Plans for new 36-home estate in Herefordshire village

Plans to build 36 new houses in a Herefordshire village have been unveiled.

The proposed development, off Old Church Road, Colwall, has been put forward by Rosconn Strategic Land of Stratford-upon-Avon, which is behind a string of larger developments across the Midlands.

The area to the west of the village was earmarked for house building in the Colwall neighbourhood development plan, effective since June 2021, though under numerous conditions including the creation of a new community orchard and public green space on the site of a historic but now lost orchard.

The L-shaped site lies within the Malvern Hills area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), sloping westwards away from the hills.

A public consultation in the village last May drew over 100 people in person or virtually, 70 of whom left comments which prompted “expert input into road safety, drainage etc”, the new application says.

Fourteen of the 36 homes would be classed as affordable. None would be of more than two storeys, with bungalows sited along northern and western edges.

Road access would be via a new junction on Old Church Road, while a new footpath would connect the estate to the rest of the village via Stone Drive.

Comments on the application, numbered 230457, can be made until April 15.