THE council’s planning officers have said an eyesore former restaurant should be demolished to make way for a new care home.
A planning application to demolish the former Harvester restaurant in Worcester’s Droitwich Road and replace it with a 78-bed care home was put forward earlier this year.
Worcester City Council’s planning committee meets in the Guildhall on July 28 with a recommendation from its officers that the plan is given the green light.
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A report from the council’s planning officers, which will be discussed by the committee, said: “This development would assist in delivering the objectively assessed housing need for south Worcestershire over the plan period to 2030 ensuring that there is an adequate supply of land for housing and meeting a need for older person accommodation.
“These are factors in support of the development to which substantial weight should be attached.
“On balance, the submitted scheme has indicated is a well-designed site utilising the full potential of the site and when considered as a whole the benefits clearly outweigh the negative aspects of the proposals.”
A controversial plan to build a McDonald’s drive-thru on the site was eventually withdrawn in November 2019 after facing a wave of opposition from residents.
Hundreds of people spoke out against the plan saying a new McDonald’s should not be built near a school and would attract more litter and anti-social behaviour.
Several plans for new care homes have been put forward in the area in recent years.
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A once-rejected plan to build a new care home on the edge of the city attracted more than 170 objections with a decision still to be made by council planners.
The 70-bed care home could be built on land known as the ‘Donkey Field’ off Northwick Road in Worcester – just over a mile away from the former Harvester pub and restaurant – if plans are backed by Wychavon District Council.
Council planners rejected proposals to build an 80-bed care home on the same land last year.
A plan for a 74-bed care home on the remaining part of the former park and ride site in John Comyn Drive off Droitwich Road, less than a mile away from Old Northwick Farm, was approved by Worcester City Council in 2020.
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