THE future of one of Worcester’s prime greenfield sites remains shrouded in mystery – with warnings any plans for out-of-town shopping or housing would be rejected.

Worcester City Football Club’s deal to break free of its contract with St Modwen for land off Nunnery Way means the developer has 20 acres of land it is sitting on.

It paid £3.15 million for the site in 2007 amid plans for a football ground being built alongside a small amount of commercial units, including a car showroom, creating up to 700 new jobs.

The landscape of the development – and Worcester City FC – has now changed, while the site itself remains the same.

Under the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP), the county’s housing blueprint, the land is earmarked for a football ground with “enabling development”, some of which could be retail based.

However, since the contract was broken up, Worcester City Council has confirmed any development of the site would require a fresh planning application.

St Modwen has so far refused to comment on its future plans, only to confirm an application is not imminent.

A large-scale retail development is not likely due to fears it could damage business in the centre of the city.

Councillor Marc Bayliss, who led the joint panel which created the SWDP, said: “The council only released that land because of the link we felt it could have with the football club.

“Now that deal has gone, it is difficult to see what could happen to the site, as there was a clear rationale for it being a site for the club.

“It’s a finely balanced argument but any development cannot be allowed to damage Worcester city centre.”

Meanwhile, Councillor David Wilkinson, chairman of the city’s planning committee, said the site’s location would “probably” rule out residential or retail schemes.

“It does raise the question of what will happen to the land, as the owner could say to us ‘circumstances have changed, we want to do something else there now’,” he said.

“It has to be something which complements the green network, so that probably rules out residential and out-of-town retail.

“The concern over retail would be the impact it has on the city centre – it has to be something with planning merits.”

The council’s managing director Duncan Sharkey has gone one step further, saying the site is “not appropriate for housing” and that any move there would be recommended for refusal.