MALVERN’S controversial housing plan has been approved for consultation despite being labelled ‘dreadful’ and an ‘aberration’.
The latest report of the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) came before Malvern Hills District Council last Tuesday (September 22) where it was approved by 29 votes to one.
The blueprint, by planning inspector Robert Clewes, dropped proposals to build 35 homes on the former playing fields at Green Lane but retained major developments at Newland, the QinetiQ site and Lower Howsell Road and Coun Julian Roskams called the process a ‘disappointing saga’.
“Much of the blame must lie with national Government and the previous Labour administration for devising such a cumbersome and thoroughly bureaucratic new planning process and for failing to provide the necessary overarching vision and imagination,” he said.
“But equally we, as councils, have made this local planning process incredibly protracted and a largely technical exercise and have ended up with a plan which few are proud, let alone inspired by.
“It may be the best we can do in the time available, but what a sad and shocking indictment this is of a planning process that has been nine years in the making.”
Coun Roger Hall-Jones added: “I have voted consistently against this aberration since it was first brought up.
“Things are going to happen which can never be reversed and that is what we have been fighting against and trying to reject, but there is only one way forward – I regret – and that is to send it to consultation.”
The SWDP aims to build 28,370 homes across South Worcestershire, 8,590 in Malvern Hills, by 2030 and despite Coun Tony Penn saying the decision was a ‘no brainer’, Coun Dean Clarke added it was a ‘dreadful plan made worse by the inspector’.
Coun David Harrison said: “This is not where any of us want to be, with developers saying where, when and how many houses.
“I have not been in favour of this plan for several years but we are where we are and we don’t have a plan B or C.
“This is the only way we will stop speculative development in the district.”
The plan will go to formal consultation for six weeks, between October 9 and November 20, and looks set to be in place at the start of next year.
