A SENIOR Worcester politician has hit out at developers, saying it is vital a green plot of land in Battenhall is protected.

Councillor Richard Boorn says the current problems at the top of Worcester’s London Road will only get worse if 200 homes get built at Middle Battenhall Farm.

As your Worcester News reported two weeks ago, developers Miller Homes has submitted a planning application for the site.

The land is not earmarked for development by Worcester City Council in the emerging South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP).

Coun Boorn says it would directly affect his council ward of Nunnery.

“My real problem with this is the extra traffic it would bring to Worcester,” he said.

“I know the developer is proposing to have a traffic light controlled junction adjacent to New College, but all that will do is worsen the problems at the top of London Road.

“It’s moronic if this gets approved, it would be a disaster.

“It does beg the question of what’s the point of the SWDP when applications like this go in – the whole point of having that blueprint is so we have an element of control over new development in the city.

“From a Nunnery point of view it’s like banging your head against a brickwall.”

But Miller Homes says the fields, which are close to the M5 and off Redhill Lane, are ideal for development.

The company says the site is a “sustainable” one and has spent a year consulting with nearby residents.

It plans to create an interpretation board to alert people to the mediaeval fishponds on the land, and draw up a management plan for the green land just behind the new proposed houses.

A spokesman said: “This would be development on land that provides a sustainable urban extension.”

The SWDP, which earmarks land for 23,200 homes across Worcester, Malvern and Wychavon, is currently being revised upwards. Government inspector Roger Clews says the current tally is not high enough.

The application is expected to go before the city council’s planning committee by May.