PLANS for more than 1,200 new homes in Malvern Hills over the next two decades have been revealed in the latest version of a controversial development blueprint for the county.

The revised draft version of the South Worcestershire Development Plan includes an allocation for 880 homes in Malvern itself, and a further 390 in villages across the district, to be built by 2041.

It also allocates a further 55 acres of employment land in Malvern Hills to allow for the growth of businesses and job creation.

Among the housing sites on the latest plan are 400 homes at Cales Farm, North Malvern, 198 on two sites off Madresfield Road, and 180 to the south of Guarlford Road.

Malvern town councillor Paul Tuthill, who also served on Malvern Hills District Council while the SWDP was being written, said he largely welcomed the new proposals.

He said: “Parkway and Throckmorton are logical sites for major developments. They are both on the same side of the river as the M5, so there won’t be any bottlenecks crossing the river, and they are close to the railways as well. In Malvern, Cales Farm is really an extension of the Malvern Vales site, and the other sites are also sensible places to build.”

Further afield, the plan calls for 5,000 new homes by the new Worcester Parkway station, and another 2,000 at the old Throckmorton airfield near Pershore.

Cllr Lucy Hodgson, chairman of the SWDP Joint Advisory Panel, said “This is an important step in the process to ensure our local plan continues to allow the three South Worcestershire councils to meet the government’s requirement for new housing, as well as providing opportunities for companies to invest, grow and create jobs.

“A huge amount of work has gone into selecting the proposed sites and I’d urge residents to read the document in full, understand the reasoning behind these recommendations and, should they be approved, get involved in the consultation.”

The latest document is available to read on the MHDC website.

Worcester City Council will consider the proposals today, Wychavon tomorrow, and Malvern Hills on Tuesday, October 29.

If each council approves the plan, a six-week public consultation will start on Monday, November 4.

Some residents have questioned how Worcestershire Royal Hospital and other medical facilities would cope with an extra 14,000 homes in the county.

Peter Pinfield, chairman of Healthwatch Worcestershire, said the watchdog needed reassurances that sufficient infrastructure for healthcare would be in place before any developer started building houses.

“I think there needs to be a ‘quid pro quo’ approach that means if they are going to have more homes we must have the facilities or the money for the facilities also and if not I think we have to starting asking the local MPs to intervene to make sure the housebuilding comes with more services,” he said.