Planning blueprint delayed again

The major review of a huge planning blueprint which decides where thousands of homes will be built across the county in the next 20 years has been hit by yet another delay.

The review of the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) – which sets out where more an extra 14,000 homes will be built across Worcester, Malvern Hills and Wychavon by 2041 was supposed to be made public earlier this year but has now been pushed back even further to allow for more studies to be carried out.

Plans to build thousands more homes will be included as part of the review and on top of the 28,400 already in the first SWDP.

A revised plan should have been released for public consultation at the start of the year but it was announced last summer that a long delay was expected as attention shifted to dealing with the Covid pandemic.

Traffic and air pollution tests also had to be scrapped as car journeys plummeted during last year’s lockdowns.

The three district councils now say the plan will not be published in October – as originally planned – and will also not be ready for an independent review in February 2022.

Another revised timetable with new deadlines is being worked on but has not yet been published.

Cllr Tony Rowley, chairman of the South Worcestershire Development Plan joint advisory panel, said: “It is disappointing we have had to delay the review again but completing the technical studies is important to provide the evidence base to make sure we have a robust and sound plan.

“We will make sure this work is carried out and a new timetable published as soon as possible.”

The revised SWDP which sets out a blueprint for where homes, offices and other developments should be built includes a new 5,000 home village next to Worcestershire Parkway railway station, a new 2,000-home town at Throckmorton Airfield near Pershore and an extra 1,000 homes in Rushwick.

The major document also includes plans to build 810 more homes across Worcester, 880 homes in Malvern, 200 homes in Evesham and 600 homes in Pershore.