Wychavon new town eyes roads planning application
Latest plans for a 10,000-home new town in Worcestershire will go on display next week, as the local authority gets ready to submit its transport and infrastructure proposals.
Wychavon council says plans for major roads and transport improvements needed to support Wychavon Town will go on show at a series of public drop in sessions, potentially the final round of consultation before a planning application is drawn up next year.
The town, intended to be based around Worcestershire Parkway railway station, was dealt a blow earlier this year when it was left out of a list of government-backed new town projects – although then housing secretary Steve Reed said the 3000-acre plot to the south-east of Worcester could still be supported through existing housing programmes.
Plans for the next wave of UK new towns are currently being drawn up – but they won’t include Wychavon. Credit: Wychavon Town
But Wychavon has vowed to press ahead with its proposals, which pre-dated the government’s new towns programme, and outline planning applications for the town centre and the first 5,500 homes on the development were submitted by Homes England and developer Summix in January.
The authority says its detailed transport proposals will show how people would move around and through Wychavon Town, including links with existing communities, and the infrastructure needed to support the planned 10,000 new homes.
Cllr Emma Kearsey, Wychavon’s Executive Board Member for Planning, Infrastructure and Urban Design, said: “Getting the right infrastructure in the right place at the right time is crucial to the success of Wychavon Town.
“The infrastructure planning application is key to delivering the vibrant, well-connected Wychavon Town we have always planned, with the infrastructure it needs to thrive right from the start.
“We’re grateful for the views residents have given us so far and these latest sessions are a great opportunity to showcase what we have done with that feedback.”
Wychavon District Council says feedback from the sessions will be used to finalise an infrastructure planning application set to be submitted next year, intended to provide a “a joined-up framework” to ensure infrastructure is delivered alongside new homes as the town grows.
More information on the consultation will available from Wychavon council’s website on 18 November.
