Derelict former Harvester in Worcester broken into

Perdiswell House, a former Harvester, has been vandalised after being broken into.

Windows have been shattered, with walls now left covered in graffiti.

The restaurant, on Droitwich Road in Claines, closed its doors in April 2019 after owners Mitchells & Butlers decided to sell up, just three years after investing in a major refurbishment.

Since then, it has sat empty with controversy surrounding its future.

Windows have been smashed (Image: Newsquest)

Plans for a McDonald’s drive-thru were withdrawn in November 2019 following opposition from hundreds of residents.

Then in 2022, plans to knock down the dilapidated building and replace it with a 78-bed care home were rejected by Worcester City Council’s planning committee.

That decision came just weeks after a fire broke out in the abandoned building.

Crews from Worcester, Droitwich, Malvern, Pershore, Bromsgrove and Pebworth were called to the scene using six fire pumps and an aerial platform to put out the fire.

Walls have been covered in graffiti (Image: Newsquest)

In December, fresh plans for a care home were drawn up after the original plan was labelled “ugly and depressing” by councillors.

The care home provider MACC Care was told to go back to the drawing board by councillors and the application was put forward again, cutting the number of beds from 78 to 76.

At the meeting in July, 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.

New drawings show a courtyard and garden on the proposed care home site as well as private ‘patio-style’ gardens on the ground floor and balconies on other floors.

Cllr Owen Cleary added it would be sad to see a beautiful old building demolished for an “ugly and depressing” care home and Cllr Jenny Barnes, who also voted against the plan, said the care home looked “very cramped” and was worried there would be “no escape” for residents.

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As of Saturday, April 22, a decision on the application is still pending.

West Mercia Police has been contacted for further information about the break-in.

The door has been broken up (Image: Newsquest)