TWO major plans for the western edge of Worcester have been given the go-ahead.

Members of Malvern Hills District Council's northern area planning committee this week approved a plan by the University of Worcester to build accommodation for up to 1,540 students at a site off Oldbury Road, Lower Broadheath.

And they also greenlighted a plan by developer Bloor Homes Ltd to build up to 1,400 new homes, on an adjacent site, between Oldbury Road and Martley Road.

The land to the west of Worcester has been identified as the site of an 'urban extension' in the South Worcestershire Development Plan. Other planning applications for housing and other development in the area are currently in the works.

Both applications were recommended for approval by the council's planning officers. The Bloor plan was approved by eight votes to two with one abstention; the university plan was approved unanimously.

But committee members said they had misgivings about the number of parking places on the university site, saying that the 500 spaces proposed were not enough.

Members heard that the accommodation will mainly be for first-year students at the university, who are less likely to have cars.

Cllr Phil Grove said: "When the university arena at Hylton Road was built, the car parking was inadequate, and every time there is a big event there, cars have to park in all the roads around the area. We don't want to have the same situation here. I do think that having 700 spaces here would be nearer the mark."

Both applications were for outline permission, meaning that many aspects such as the layout of the sites, designs of the buildings and other matters will be decided with later detailed applications.

Cllr David Chamber, one of the two members for Broadheath, said: "The buildings must be of architectural value and built to the highest quality." And fellow ward member Douglas Godwin said that the development must be "substantial and meritorious".