New 10,000-home town 'will still happen' - council

Council chiefs are confident a new 10,000-home town in Worcestershire will still go ahead - despite it being downgraded by the government.

Wychavon District Council said private developers are intent on building around Worcestershire Parkway, with "several planning applications" already at an advanced stage.

It comes after the government decided to whittle its list of flagship new towns for England from 12 down to just seven, with the proposed 'Wychavon Town' being deprioritised.

Councillor Emma Kearsey, the deputy leader, said: "We are confident we can still move forward."

Wychavon Town includes proposals for schools, several parks, a healthcare centre, employment land and a town centre, alongside the 10,000 homes.

The council's Conservative leadership also said it would write to the Housing Secretary Steve Reed and Chancellor Rachel Reeves to call for clarity over what government support would be offered towards the infrastructure.

Kearsey said: "A shambles is the best way to describe this - having a 'Wychavon Town' is still the answer, in terms of preventing the destruction of the countryside.

"This is a long way down the road now - does this mean all the years of work and the hundreds of thousands that have already been spent are now going to go to the wall?"

Nigel Huddleston, the MP for Droitwich and Evesham, said: "The logic behind having this one central development was to take pressure off the villages and towns in my constituency.

"Many villages immediately surrounding the proposed site already have issues with water, sewerage, transport and access to healthcare and education."

The BBC understands the first set of planning applications for Wychavon Town are set to be decided on before the end of this year.

The development will still get specialist support from Homes England, the government's regeneration agency, which aims to speed up the delivery of new housing across the country.

But the decision to remove it from the new towns' list means developers face forking out more money on the infrastructure, something residents have raised concerns about.

The ministry of housing, communities and local government said the five sites removed from the list were still deemed to be "credible development opportunities", and may get future government assistance.

The final list is being billed as the most ambitious housebuilding project in England for half a century, with the seven new towns set to include between 15,000 and 40,000 homes each.

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