PROPOSALS to build thousands more homes across south Worcestershire have moved a step closer after the Government said the local population could grow even faster than predicted.

Speaking at a public inquiry looking at how the West Midlands will develop over the next 20 years, Jane Hinton of the department for communities and local government said new statistics suggested there would be 17 per cent more new households across the region than previously thought.

The predicted increase equates to an extra 3,000 new households in south Worcestershire by 2026, on top of the 23, 000 already predicted.

Ms Hinton said longer life expectancy and higher birth rates were the key factors, being responsible for 70 per cent of the region’s projected population increase. Foreign immigration is responsible for the other 30 per cent.

The figures have been disputed by local planners and campaigners battling to restrict housing growth, but seized upon by housebuilders as evidence of a need for new homes.

Regional planners have already agreed to build 24,500 new homes in south Worcestershire over the next two decades, but the government wants that figure increased to 30,000.

The public inquiry runs until the end of June.

Its recommendations will then go to the Government for a final decision.