YET more homes are set to be crammed into Worcestershire over the coming years after the Government rejected local authorities' house-building plans.

Mid-Worcestershire Tory MP Peter Luff described as "potentially disastrous" a Government decision to try to squeeze thousands of extra houses into the West Midlands region, on top of the 365,600 already planned by 2026 by the West Midlands Regional Assembly.

More than 36,000 of these new homes have been earmarked for Worcestershire - 10,500 in Worcester alone.

But in a letter to the assembly this week, Baroness Andrews, the under-secretary of state for communities and local government, said these plans do not go far enough, and has instructed her local Government office to find ways of increasing the number in order to "have an impact on affordability."

She stated: "The strategy does not make provision for the number of homes anticipated to be required.

"I have therefore asked the Government Office for the West Midlands to commission some further work looking at options which could deliver higher housing numbers. I understand this decision will cause you some concerns."

Mr Luff insisted yesterday that house-building on such a scale was not necessary.

"This is potentially disastrous for south Worcestershire, which is already being asked to accommodate thousands of homes over and above existing plans," he said.

"The scale of urbanisation this could mean for our area - and the risk of the failure to provide adequate infrastructure - makes this about the worst news for local people I can imagine.

"Of course we need more affordable homes, but we don't need these massive numbers to achieve that desirable goal. This news fills me with gloom."

But the Government plans have been defended by Worcester's Labour MP Mike Foster, who said it was vital to make local housing more affordable.

"Without doubt, the priority for me is to see more affordable homes built in and around the city of Worcester," he said. "I'm conscious there will be a discussion over how many houses are needed, and that is right and proper.

"But for me the availability of affordable homes is central to this - as is the desire to make sure the infrastructure is in place and can cater for the additional homes.

"I'm conscious there can't be that many more homes built within Worcester's tight city boundaries and I can understand neighbouring MPs' concerns, because a lot of the housing will have to be built in rural areas - but the need for affordable housing is probably more acute now than ever."