PLANS for a £150 million Worcester shopping park led by John Lewis are being watered down - with the developer promising fewer restaurants and cafes to avoid damaging the city centre.

Your Worcester News can reveal how investors behind the big plaza, proposed for green fields off Newtown Road, have agreed to make what it calls some 'significant changes' to try and motivate the city council to give it the nod.

A planning application has now been formally submitted over the Worcester Woods project, with a decision expected by April.

It reveals:

- The park will have 13 units but fewer restaurants and cafes will be included as developer Land Securities now says it wants to "limit competition" with the city centre following concerns

- An extra traffic lane will be created along Nunnery Way as well as a new roundabout to access the park after worries were raised about congestion

- Room has been found for an extra 76 trees to be planted around the park following feedback during the developer's own public consultation

- A new pedestrian crossing will be created at the Newtown Road/Charles Hastings Way roundabout to encourage people to walk in

- It will have 1,044 parking spaces and create the equivalent of 551 full-time jobs, with many roles done by part-timers

A 30,000 square foot Marks & Spencer, 60,000 sq ft Sainsbury's with an eight-pump petrol station, £7 million 40,000 sq ft John Lewis at Home store and a Next Home and Garden outlet are all signed up so far.

Most of the other nine units are much smaller, with some as compact as 1,500-7,000 sq ft on the 11 hectare site.

Under the grand plans M&S would keep its store in the High Street, trading from two locations, as would Next.

The 33 per cent reduction in planned cafes and restaurants, taking it to just 3,000 sq ft of available floor space, comes after serious concern it could damage the city centre and private talks with planning officials.

It also comes after we revealed how the city council is planning its own independent study, paid for by the developer, to assess how the plaza could affect the High Street.

Yesterday Land Securities said if it secures the green light, it will lead to around £50 million of inward investment from retailers and claw back an estimated £113 million in "lost" trade to the likes of Birmingham and Cheltenham.

Portfolio Director Nick Duffield said: "The proposed development will deliver a real boost for Worcester by creating up to 1,000 new jobs for local people, delivering £40-£50m of inward investment and creating a new retail destination that will enhance the scale and quality of the retail offer in Worcester."

Formally, the planning application is for a mix of shops, restaurants, cafes and hot food takeaways, with no restrictions in place.

The city council's planning committee would be able to limit what goods are sold on the site if it chooses to do so.

* The city council has launched its own consultation over the retail park, which runs until Wednesday, January 28.

To see the detailed plans and have your say visit worcester.gov.uk, and on the big green 'planning' tab search for reference P14Q0562.