MAJOR changes will have to be made to the road network to prevent the proposed development at Malvern's North Site causing chaos.

That is the warning from traders on nearby Newtown Road.

The Ministry of Defence, which owns North Site, has indicated it would prefer to sell the land to a developer to build up to 630 houses.

Norman Rowlands, a partner at Newtown Road-based Domestic Appliance Repair (DAR), said congestion caused by vehicles parked on roads in the Link Top area had already been worsened by the introduction of charges at car parks on Newtown Road.

He said hundreds more houses just down the road would be good for business but a solution would have to be found to prevent more traffic jams. "We're in a Catch-22 situation," he said. "We would welcome the houses but the infrastructure is a nightmare. The traffic isn't going to get any better."

Mr Rowlands said a one- way system might be a possible way round the problem.

David Cox, proprietor of Newtown Road menswear shop FL Cox and Son, said he thought the right kind of development would be beneficial to the town.

"Six hundred quality houses down there would be a very good thing," he said. "This is the side of Malvern that needs developing."

He predicted planners would not grant permission for such a large development without making sure another road is built to serve it.

Peter Kendrick, owner of Evans Pets and Gardens, agreed an alternative access route would need to be built should the development go ahead.

He warned that if further restrictions were used to stop people parking on the road the effects for companies could be disastrous.

"If they ever put double yellow lines outside these shops, they will kill us," he said.