A HUGE planning blueprint which will set out where thousands of homes will be built across the south of the county has finally been made public after years of delays.
The revised South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP), which sets out how more than 11,000 new homes will be built by 2041, includes plans for a huge new 5,000-home town at Worcestershire Parkway station near Worcester and a massive new 2,000-home town at Throckmorton Airfield near Pershore, and an extra 1,000 new homes in Rushwick.
This is on top of the 28,400 already planned for up to 2030 in the current SWDP, the majority of which have already been built.
It has also been revealed that the two new towns would grow even bigger in the future with 5,000 more homes expected to be built at Worcestershire Parkway after 2041 alongside another 3,000 at Throckmorton.
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The review of the plan has been hampered by years of setbacks but has now finally been published in its most complete form – almost three years later than originally planned.
The revised SWDP shows that half of the proposed new town at Worcestershire Parkway would be built in the next 20 years and would then be expected to double in size, eventually including two new secondary schools, seven primary schools, a new college and a special educational needs school.
The vision for Throckmorton also includes two new schools, a new link road from the A44 and new walking and cycling routes between the homes and an expanded Pershore railway station which would include a second platform, new passenger bridge, and 500-space car park.
Almost 50 acres of space would also be set aside as a minimum for employment land including shops, restaurants and offices and other business units.
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Up to 1,000 homes would also be built in Rushwick alongside a new railway station, primary school, shops and sports facilities.
On top of the showpiece work included in the SWDP, 866 more homes would be built in Worcester alongside 916 in Droitwich, 255 new homes in Evesham, 594 homes in Malvern, 212 new homes in Pershore as well as 1,069 homes in villages across the Wychavon district and 376 new homes in villages across the Malvern Hills district.
The city council’s place and economic development committee will be discussing the revised SWDP at a meeting in the Guildhall from 7pm on October 3.
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