TWO pieces of undeveloped land on the outskirts of Worcester should not become trading estates, the city council has agreed.

Conservative and Independent members of the technical services committee have outvoted their Labour counterparts to ensure the two zones will be struck out of the first draft of the forthcoming new Local Plan.

Senior officers warned of a shortfall if Grove Farm and land at the end of Newtown Road were not offered to businesses.

But the Conservatives alleged the need for fresh employment land had been greatly exaggerated and alternatives to digging up green fields were possible.

According to figures they showed the committee, five hectares (12.5 acres) could be classed as available if existing employment areas - such as the Government offices at Whittington Road - were "intensified".

Another five hectares might be worked into the Local Plan by encouraging the "business, retail and leisure sector" to invest in central Worcester.

And the Conservatives believed a further five hectares might be spared by appealing for people to work from home, even though they admitted the effects of such a policy could not be measured.

"When I used to watch Juke Box Jury the panel would give songs 'five' whenever they didn't know what to do, and this is what's happening here," accused Labour's Coun Roger Berry.

He and other Labour members argued it was better to incorporate Grove Farm and Newtown Road into the Local Plan, so the city could control its growth rather than face being overruled by Worcestershire County Council.

But they were outvoted when the matter was put to the vote.

Coun Ray Turner, a Labour member representing St John's, sided with the Conservatives and Independents, due to his objections to Grove Farm being developed.

6 A piece of Green Belt north of Worcester will not be allocated as a hi-tech business park.

The idea of developing a site between the A449 link road and Warndon, had been mooted by the Conservative group on the technical services committee last November.

But the proposal - which the party claimed was only an option for consideration - has now been shelved, following protests about the controversial suggestion.