PLANS to build housing on the site of an old car garage near Pershore have been approved.

Between five and seven homes will be built on the former Defford Motors site in Main Street, Defford.

Wychavon District Council has approved plans for ‘permission in principle’, which means the developer will still need to get approval on more detailed proposals before work can take place.

There are three existing buildings on the site including a large two-storey building that was used for storage on the ground floor and residential use upstairs.

“To the east of this there is a large industrial building used as a workshop and to the west is a small detached garage,” planning officers say in their decision report.

“The southern part of the site is a large garden which serves the dwelling.

“The site would have access to a primary school, playing field, village hall and public house.

“The village hall holds various classes and activities. There is a daily bus service from outside the public house to Pershore and Worcester.”

There were no objections made by residents and one neighbour, Geoff Marchant, wrote in support of the application.

He said: “I support this application, as I think it would help to enhance the village if the old Defford Motors were replaced by development in keeping with a traditional but growing settlement.

“While not wanting to pre-empt the result of the ongoing SWDPR, I think this proposal fits well within Wychavon's plans for its future housing strategy too.”

Planning officers said the site is technically in “open countryside” as it is outside of the development boundary for Defford.

But they also acknowledged that the development would go a small way towards addressing a lack of housing across the district.