New Edith Walk homes nearly ready as developers clear site

Elevate is looking to regenerate the disused car park behind the Foley Arms Hotel, off Edith Walk, into new homes and shops.

The recent days and weeks have seen preparation work get underway on-site, with trees and other vegetation and debris already removed.

When complete, the site will include 11 houses and six flats, with plans having been approved last summer.

Earlier this year, Malvern Hills District Council agreed to sell off a strip of land at the entrance to the site to the developer, allowing work to begin.

ENTRANCE: The site entrance off Edith Walk (Image: NQ)

Councillors and residents have long described the site, which is a disused car park and former stable block, as an "eyesore" with a number of plans put forward in the past for its re-development.

Along with the Elevate plans, Malvern Civic Society proposed turning the area into a 'civic square' to celebrate the town's heritage.

Until recently, Edith Walk was a lane running parallel with Church Street and linking up with Back Lane, which runs parallel with Graham Road.

It provided a back entrance to the gardens of the houses in Church Street which were converted into shops in Victorian times and the entrance to the Foley Arms car park, which was originally a stable block, carriage house and staff accommodation.

CLEARED: The land behind the Foley Arms, Malvern

The area to the east of the Foley Arms Hotel car park was also used for a weekly market.

The use of the area changed in the 1990s with the building of the Somerfields (now Wilko) shop and associated car park and, in 1999, the opening of the Waitrose store with the changes to the road pattern off Graham Road and the introduction of traffic lights.

In 2010, the Foley Arms Hotel was sold to Wetherspoons but the car park was kept under private ownership.

PLANS: How the area could look. Pic. Elevate (Image: NQ)

In 2014, Travelodge put forward plans for a 40-bedroom hotel with adjacent apartments, four shops and some parking spaces.

Although the proposal was considered by the District Council, it did not proceed partly because the plan was considered to be over-development and partly because of the financial problems with the company at the time.