PERSHORE’S councillors have called for a ‘damaging’ plan to build hundreds of homes in the town to be scrapped over fears it would flood and the harm it would have on ancient woodland.

Orchard Farm off Defford Road in Pershore has been included as a prospective site in the review of the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) – one of the county’s major planning blueprints – with a plan to build 450 homes in the future next to ancient woodland Tiddesley Wood which is thousands of years old.

Cllr Charles Tucker, Cllr Dan Boatright and Cllr Carolyn Harford, who all represent Pershore, used last night’s full Wychavon District Council meeting to call for the site to be removed from the ‘preferred options’ in the SWDP review “at the earliest opportunity” because housebuilding on the land would be “unsustainable.”

The motion said building homes on the site would badly affect wildlife – particularly birds, insects and bats – particularly during construction.

“The site cannot deliver 450 houses without major ecological and environmental damage,” it said.

“Steep site gradients severely limit the developable area so that it may only be possible to build on half of it.”

The councillors also said building more homes in that part of Pershore would also mean hundreds more cars would be on the road as public transport links were so poor and the chance to walk or cycle into the town would be limited.

The Pershore councillors also said the steep land off Defford Road would create rapid run-off and the potential for flooding.

“Development of the land would generate major potential soil erosion during construction and potential for instability. Many of the slopes likely to be affected overlook existing housing, so there would be a significant risk of landslides affecting the neighbouring roads and housing,” the motion said.

Several protests against the plan have been held by campaign group Protecting Pershore’s Woodland.

Former district councillor Trudy Burge, who has previously spoke on behalf of the group, said most of the planning applications on the land had been rejected and allowing hundreds of homes to be built would make a mockery of the planning system and replacing areas of natural beauty for concrete jungles would also make a mockery of the council's green policies.