AN architect hoping to demolish a turn-of-the-century Worcester building has been told to go back to the drawing board.

Plans to bulldoze Battenhall Lodge and replace the building with 17 flats had been revised prior to a Worcester City Council meeting this week, in an attempt to stem opposition.

People living in the Battenhall Road area had complained that the Lodge's demolition was unacceptable and claimed the 18 proposed car parking spaces was inadequate.

Camp Hill Road resident Ann Stallard said protesters were still angry at the revised plans, which reduced the number of flats to 12 and boosted parking spaces to 24.

"The design is bogus," she told the meeting. "Victorian trimmings have been tacked on, no doubt to appease us."

The council's principal conservation officer, Will Scott, was also unhappy with the plans.

But Simon Marson, the architect, said the work would "mirror" the style of other properties in Battenhall Road.

He said conversion of the existing building - which is approximately 100 years old but is not Listed - had been ruled out due to rising damp.

Coun Robert Rowden backed the objectors, saying the development was "quite out of character" in Battenhall Road.

Labour members thought the faade of the Lodge - a rest home since 1968 - could be retained, while the rest of the building was converted.

Although planning officers had recommended approval, development services director Stuart McNidder suggested turning down the proposals to "concentrate the applicant's mind".

He believed it was possible to refurbish the Lodge and to tackle the rising damp.

Members agreed with him that the new building lacked the design quality of the original and voted to reject the plans.

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