A GOVERNMENT inspector has upheld a decision by Malvern Hills District Council to refuse permission for a house on the flanks of the Malvern Hills.

Applicants Mr and Mrs V Low were refused planning permission to build a dwelling on a wooded site on Old Wyche Road, Malvern Wells, and challenged the decision on appeal.

The council had said the proposal would result in the loss of trees and be damaging to the Malvern Wells Conservation Area, the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and an Area of Great Landscape Value.

It added that the design would be out of place with the character of the area and its siting on a wooded and steeply-sloping site would create a poor living environment.

In a report, an inspector appointed by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs supported comments about the loss of trees and concerns about the suitability of the site and dismissed the appeal.