A plan to build more homes next to a planned estate has been given the green light by the council.
The planning application which asked for ‘permission in principle’ to build up to six homes in Crowle near Worcester has been approved by planners at Wychavon District Council.
The six homes could be built in the garden of a home off Church Road – bordering land that has recently been earmarked for 62 new homes and opposite another recently approved plan for 30 homes.
Wychavon District Council’s planning committee gave the go-ahead to Spitfire Homes in July to build 30 homes in Crowle after several delays and despite concerns about sewage.
A month later, the same planning committee approved a plan for a further 62 homes, despite the same concerns about sewage, after delaying a decision to allow for more talks between Wychavon District Council and Severn Trent.
Ahead of the meeting last month, the council’s planning officers had advised the plan was given the green light along with a condition that Severn Trent was expected to make sure a proper sewage system was built before half of the homes were filled.
But the lack of guarantee made some councillors uneasy with much of the committee wanting reassurance that a system would be built before any of the homes were occupied.
Wychavon District Council later confirmed that nobody could move into any of the homes before the appropriate improvements were made.
Last year, social housing provider Platform Housing had its plan to build 12 homes in Crowle backed by government planning inspectors just months after it was rejected by council planners.
More than 100 objections were raised against the plan by villagers, but the inspector still overruled the council and allowed the plan to go ahead.
A statement included with the application said: “Whilst the application site lies outside of the defined development boundary for Crowle, the site is not considered to be isolated and is very much part of the village where there is existing and recent development.
“Recent appeal decisions make it clear that it is not sufficient to object to a proposed development on principle just because it is located in the countryside.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel