THE notorious and ill-fated South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) once again comes before Malvern Hills District Council next Tuesday evening.
It poses serious questions for all councillors and creates a real dilemma for Liberal Democrat councillors who have consistently argued against the strategy to allocate large swathes of farmland for huge new estates on the edge of Malvern and Worcester.
Liberal Democrats have long since argued that a dispersal strategy allocating small areas of land for housing throughout the district would be a more sustainable way of planning for the future.
Working with parish councils we could have allowed local villages to grow in an organic way.
Instead we shall see dominating large estates in Welland, Powick and Kempsey, while many other villages, in need of a modest amount additional housing to support their schools, will see no growth at all.
It has to be hoped the Neighbourhood Planning process will come to their rescue and may help such communities survive.
It is impossible not to express frustration at the appalling delays that have led to the current situation. It was always the case that the previous Local Plan was due to expire in 2011 and the inability of Malvern Hills District Council to deal with this sooner has left us all at the mercy of speculative large scale housing applications on unsuitable land.
As a consequence environmental vandalism has already begun on grade one farmland in places such as Powick.
It now appears that at least four of the ruling Conservative councillors, or their immediate family, own land involved in the SWDP and are therefore barred from voting next Tuesday. This leaves the Tory council administration without a majority and relying on other councillors to vote the plan through.
Liberal Democrats therefore face a very difficult decision. Either to vote for a plan which is heavily flawed, or vote against it and risk further uncontrolled speculative housing development across the Malvern Hills area.
It is essential that we regain control of the planning process and it is with heavy hearts that Liberal Democrats will be supporting the SWDP next week.
Tom Wells
Malvern Hills district councillor
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here