Wychavon vows to press on after ‘shambolic’ knock-back

A government decision to leave Wychavon out of government plans for a new wave of UK towns has been described as “deeply questionable” by the backers of the project.

Yesterday, the government confirmed it had whittled down its list of thirteen new towns, which originally included the planned 10,000-home Worcestershire scheme, down to just seven – leaving Wychavon and several others excluded from the proposals.

In response, Wychavon says it will continue with its plans, which remain part of the Government’s New Homes Accelerator programme and will receive specialist support from Homes England to speed up delivery of new housing and infrastructure.

• READ MORE: ‘Not enough’ – Wychavon axed from list of new towns

However, the authority fired a broadside at the MHCLG process which resulted in the town’s exclusion, with Cllr Emma Kearsey, Wychavon’s executive board member for planning, infrastructure and urban design described the decision as “deeply questionable”, saying the government’s justification contained “clear inaccuracies”.

“We began work to deliver Wychavon Town long before the government decided it would include us in its New Town programme, so this announcement changes nothing for us. However, the process behind this decision has been shambolic and simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny,” she said.

“Wychavon Town is better placed than several of the locations on the list to deliver the kind of infrastructure-led development the Government says it wants. The assessment used to justify this decision contains clear inaccuracies while ignoring strong evidence supporting the site in the South Worcestershire Development Plan Review, which has been tested through public examination.”

Plans for the next wave of UK new towns are currently being drawn up – but they won’t include Wychavon. Credit: Wychavon Town

A draft consultation released by the government today said that while Wychavon, and five others dropped from consideration, presented strong propositions for development, it was prioritising resources on the schemes it felt had the greatest potential.

The document added that MHCLG was supportive of these sites coming forward as large sites through its established programmes and interventions, “insofar as possible”.

Planning permission for the first phase of the development, including more than 5,000 homes and a proposed town centre development, was submitted earlier this year.

“In contrast to the Government, our work on Wychavon Town has been built on partnership and proper consultation,” added Kearsey.

“We remain committed to delivering Wychavon Town and are confident we are well placed to move forward. The Government has indicated support will still be available for Wychavon Town and we will be seeking assurances about what this means in reality, particularly around funding.

“But really ministers need to explain how a process that should have been guided by evidence – including the findings of their own Planning Inspectorate – has ended in such a deeply questionable decision.”