COUNCILLORS in Worcester are being warned to change their minds over attempting to stop 200 homes getting built on a city beauty spot - sparking fury among campaigners.

Planners at Worcester City Council have produced a fresh report recommending Middle Battenhall Farm is built on despite more than 1,000 objections.

Your Worcester News can reveal how a fresh vote is now taking place this Thursday - with planning officials ominously warning that if councillors continue to resist, developer Miller Homes stands a good chance of winning at an appeal.

A new 16-page document, put together after councillors insisted they wanted the development thrown out last month, says any harm to the landscape "would be outweighed by the benefits" of building new homes.

The judgement comes despite some councillors saying in May how they'd rather fight an appeal than give it the nod and the city's deputy leader Councillor Marc Bayliss labelling the situation "perverse".

Middle Battenhall Farm is not earmarked for a single home in the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP), with councillors anxious to protect it as the major green lung south of the city centre.

But the SWDP has yet to be signed off by a Government inspector, with the council under pressure to build more homes.

The report says the reasons for citing refusal, which include harm to the green network, flooding danger, access difficulties and the SWDP position, are either unfounded, not strong enough to justify a rejection, or would likely fall foul of an independent inspector.

The judgement, from planning officer Alan Coleman, has triggered fresh anger from campaigners, with Middle Battenhall Farm Action Group saying it is "extremely disappointed".

A spokesman said: "The support we have seen from many of the councillors in objecting to this application has been tremendous.

"We sincerely hope the planning committee members sustain their courage and maintain their refusal decision for this harmful and inappropriate planning application."

The site is home to a 900-year-old Scheduled Monument, with ancient ponds and a moat, as well as being considered the finest green lung in south Worcester popular with dog walkers.

At the May planning committee meeting councillors called it the "most treasured" open space in the city, saying a 'yes' vote would "drive a coach and horses" through the SWDP.

But the new report puts the councillors on a collision course with the officers, who appear adament a rejection would be hard to defend at an appeal, saying there are not "credible grounds" to stick to a refusal, in their view.

Until the SWDP is adopted, which is expected later this year, developers have a window to try and get speculative planning permissions forced through.

The Ramblers Association, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, the Battlefields Trust and various conservation and heritage experts are also against it, but Miller Homes is adamant the site is a "sustainable location" for new homes and want to provide new access to the site.

* The planing committee meeting will get underway from 1.30pm at the Guildhall and we will be covering it LIVE on this website on Thursday.

To see the fresh report from planning officers, addressing each of the possible reasons cited by councillors for rejecting it, go HERE.

To see how we covered this saga in May, when the planning committee blocked the bid for the first time and asked officers to examine the possible rejection reasons, follow THIS link.