A PLAN to demolish a former restaurant to make way for a new care home has been rejected by councillors.

Worcester City Council’s planning committee voted against the advice of officers and turned down an application to demolish the former Harvester restaurant in Worcester’s Droitwich Road and replace it with a 78-bed care home.

The design of the proposed care home drew much criticism from councillors who called it “ugly and depressing” and “lacking imagination.”

The care home plan was also criticised for providing an “inadequate” amount of outside space for residents to enjoy.

Planning committee vice chair Cllr Pat Agar compared the care home to a “barracks for warehousing people” and criticised the developer for not including enough green space for more than 50 residents.

Cllr Agar said: “The priority is not the residents and that bothers me quite a lot… “Green space is crucial to wellbeing and all the more crucial with vulnerable residents. There’s not enough of it.”

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At the planning meeting in the Guildhall on Thursday (July 28), Cllr Owen Cleary said he would be sad to see the existing “beautiful” demolished for an “ugly and depressing” care home.

He also criticised the plan for ‘trying to squeeze as many rooms as possible into the space’ and called for it to be ‘livened up.’

Planning chair Cllr Chris Mitchell who called for the plan to be approved, said the application met the council’s standards and councillors were unable to call for changes – such as adding more green space – and only vote on what was in front of them.

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Cllr Jenny Barnes, who voted against the plan, said the care home looked “very cramped” and was worried there would be “no escape” for residents.

Ahead of the meeting, planning officers at Worcester City Council had recommended the plan was given the green light saying it was “well-designed” and “utilised the site’s full potential.”

A controversial plan to build a McDonald’s drive-thru on the site was eventually withdrawn in November 2019 after facing a wave of opposition from residents.

Hundreds of people spoke out against the plan saying a new McDonald’s should not be built near a school and would attract more litter and anti-social behaviour.