A PETITION has been launched in opposition to plans for up to 33 new homes in Wychbold.

The application, submitted by Wychbold Developments LLP and Fortis Living in December, has met with strong opposition from residents and parish councillors.

The proposed development would be built on a greenfield site behind Sunnyhill House, off Chequers Lane, and consist of 100 per cent affordable homes.

However, the petition, which has 235 signatures, argues the village’s infrastructure cannot cope with more homes and already has a high quota of affordable housing.

It also believes the new development would damage the character of the village, which sits between Droitwich and Bromsgrove.

The petition to Wychbold District Council (WDC) was started on January 7 by Charlotte Moseley, daughter of Sunnyhill House owner Alastair Moseley, who has lived there for two years.

“We don’t deny that the country needs affordable homes, but we already have enough here – we’ve filled our need,” said Mr Moseley, 58, before referring to proceeding developments in Stoke Prior.

“The infrastructure isn’t up to it, we are already struggling to cope,” he continued, citing the fact that the school and part-time doctors surgery are both at full capacity, there is only one shop and the bus service is irregular.

The petition argues the development would also bring a large quantity of additional vehicle movement, while it would be accessed by a number of already congested roads.

Mr Moseley went on to say, one of the main access points would be off the A38, which is a “death trap”.

“We shouldn’t be encouraging people to put their foot on the property ladder in places where you can only get anywhere by car,” he added.

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said the developers have tried several times to build on the site, labelling this latest effort “another desperate attempt”.

She said the field is outside the village’s development boundary and not an allocated site in the South Worcestershire Development Plan, meaning a housing needs survey has not been carried out.

A public consultation comes to an end next Wednesday (February 6) and there’s already been 77 objections to the plan.

At a meeting on January 7, Dodderhill parish councillors were unanimous in their opposition to the new homes – while other objections on the WDC website have been submitted by the Campaign to Protect Rural England and West Mercia Police.

Mr Moseley said the Neighbourhood Plan – which specifies how many new homes an area should have – was last updated in 2008 and residents are currently looking at updating it.

“We are forming a group to re-look at the Neighbourhood Plan,” he said. “We don’t want to keep fighting off these speculative developments.”

He said the field used to belong to Sunnyhill House, which was part of the Wychbold Hall estate, but was bought by ICI as a potential site for brine extraction.

A Fortis spokesperson said: “Wychbold Developments has submitted a planning application to Wychavon District Council with full details and site plans available to view on their website.

“Anyone who wishes to comment or share their views on the proposal can do so until February 6, 2019.”

Wychbold Developments was unavailable for comment.

A spokeswoman for WDC said the council could not comment on an active application.