AN amended planning application to convert a former West Mal-vern healing centre into 15 homes will go before Malvern Hills District Council on March 16.

Villagers living near Runnings Park say reduced plans are still too many properties.

Resident Dierdre Drake said: "There's nobody in the village that wants this except the owners and the developers."

An amended plan goes back to committee after a complicated chain of events.

After councillors made a site visit, an application for 18 homes was refused planning permission by the council in August.

It was agreed the head of planning services, ward members and the planning committee chairman could grant delegated approval for a maximum of 15 homes after talks with the developer.

After the meeting, residents were concerned there had been no debate about the proposal for 15.

Mrs Drake said "There was no discussion or debate, nobody said 'why not eight or 10 homes?'"

A group of villagers consulted a barrister who wrote to MHDC threatening to take its decision to judicial review.

Last week the council wrote to Mrs Drake acknowledging the delegation of the decision was incorrect. It said the amended application would go back to committee on March 16.

Mrs Drake said residents felt the public had not been consulted about the amended application for 15 homes and the council should inform local residents about its return to committee.

She added residents were not against any development, seeing seven or eight houses as an appropriate number, but 15 homes was only a reduction of four bedrooms and four car parking spaces in total.

Gary Williams, the council's head of planning services, said it had been recognised that the minutes of the meeting did not explicitly authorise the head of planning services to grant approval.

It would therefore be appropriate to refer the revised application back to the next southern area development control committee for decision.

"All those who made representations on the application will be re-notified," he said.