A NEW home could be built on the site of a former 18th Century mansion in Worcestershire regularly visited by renowned composer Sir Edward Elgar if planners approve the scheme.

An application has been lodged with Malvern Hills District Council for the house on the site of the former manor at Ham Court in Longdon Heath, near Upton-upon-Severn.

The site comprises the former domestic quarters of Ham Court - which Elgar regularly visited during the 19th Century and was demolished in the 20th Century - and the former Tudor cottage, the latter of which was amalgamated into the main house in the 1990s.

The most recent application for the site was for an extension to the kitchen, which was granted in April 1993.

No comments have been received from nearby residents or the local council, while the applicants have submitted a statement in support of the scheme, saying it provides a unique opportunity to improve the landscape of the estate.

They say the building would be of high quality and incorporate modern technology to protect the environment, utilising the existing sewerage system which was renewed in 1914 to serve the mansion.

They also cite the walled garden at Hope End near Ledbury and Dowdeswell Court in the Cotswolds as examples of precedence of this type of development.

Planning officers, however, say the scheme constitutes a new home in the open countryside and that supporting information provided by the applicants would not justify such a development as it would be contrary to development plan policies.

They also argue that no information has been submitted by the applicants as to whether certain trees affected by the proposed new access would need to be felled.

They are recommending the application is refused when it comes before the southern area development committee at its meeting at 7pm tonight.