A government inspector has ruled that a plan to build homes on a green space ‘buffer’ used to protect homes will not be allowed to go ahead.

The application for permission to build up to five homes on green space off Trotshill Lane East in Warndon Villages on the edge of Worcester fell at the first hurdle when it was rejected by planners at Worcester City Council in April.

An appeal was then made to the government’s planning inspectors in a bid to get the decision overturned, but it was thrown out in a decision that branded the land “unsuitable for housing.”

Planners said the application by John Glackin clashed with all the council’s policies on conservation and ‘significant gaps’ – which are supposed to protect land between to keep towns, cities and villages separate and ‘distinct’ from each other - and the important green fields should remain untouched.

READ MORE: Councillor blasts decision to allow 'monstrosity' in Dines Green

The report by the planning inspector said: “The proposal would result in encroachment onto land which presently has an open, undeveloped character and would diminish the significant gap at this location.”

“The proposed development would not be a suitable location for housing.”

“The proposal would urbanise the site and … would significantly harm the open, rural character and appearance of the site and the surrounding area.”

READ MORE: Concern that Bromwich Lane flats will add to St John's parking woes

The plan would have seen the new homes built next to Trotshill Farm and the Georgian-era farmhouse to the east of the 2014-approved Coach House.

The council added that, despite the plan being “relatively small-scale,” it was still “unacceptable” and would undermine all its rules on protecting green space.

The area, which is home to a number of listed buildings, is already heavily protected because it lies within a conservation area and is also classed as ‘sensitive’ – with archaeologists believing it to have been populated around the time of the Domesday Book in 1086.

The council’s archaeologist did not object to the plan but said the lack of information in the application meant they were unable to decide whether there was anything of ‘high significance’ still in the ground.

The space was also earmarked in 2016 in the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) as land that should be protected and has stayed in the current version which is currently undergoing a review.