No to village homes in Kempsey

A move to bypass the council and build 30 homes in a village near Worcester has been blocked by a government inspector.

The planning application to build the new homes on fields off Post Office Lane in Kempsey was rejected by planners at Malvern Hills District Council (MHDC) last year and an appeal was then launched to the government’s planning inspectors who have the power to overrule the council.

But the government inspector has sided with Malvern Hills District Council and thrown out the appeal saying it was of “poor design.”

Planning inspector Ian Jenkins said: “The proposal, which would not integrate effectively with its surroundings, in terms of form and function, or reinforce local distinctiveness, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect on the character and appearance of the local area.

“It would not be sympathetic to the local character nor in my view does it have sufficient regard to the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside.”

Rejecting the plan last year, the council said the new homes would be “inappropriate” and would have an “adverse impact” and “unacceptably encroach” on the countryside.

A total of 80 objections from villagers in Kempsey were made against the plan during consultation who said the homes would be built in an “unsustainable” location and condemned the effect it would have on already-stretched local services such as schools.

A report from officers at MHDC outlining the rejection said the site would not provide “suitable accessibility for pedestrians to the built-up area” and would have “an adverse impact on highway safety and sustainable transport choices.”

Planners went on to say that the homes would be in a location that did not have enough school spaces which would be “harmful to their welfare and the welfare of the community at large.”

Kempsey Parish Council also objected to the scheme saying enough homes had already been built in the village.

The parish council also said the “isolated position” of the homes would be “harmful to the character of the village, its rural setting and the countryside in general.”

The homes would have sat next to the recently completed 75-home Sallowbed Way plan in Kempsey and would have been outside the agreed housing boundary for the village.