PLANS to reduce car parking at Great Malvern railway station by nearly half have been dropped.

Contractor Halcrow, working for Worcestershire County Council, last month unveiled plans to revamp the station forecourt.

Th plans, which involved creating three new bus bays and reducing the number of car parking places from 60 to 38, provoked a barrage of criticism.

Among the critics were the manager of Malvern Hills Science Park, Nigel Shaw.

He said he was making the protest on behalf of the 200 employees currently based at the park, and the 200 more who will work there when it is completed.

Mr Shaw said that when he visited the station on Tuesday, September 28, he could not park in Station Approach or Imperial Road because the spaces were all full.

"This shows that there's a current lack of car parking spaces and the scheme will only exacerbate this issue," he said.

"The alternative, Malvern Link station car park, is already full in the morning. If working people cannot find a place to park to catch a train, they must drive, adding to road congestion.

"Bus services are being continually cut. Employees using the train to get to work value the car as a means of reducing the time taken to get to the station, rather than suffering the non-direct routes of buses."

Maggie Jameson, of Worcestershire County Council, said: "The idea of reducing the spaces at the station to accommodate additional buses was just a proposal.

"The consultation has revealed the majority of respondents feel as Mr Shaw does, so we agree with him that it would be illogical to carry out such a proposal.

"We will now go back to the drawing board and take in the comments we received. That way we can hopefully come up with something that both improves the station and meets the needs of the community."