A LARGE-scale development proposed for Malvern’s ‘green lung’ has been thrown out after plans were described as an accident waiting to happen.
That was the view of Pickersleigh Residents’ Group chairman Jeff Williams, who has led a campaign against an application from Barwood Strategic Land to build 150 homes on Hayslan Fields.
A petition against the proposals picked up 1,538 signatures, while a further 241 letters of objection were also written and the demand was met as Malvern Hills District Council’s Southern Area Development Management Committee unanimously refused the plans.
Fears were raised over visual pollution to and from the Malvern Hills, safety over access to the Hayslan Road site and the loss of a large part of green open space in the town.
Coun Val Myatt, councillor for the area, said: “It is universally accepted people need new homes.
“In the last 55 years we have built housing estates which have got rid of all our green fields and now Hayslan Fields, our last piece of green open space, is threatened by development.
“The public support for these fields has been here for decades. They should be safeguarded from development.”
Coun Sheila Young added: “When I was a child all the space were fields, there were even fields by the side of the railway lines.
“But development has crept up these fields until there is little green space left.
“These fields are the vital green lung of Malvern and if they were built on the land would be lost forever.”
The meeting last Wednesday (February 18) showed the application for the 8.85 hectare site included 59 issues of objection and also received protests from town groups such as the Malvern Civic Society.
Coun Melanie Baker, portfolio holder for planning and housing, said: “We do need more homes but we must protect our areas that are sensitive to change.
“Building on this great valuable area would be monstrous, we must not concrete over this area.”
