THE DECADE long battle to bringing a Malvern housing development’s roads under county council control has inched closer to resolution.
Worcestershire County Council officers confirmed that a deal to agree ownership of land adjacent to the main road junction into the Malvern Vale development could be close.
Earlier in the year, West Worcestershire MP Dame Harriett Baldwin raised local people’s ongoing concerns about the delays getting the roads adopted and the council has confirmed that negotiations have resumed with the housing developer Persimmon.
The MP has been pressing for work to finish off the roads at the housing development since 2014 when the housebuilder Persimmon pledged to have the roads ‘finished off before Christmas’.
But a long running dispute over land ownership has meant that the county council has been unable to take over control of the roads, and responsible for their maintenance ever since.
The council has confirmed that negotiations are underway to attempt to break through the impasse and the MP has written to Persimmon encouraging both parties to finally reach agreement.
Dame Harriett said: “I’ve been having angry letters from constituents for over a decade and each time I call on the county council and Persimmon to work together to get this issue fixed.
“I have reached out to Persimmon to make sure everyone is on the same page, and I have offered my help if there is anything I can do to enable this saga to finally reach a positive conclusion.”
