GOVERNMENT inspectors have sided with the council and rejected a plan to build new homes in a village.

The plan to build 24 ‘entry-level’ homes in Leigh Sinton by Bromford Housing was rejected by Malvern Hills District Council in March last year.

The housing association had appealed the decision by turning to the government’s planning inspectors, who have the power to overrule the council, but were snubbed again.

Malvern planners said the homes should not be allowed to be built on open countryside or outside the village’s agreed development boundary.

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The inspectors agreed saying they could not allow a development that extended the village beyond its own boundary and the homes would ruin the “beauty” of the area.

“The proposal would be extending the settlement beyond its boundaries, introducing a relatively dense and suburban housing scheme onto a site that currently contributes positively to the intrinsic character and beauty of this rural area,” a report by the planning inspectorate said.

The affordable housing, which would have included a mix of one-to-three-bed homes made available for rent and shared ownership, would be built on land last used to grow Christmas trees.

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Despite the rejection by the council and the planning inspector, the same 24-home plan was put forward again in July last year – just four months after it was turned down the first time – with a decision still pending.

If approved, the new homes would have sat next to 35 homes which have been built by developer Bromford Housing.

The plan for 35 homes was initially rejected by Malvern Hills District Council’s planning committee in 2014 but allowed on appeal after the decision was overturned by the government’s planning inspectorate in 2015 and eventually approved in full by 2019.

A plan to build 32 homes on the land was also refused by Malvern Hills District Council’s planning committee – against the recommendation of the council’s planning officers who said the plan should be approved – before an appeal was later rejected by a government planning inspector later that year.

Another plan for 18 homes in Leigh Sinton was again rejected by Malvern Hills District Council’s planning committee – following another recommendation of approval from planning officers – in 2018.