FRESH plans to demolish a former day centre to make way for housing have been revealed.
Cameron Homes and Worcestershire County Council want to build 16 homes on the site of the old Touchstone Day Centre in Geraldine Road, Malvern.
Previous plans put forward by Keon Homes in 2021 and 2022 were both refused by Malvern Hills District Council, with the former also dismissed at appeal by a planning inspector.
The proposed number of homes has been reduced each time an application comes forward - from 37 to 28 and now 16.
The latest scheme promises to be a mixture of detached and semi-detached houses, including two bungalows.
Unlike previous applications, no affordable housing is being proposed this time around.
READ MORE: Move to demolish former Malvern day centre for new homes is rejected
According to planning documents, the scheme qualifies for ‘vacant building credit’, which means the developer isn’t bound by the usual obligation to make a certain percentage of properties ‘affordable’.
The former Touchstone Day Centre closed in 2016 and has remained empty ever since, after services were transferred to Malvern Cube.
Developer Cameron Homes says there are no plans to widen the access road, off Geraldine Road, adding that there were no issues with its width in the past despite higher levels of traffic when the day centre was in use.
“A segregated footway will allow residents to safely walk out of the development to make their way to amenities or public transport stations, or through it, from Barnards Close to Storer Court,” it added.
The developer said it held pre-application meetings with district planners in September and October last year, and also sent out a leaflet to residents over the summer.
Concerns raised by neighbours included whether an oak tree near 39 Geraldine Road would be impacted by the works (developers say it won’t), and the volume of traffic that would be generated by the development.
A suggestion was made that double-yellow lines should be painted to prevent parents parking at the site when collecting children from nearby schools.
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