THE trust responsible for running hospitals in the county has said it will be looking “very carefully” at how plans to build 14,000 new homes would impact on its services.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said it will be responding later in the year to the revised South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP), which outlines plans to build 14,000 homes throughout the south of the county by 2041.

Sarah Smith, director of strategy and planning at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We will be considering very carefully what impact the revised South Worcestershire Development Plan will have on our future services, with a view to contributing fully to the public consultation process later in the year.”

Healthwatch Worcestershire said the plans would have a real impact on local health services and it needed to make sure housebuilding also came with more services.

Peter Pinfield, chairman of the county health watchdog said it needed reassurances that sufficient infrastructure would be in place before any developer was given permission to start building houses.

The 14,000 extra homes would be in addition to the 28,370 in the current SWDP.