MORE homes will be built under a massive building plan after rule changes were brought in by the Government.

The South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) is supposed to deliver about 20,360 homes across Worcester, Malvern and Wychavon by 2030.

That figure looks set to go up to 23,000 – subject to a major vote by the three main councils in July.

Council planners are saying the actual increased figure is something of a misnomer because a lot of the additional homes would have been built anyway, but were under previous rules not allowed to be counted in the SWDP figure.

These include ‘windfall’ developments, which come about usually through the unplanned re-development of old sites, like turning an old factory into flats for example.

Under previous planning rules, they could not be included but with the publication of the national planning policy framework they can now be.

Councillor Marc Bayliss said the “latest evidence” gathered from consultations was being evaluated and would form part of the full reports to Worcester City Council, Malvern Hills District Council and Wychavon District Council on Tuesday, July 3.

The plan is expected to be formally adopted in 2013.

Progress of the SWDP, including the forthcoming infrastructure consultation, can be tracked by logging onto www.swdevelopmentplan.org