ATa meeting of Wychavon District Council’s planning committee last Thursday, the committee approved a planning application for 740 new houses plus employment premises.

These will be built on the southern edge of Droitwich Spa, south of the A38 bypass between the Copcut Elm and Salwarpe. This unnecessary destruction of green fields and woodland to further the greed of out-of-town developers is a significant and sad day for Droitwich Spa. It’s unnecessary because there are brownfield sites within Droitwich Spa and across Wychavon that should be developed first, even if they are less profitable for the developers. Unnecessary because there are already industrial units standing empty at Berry Hill and Hampton Lovett – we do not need to build more so that they can stand empty too.

TheCopcut landmaynowhave been lost to developers, but the land at Yew Tree Hill is still under threat from different developers who are promoting a further 800 houses plus across this beautiful hillside.

More than 12 per cent of the Droitwich Spa electorate have already signed a petition against development on Yew Tree Hill, but a planning decision by the council has been held up for almost a year now because the developers have not provided sufficient information to the Highways Agency in that period. One of the people who objected to the Copcut planning application at the Wychavon planning meeting last Thursday is a director of a company involved in the planning application for Yew Tree Hill. This attempt to block a rival planning application demonstrates the lengths that developers will go to in order to protect their own interests.

Please do not read the headlines about approval of the 740 house Copcut development and assume that it’s all over and the developers have won.

There is still time to oppose the plans for development on Yew Tree Hill – write to your local councillors; write to Neil Pearce, the planning officer at Wychavon District Council; write toMPPeter Luff; go to the Wychavon District Council website and add your comments to planning application number 11/01073.

John Brass, the Ridings, Droitwich Spa