from the town centre.
But town councillors have now axed the project altogether following a meeting of the town council last Friday (August 9) where they were asked whether to continue with the project.
In a statement, town clerk Ann Dobbins said: “The Town Council has agreed unanimously to shelve the Community Hall project on the Defford Road site.
“Every elector was given the opportunity to vote and the turnout was excellent with nearly 50 per cent of the electorate returning their voting slips.
“The council recognises a proportion of residents did want the hall but hope that now residents views are known, the town can move forward in a united manner,” she added.
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