A WORCESTER charity has joined the fight to save protected wildlife on a site earmarked for a business park.

The Worcester Barn Owl Society has given its backing to residents living at Grove Farm in St John's, who have protested over proposals for the 27-acre development.

The charity has confirmed the presence of barn owls and a host of other birds and creatures on the site, and said it would be a "travesty" to build on the haven.

Roy Fowler, conservation officer for the society, said: "I was asked by the Environment Agency two years ago to identify exactly where barn owls were nesting in the area.

"I agreed to do this and was told I would be sent a contact name and phone number to report my findings.

"I subsequently made several visits and our survey revealed that barn owls roosted in the barns and there were also nest sites of woodpeckers and little owls.

"I never heard from the EA again, but then I read in the Worcester News about the plans and I thought I would offer residents my support.

"Grove Farm is a wildlife haven and it would be a travesty to lose it."

Grove Farm Residents Voice Group was set up in response to the news on the planned business park.

Group member and ecologist Stuart Worrall has video evidence of barn owls on the site from October last year.

He said: "This beautiful creature will be expelled from the fringe of Worcester."

Worcester City Council said an incomplete planning application was received for the site on Friday, January 13.

A spokesman for the local authority's planning application said a letter had been sent asking for more details, but none had been received. He said a follow-up note would be sent out soon.