A ROW has broken out over plans to convert a pub in Fernhill Heath into a convenience store.

An application to convert the Halfway House pub in Droitwich Road into a Spar is to be decided at a meeting of Wychavon District Council’s planning committee tomorrow, but about 1,600 people living in the village — more than half its adult population — have objected to the plans.

Among concerns expressed in a petition and in dozens of letters to the council is that delivery lorries visiting the shop, which will also include a cash machine, would cause serious dangers on the road, where four-year-old Thomas Drew was killed after he was hit by a car in 2002.

In a letter to the planning department, leader of the village’s toddler group Emma Weston said she was “very concerned” about the potential increase in traffic which would result in the plans being given the go-ahead.

“There will be a constant flow of cars crossing the pavement into the car park, which is a safety risk for people trying to walk along the road,” she said.

“Add to this the delivery vehicles trying to gain access I can only see another tragedy happening in the village”.

In 2003, the speed limit through the village was reduced from 40mph to 30mph following a successful campaign which was led by Thomas Drew’s parents.

Charles Cameron, who will address the committee on behalf of the village on Thursday, said he and his neighbours felt “angry and frustrated” about the plans and believed concerns around the road dangers had not been taken into account by Worcestershire County Council’s highways department, which raised no objections to the proposal.

“The access arrangements, the positioning of the ATM and the lack of any control or restrictions on the number and type of delivery vehicles and the time in which they can deliver is quite frankly unbelievable,” he said.

“Local people feel the Highways response is unsatisfactory and given the number of local objections, should have been considered more thoroughly.”

Other objections raised by residents include concerns that the new shop is not needed as it would sit next door to the village’s post office and directly opposite an existing convenience store.

Another of the objectors, John Stallard, of Drapers Close, said the closure of the pub — which is expected to remain open until further notice — would mean the loss of a valuable community asset.

“In an age where the ‘Great British Pub’ is in rapid decline are we really going to let another one slip into oblivion?” he said.

Planning officers have recommended the shop is granted permission to open between 6am and 11pm, Monday to Saturday, and 7am to 10pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays, while the application also includes provision for 15 car parking spaces, six fewer than the pub has.

A Wychavon District Council spokesman said the authority had followed its usual consultation process, including writing to people living next to the site, putting up notices in the village and advertising the application via its website and in the press.