A REVISED conservation area for Kempsey has been approved by district councillors but does not include a strip of land alongside a brook prone to flooding.

Kempsey Parish Council had wanted a six-foot wide strip of land extending across the gardens of 6 to 13 Squires Close included in the revised conservation area for the village to stop any development that could exacerbate flooding.

But members of the Malvern Hills District Council planning committee decided to remove it from the plans after an objection from one of the occupiers who said the purpose of a conservation area does not relate to flooding and laws already exist to control development. District council officers agreed with the argument because conservation areas relate to places of special architectural or historic interest.