A controversial plan to build a 61-bed care home off a busy city road has been refused.

The refusal is being hailed as a victory for residents who had campaigned against the proposal.

Arden Croft had put forward plans to build a care home on land between London Road and the Grade II listed Heron Lodge.

But neighbours objected to the loss of a designated green space that they say is a haven for wildlife in the area.

And city planners agreed, saying the “exceptional circumstances” that would justify the loss of green space had not been demonstrated.

They also had concerns over the impact the development would have on traffic on and around the already-congested London Road.

City councillor Jabba Riaz said the application site was like “the land that time forgot”.

“It’s a safe haven for wildlife and a sanctuary of biodiversity,” he said.

“This is a victory for residents. Everything else around here is urban spread but this is a historically significant green area and it’s vital that it stays the way it is.”

Cllr Riaz said the site also plays an important role in helping rainwater to drain away and prevent flooding.

A previous application for a care home on the site was withdrawn in March 2022 but resubmitted to Worcester City Council later that year.

The plans had proposed a “modern and contemporary two-storey, flat-roofed building” that would have created 60 new jobs.

But Historic England said it had “serious concerns regarding the harmful impact” of the scheme on the Larkhill Conservation Area and on Heron Lodge, which was built in the 1820s.

And the council’s biodiversity officer said: “This is not an ordinary open piece of land often found in cities with a number of development opportunities, but part of a local green infrastructure policy and functioning as such.”

A previous application to build a nursing home on the site was submitted and then withdrawn in 1994.

And a plan to build four homes on the land was refused in 2017.