PLANS for a major new development on the edge of a Worcester housing estate have met strong opposition.

Persimmon Homes wants to build 34 new family houses - 10 of them classed as affordable - along with 14 allotments, a kickabout' recreation area and a £41,000 youth shelter on the edge of Warndon Villages.

The 11-acre pasture running from Dugdale Drive up to Trotshill is one of the last remaining green field sites in the area, but the scheme has won the backing of Worcester City Council's planning officers, who have recommended approval.

A final decision over the application will be made by the council's planning committee tomorrow, with members likely to be torn between the city's desperate need for more family homes and the strong desire to protect green field land.

The city's head of urban environment John Wrightson recommended the plan be approved, despite vociferous opposition from Warndon Parish Council and numerous local residents.

"The balance is wrong," the parish council says in its response to the application. "None of the land is suitable for anything other than cattle-grazing - it is constantly wet in the winter and liable to flooding." The city council has also received a flood of letters from local residents objecting to the scheme, with nearby households describing the plans for allotments, kickabout' area and youth shelter as "quite inappropriate" for Warndon.

A possible rise in anti-social behaviour appears to be a key concern, with one neighbour saying: "There is a problem in Trotshill Lane East with youths drinking and drug-taking - providing a shelter is not going to help the problem go away."

Others were worried about the "increased traffic levels" and "increased pressure on local amenities", while environmental issues were highlighted by objectors wanting to "retain green field sites and areas of natural beauty."

Persimmon - a Yorkshire-based developer - has offered to provide more than £60,000 to improve facilities at Lyppard Grange Primary School and Elgar Technology College, a further £21,000 for maintenance and facilities at the allotments and kickabout' area, plus the £41,000 youth shelter if the scheme is approved.