A HISTORIC building has been given a temporary reprieve from the bulldozers after planning chiefs agreed to visit the site before allowing the demolition to go ahead.

The plan to knock down a grade-II listed building in Powick and rebuild it using original materials has been put on hold until Malvern Hills planners see it for themselves.

The application to demolish Ham Hill Lodge in Ham Lane, has received strong objections from The Georgian Group - a leading national charity seeking to preserve historic buildings.

It says it is a listed building in its own right and both structures have extra importance as a result of their visual and historical relationship to each other.

It has raised concerns about the state of the lodge and has asked what the council has done to prevent its deterioration, saying there appeared to be no case for the total demolition of the building.

The site is located off a private road from Kings End Road, and is a dilapidated two-storey building close to Queensberry House - another Grade II listed building.

The applicant has also submitted a structural survey to the council detailing the poor state of the structure.

A couple of residents have written in supporting the application as they say the building is close to collapse and is the only way it has a future.

Malvern Hills planners agreed at a meeting last Wednesday to defer a decision on the scheme before making a site visit on Tuesday, May 25.