PLANS to build a convenience store in the car park of a Powick pub have been turned down by district councillors.

Developer NewRiver Retail had applied to build the shop in the grounds of the Three Nuns in Colletts Green Road.

But at a meeting of Malvern Hills District Council's northern area planning committee, members voted by seven votes to six to refuse the plan.

Among the reasons they cited were concerns about the safety on Colletts Green Road, an inadequate visibility splay on the access from the pub into the road and inadequate provision of car parking.

The decision has been greeted with relief by campaigners. A similar application was turned down earlier this year by the council.

The earlier plan had been recommended for refusal by the council planning staff, but the latest one was recommended for approval.

Mike Richmond of the Colletts Green Action Group said: "The action group which now comprises 200 members is relieved and grateful that the application has once again turned down."

A spokesperson for NewRiver Retail, which owns the Three Nuns, said: “We are very disappointed that the committee decided by seven votes to six to reject the clear advice from the council’s professional officers that our proposals were acceptable and complied with planning policy.

"We worked hard to revise this scheme in conjunction with the council to ensure that previous concerns were fully addressed. We will now take some time consider our options.”

The company said that, contrary to some residents' fears, it has no intention of demolishing the pub. It said: "This has never been considered. The objective is to provide a new convenience store to trade alongside the pub and create a community hub that would serve the locality."