Plan for village homes

A plan to build new homes in a village near Worcester has been put forward.

Up to ten new homes would be built on the site of a former chicken farm in Martin Hussingtree near Worcester as part of plans by Brendan Joyce.

The overgrown five-acre site off the village’s Drury Lane is classed as green belt and currently houses eight agricultural buildings, in various states of disrepair, which were previously used as chicken hatcheries and for poultry production.

Drury Lane is also home to the village’s Sterling Business Centre which was built on a separate part of the former chicken hatchery.

A statement included with the application said building new homes on the land would see the “redundant” site reused as well as see a number of “unused and derelict” buildings knocked down.

The application also said the new homes would “enhance an overgrown and neglected site” in a “desirable countryside location” as well as put an end to concerns from villagers that the narrow Drury Lane would be used by lorries if the land was re-used as an industrial site.

However, several neighbours in Drury Lane have voiced opposition to the plan saying the narrow lane would not be able to cope with the extra cars coming from ten new homes.

In one objection to Wychavon District Council, Michael and Doreen O’Keeffe of Drury Lane said they were worried that building new homes on open countryside and green belt land would set a precedent for more building in the future.

“The area around Martin Hussingtree is designated green belt,” they said. “We are concerned that any development of houses in a green belt area will set an attractive precedent to many others.

“We are still concerned about the potential impact of such a development on the safety of all residents in the lane. The increased traffic flows on this very narrow roadway would worsen the existing dangers particularly for pedestrians, as there are no footpaths.”

A decision is set to be made by Wychavon District Council’s planning committee in the coming months.