Extra time to have say on homes application - The Malvern Observer

Extra time to have say on homes application

Malvern Editorial 28th Aug, 2015 Updated: 20th Oct, 2016   0

RESIDENTS outraged by proposals to create a new housing estate in Upton-upon-Severn have been given more time to have their say on the contentious scheme.

Members of Malvern Hills District Council’s Southern Area Planning Committee have delayed a decision on plans to build 25 homes off Ryall Road until next month.

The move comes after parish councillors claimed residents had not seen Taylor Wimpey’s revised plans before they were presented at a meeting last Wednesday (August 19).

Although the developer had secured planning permission to build on the site last year, councillors asked them to draw up a new scheme following concerns over safety.




Coun Jeremy Owenson, councillor for the area, praised Taylor Wimpey for making the alterations, but he believed residents should be given until the end of the consultation period (September 1) to give their views.

“My concern is there is a significant change and it has been posted during August when a lot of our residents and parish councillors have been on holiday and have not necessarily had the opportunity to input their concerns or support for the application,” he said.


“Having started to build up some goodwill with Taylor Wimpey, planning officers, parish councillors and residents, my concern is if we do something which is technically correct but can be misconstrued by members of the public it could set us up for further difficulties.”

A footpath had been planned to run alongside the development, but due its potential impact on an existing hedge, the idea was scrapped.

Simon Rees, planning officer, said the revised plans would see residents have to go through the housing estate to get from one side of the development to the other.

However, members of Ripple Parish Council and Coun Hannah Campbell feared the new layout could also put people at risk of being hit by speeding cars.

“My concern is that those in the northern part of the development will walk out onto the road instead of using part of the pavement,” she said.

But Coun Roger-Hall Jones added: “If you don’t do it this way and you do put the footpath all the way down there, you will lose the ditch and the hedge which would be a tragedy in conservation terms.”

A total of 11 of the 17 councillors voted to defer the application to next month’s meeting.

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