ALVECHURCH Parish Council is opposing a new development for the elderly in the centre of the village.

The application, from developers McCarthy and Stone, was to build housing for elderly people behind Birmingham Road, and in the process, improve the facilities at the adjacent cricket club for all sports.

But the council, at a recent meeting, said a substantial part of the proposed development would be on Green Belt land. Because of this, it has endorsed its planning committee's decision that the development was not one where the benefits substantially outweighed the preservation of the green belt. Councillors also had a number of other concerns, including the design and scale of the building not being in keeping with the site, and vehicle access from Birmingham Road.

Many members of the council expressed their support in principle for a combination of housing for the elderly and improved sports facilities on this site.

There was, though, an over-riding concern that any support for housing development in the Green Belt would give the wrong signal to other potential developers. The council has not given support to any other such development.

A council spokesman said: "The vote (at the meeting) was a substantial majority to support the committee’s decision to object to the proposal. Behind the controversy is the fact that Bromsgrove District Council does not have an agreed Local Plan in place yet, and is not near to carrying out their long-promised Green Belt review. That review could possibly release land such as the Birmingham Road site for sensitive development."

For more than two years, Alvechurch Parish Council has been working on a Neighbourhood Plan which will guide future developments in the parish up to the year 2030. Public consultations have already been held to gauge where future housing developments would be both sustainable and favoured by local people. But this plan can only be completed when Bromsgrove’s Local Plan is approved and the district council has completed a Green Belt review.

Parish Council chairman Andy Humphries, said: “This was the most difficult planning decision in years for the council. We support the principle of retirement living accommodation on what is a constrained site on the edge of the conservation area.

"We had hoped its Green Belt status would have been reviewed by Bromsgrove Planners by now, allowing us more flexibility to support a development like this McCarthy & Stone proposal."

A Bromsgrove District Council spokesman said: "All factors will be considered by committee as part of the planning process."