FRESH hope has been handed to campaigners calling for a spruce up of a historic Worcester canal wharf – as plans for 45 new homes got the go-ahead.

St Modwen has secured planning permission for part of a major 170-property development on St Gregory’s Bank Industrial Estate in Merriman’s Hill Road.

But in return for the agreement, it will sit down with the city council and local volunteers about the future of a run-down wharf that served Barker’s Brickworks until the 1950s.

The site is surrounded by overgrown weeds and rubbish, and campaigners have long been calling for the company to spruce up the land.

St Modwen has also revealed it will fund an interpretation board so passers-by can find out more information about the wharf’s history.

The agreement was hammered out in a meeting of the city’s planning committee, where nearby resident John Cowie said the wharf and canalside needed urgent attention.

“It’s currently an eyesore and I don’t think it will be particularly onerous to ask them to clean it up,” he said.

“I fail to understand why they would not want to do it, rather than keep it as the jungle it currently is.”

Robert Barnes, on behalf of St Modwen, argued some of the land is “not in the developer’s ownership”, which led to criticism from the committee.

Councillor David Wilkinson said: “I think we’ve established that the bulk of this land is in your ownership and you could do something about it if you wanted.”

Mr Barnes said the company was willing to create an “interpretation board”, which Mr Cowie had been calling for, as a starting point.

Councillor Joy Squires, Labour’s parliamentary candidate, told the meeting a team of volunteers were willing to help clean up the site.

She called it “an important part of Worcester’s heritage” and said the group would be prepared to talk to St Modwen.

Councillor Geoff Williams, chairman of the planning committee, said: “Maybe if St Modwen can sit down with the council and these other parties we can get something done.

“St Modwen clearly has financial constraints, they don’t want to rebuild a wall, but maybe something can be pulled together outside of this committee to help the situation.”

The committee voted to allow the first 45 homes to be built, and asked planning officers to start talks about the wharf and canalside.

St Modwen will have to submit a further planning application for the remaining 125 properties earmarked for the land.