Background/Summary

The three councils of Malvern Hills District, Worcester City and District jointly adopted the South Development Plan in February 2016. This plans runs to 2030. The councils have agreed to roll forward the Plan to 2041 and are reviewing the joint Development Plan. They are currently consulting on the Preferred Options stage with adoption expected by November 2021. The consultation ends on 16th December 2019.

In summary, as much of the growth as possible is being located within easy reach of a new or existing rail station in order to facilitate rail travel and reduce dependence on the private car. The existing urban areas have a limited amount of suitable land available and therefore two new settlements are being proposed, one at Worcestershire Parkway Station and one at Throckmorton Airfield, and significant growth around the proposed rail station at Rushwick. These areas will be as self-contained as possible, providing a mix of homes, jobs and new services and facilities. They will also have good access to the rail network to encourage sustainable transport. These new settlements will be well designed to encourage sustainable living. There will be some growth delivered in Worcester, the towns and the villages with the greatest range of services and facilities. A total of 13,957 additional homes (net) and 294ha employment land (net) are required across the area to 2041.

Policy SWDPR 2 sets the Spatial Development Strategy and Associated Settlement Hierarchy. Worcestershire Parkway proposes 60ha of employment land and 5,000 homes by 2041 with the potential for an additional 5,000 post 2041. Throckmorton Airfield proposes 2,000 homes and 10ha of employment land up to 2041, with the potential for further growth post 2041. A new link road to Station will also be built. At Rushwick, (to the west of Worcester), around 1,000 new dwellings and 10ha of employment land will be built by 2041 following opening of the new railway station. In addition, the following towns in Wychavon District will receive growth: (730 homes & 30ha of employment land); (210 homes & 50ha employment land); and Pershore (660 homes & 2ha employment land).

Annex A of the Plan lists the categorisation of villages based on level of services and facilities. Category 1 villages close to Stratford-on-Avon District include Inkberrow, , and whilst Category 2 villages include and . The two allocations at Inkberrow total some 80 homes.

The Plan will also contain a number of development management policies / development requirements, some of which are carried over from the existing Plan.

Because the Plan is at Preferred Options stage, comments may be made on any aspect as opposed to in response to specific questions.

More information is available at https://www.swdevelopmentplan.org/?page_id=14555