THE latest plan to develop an old railway yard in Malvern Wells has failed to receive the backing of the parish council.

At a special meeting of the council's planning committee last night, members voted unanimously to object to Landmarque Sites Ltd's plan to build 24 houses beside the railway.

The scheme will now be decided by Malvern Hills District Council.

It's not the first time an application has been submitted for the site.

An application, made in April last year, for 44 homes, was subsequently withdrawn. Landmarque later proposed building 33 houses, but this was blocked by Malvern Hills Conservators, which refused to allow a new access road to be build across common land.

All applications have aroused strong opposition from residents, with access and traffic worries, drainage problems, overlooking and the appearance of the proposal being among the top objections.

At Wednesday's meeting, Wells parish councillor Paul Bingham said: "It is astonishing that this application has been live for such a long time and either the applicant nor MHDC development control have appeared to grasp local opinion."

He said the district council should decide the application at the earliest opportunity as it was becoming an "embarrassment". "It is time to draw this to a close," he said.