A FORMER Worcester mayor has blasted his own city council for accepting a plan to create 71 homes in St John's without arguing for a better deal.

Councillor Dave Clark said he was "dismayed" a plan to create new homes at the former Cinderella works would not lead to improvements at the nearby cricket pavilion.

He wanted the Guildhall to make a deal with developer Arndale Properties to ensure the pavilion is refurbished.

As we reported on Saturday, the city council has approved the project for the Watery Road site without the pavilion works being included. It will include the demolition of a nearby factory and warehouse, which used to be used as part of the Kays empire until production stopped in 1984.

The pavilion, which Arndale Properties owns, was almost bulldozed last year before the city council made the site a conservation zone. Coun Clark also said losing the site as employment land would hit the city hard.

He said: "I'm upset that some councillors would not allow a few more weeks to negotiate a better deal - they ought to be fighting harder for Worcester's heritage.

"If we could not have ensured that improvements to the pavilion were not included in it, our fallback position should have been to ensure we secured a section 106 agreement (where developers provide money to improve the community) to retain and restore it.

"Another three weeks to allow officers to look at it in more detail would not have been skin off anyone's nose.

"I'm also bemoaning the fact that if brownfield land is being lost for residential purposes, we've got to find green field as employment to make up the deficit, but that's another issue."

Coun Rob Rowden, chairman of planning, defended the decision by saying: "I knew Dave Clark would be disappointed, but you win some and lose some, and the point is, because the pavilion is in a conservation area, the owners can be required to repair it if it falls into a bad state.

"He was very active in stopping it being demolished before and was pointing out the need to look after it. I think we have the powers to ensure that happens."

The project for 71 new homes will involve the conversion and retention of the Cinderella works, and the demolition of a factory and warehouse behind it.

The site was originally earmarked as employment land in the city council local plan, but no firm came forward to create anything despite 16 enquiries.