Plan to build 100 homes in Tibberton near Worcester is turned down

The government’s planning inspectors have dismissed an appeal to build luxury homes on fields in picturesque Tibberton near Worcester to the relief of campaigners.

The controversial move was first made in 2022 and a decision was taken out of the council’s hands after planners missed the 13-week deadline to make a ruling.

Luxury housebuilders Mactaggart and Mickel then turned to the planning inspector because of the delay and appealed over ‘non-determination.’

Planning inspector Andrew McGlone said the homes would cause “permanent and irreversible” change to Tibberton and turned the appeal down.

“Despite the proposal’s benefits, many of them could theoretically be delivered through a similar scheme in another location where better infrastructure is available to support it and where it does not harm the size or character of the settlement,” the inspector said.

“There is also a need to ensure … that housing development is permitted in the right place and of the right scale for that location.

“The proposal would cause permanent and irreversible change due to its scale, location in the open countryside next to Tibberton, the character of the village and because there is a lack of sufficient infrastructure to support the scale of development proposed.”

More than 120 objections were made against the plan by residents who said the homes were “inappropriate” and “far too big” and there were fears their efforts had gone to waste with the council forced to give up its right to rule on the controversial move – leaving the decision, and the fate of Tibberton, in the hands of inspectors.

In April last year, Mactaggart and Mickel requested a ‘screening opinion’ from Wychavon District Council, which meant a brief plan was reviewed over its environmental credentials before a proper planning application was submitted.

The move was met with criticism from residents in Tibberton who said adding 100 homes and hundreds of cars to the village would be a “fiasco” and “destroy Tibberton's village identity.”

Many residents are also concerned by the extra traffic that 100 new homes would bring.

A ‘tight’ grade II-listed bridge in the village is already on the verge of collapsing according to residents, with ‘weak bridge’ road signs often not dissuading coach and lorry drivers from using the narrow route.

With queues already so bad, villagers said they were forced to take detours to avoid the “crumbling” bridge to get home, likening the congestion to rush-hour Birmingham city centre on busier days.

On top of that, sewage workers spent 36 hours in Tibberton during a cold and dark January following a failure at Severn Trent’s pumping station in the village’s Plough Road, a stone’s throw from the proposed 100-home site.

The failure, which forced workers to use four emergency tankers to manually pump human waste from the village, led to residents saying they feared Tibberton would be “swimming in sewage” if the council allowed the new homes and the village increased in size by a third.