PEOPLE living on a Worcester housing estate have been urged to "speak out" during a public consultation next month over plans to build a Baptist church and community centre.

Members of St Peter's Parish Council have appealed for residents to have their say about the future use of a hotly-debated piece of land.

The council is currently at loggerheads with Worcester City Council over proposals to build the new Red Hill Baptist Church next to St Peter's Tesco store.

The city council wants to locate a community centre on a current children's play area next to the store, with the church and housing development being built on the 1.5-acre site next to that.

But the parish council claims the church would generate too much traffic in the area and mean the community centre would be too small. Parish members propose a community centre and sheltered housing for the site instead.

During this week's parish meeting, vice-chairman Roger Knight echoed members' concerns that information produced by the city council for the consultation day was "biased" towards putting the church on the site.

"We want people living in St Peter's to go to the consultation to make sure they get what they want, not what the city council thinks they want," he later told the Evening News.

"We're not convinced the best place for the consultation is Tesco as people visit it from outside St Peter's. This could mean a decision is made based on the views of those who won't be affected.

"The way the information has been presented makes it difficult for people in St Peter's to see which of the proposals would provide an adequate or inadequate community centre for them."

But Mark Middleton, head of planning and economic development at the city council, refuted the comments, adding that the consultation was aimed at giving residents a chance to have their say.

"The questions are open ended to allow people to give us their views," he said.

"We're trying to make it simple for people to say what they want in St Peter's before we spend taxpayers' money and time looking at the issues involved."

The consultation display will be at St Peter's Tesco store on Tuesday, July 3, between 10am and 9pm.

Alternatively the display can be seen at the council's development services department at Orchard House in the city's Friar Street, between Wednesday, July 4, and Tuesday, July 17, on Mondays to Fridays from 8.30am to 4.30pm.