CONTROVERSIAL plans have been handed in for 113 homes on a greenfield site in a village near Worcester.

The plans, submitted by developer Taylor Wimpey, could also see Kempsey get new sports facilities, including pitches and a community hall.

If approved, the homes would be built on land to the east of Old Road South and enclosed to the south by Pixham Ferry Lane.

The ‘hybrid application’ also includes an outline application for community sports pitches with playing fields and a new community hall/clubhouse on land to the west of Old Road South, which is now used as farmland.

The homes would include a mix of one, two, three and four bedroom houses and bungalows, with 68 homes for market sale and 45 of them affordable.

There is no fixed date for a planning committee meeting as of yet, however Taylor Wimpey is hopeful of securing a hearing in the next few months

Jo Hall, primary care commissioning manager, says Kempsey Surgery is already fully using all clinical rooms and therefore has no capacity to provide services to the extra residents and submitted a request for a financial contribution under Section 106 for the extension of the surgery, based in Old Road North.

The applicant will be asked to make a contribution of £501,389 towards the provision of a cycleway linking Kempsey with employment and retail opportunities in St Peter's, Worcester, and the south, says Worcestershire County Council.

Planning documents show that some residents have already expressed concerns about the volume of traffic turning off the A38 into Pixham Ferry Lane, including the junction with Old Road South which one resident says is ‘blind to the left’, resulting in ‘a couple of near misses’ which they fear will get worse with more houses.

A resident from nearby Meadow Close said: “Access to community facilities via Pixham Ferry Lane as shown on plan is inadequate for volumes of traffic likely to be using it at busy times, especially if there is a visiting coach team.”

Mike Stephenson, a crime risk manager for West Mercia Police, wrote: “I have some concerns regarding the number of footpaths that give access to multiple rear gardens.”

The planning statement from Taylor Wimpey says the land east of Old Road South is within its ownership and the land west of Old Road South is within Malvern District Council's ownership.

The existing site is currently greenfield land. The application site is not identified for development in the SOuth Worcestershire Development Plan, a blueprint for where development should take place.

The draft Kempsey Neighbourhood Plan identifies a requirement for land to provide new community/recreation facilities.

The project to provide the community facilities will be led by Kempsey Parish Council, who have identified the site as a suitable location for community recreation and sport.