FAQs

Wychavon Town is a major new settlement planned in the South Worcestershire Development Plan Review (SWDPR) prepared by the South Worcestershire Councils (Wychavon District, Malvern Hills District and Worcester City Councils). In the Plan it is known as Worcestershire Parkway (Policy SWDPR 51). It will be a new, sustainable, self-contained town built around Worcestershire Parkway railway station.

When Wychavon District Council was formed in 1974, many doubted it would succeed, believing the mix of rural Evesham and Pershore with industrial Droitwich Spa wouldn’t work — locals joked, “you can’t put salt on plums.” Creating a shared identity was difficult since Wychavon wasn’t a real place on the map, just a local government administrative district. However, over the past 50 years, a strong sense of community has grown, and the idea of Wychavon as a district has become meaningful to residents, workers, and visitors. Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) means Wychavon District will disappear by 1 April 2028. So, to preserve this legacy, the proposed new town will be named Wychavon Town — ensuring the sense of community and connection to place fostered over more than 50 years lives on in some. After LGR has taken place, we expect the town will simply be called Wychavon.

The site is east of Worcester, between the M5, the A44, and the village of Stoulton. The whole of Wychavon Town is within the Wychavon District Council boundary and so Wychavon District Council will be responsible for deciding planning applications in relation to the town.

The plan is for around 10,000 homes in total, plus shops, schools, green spaces, and 50 hectares of employment area. About 5,000 homes are expected to be built by 2041, with the rest delivered after that.

Wychavon Town will bring many opportunities for new and existing residents. However, we fully understand the concerns of existing communities about the impact on their way of life, particularly from noise and traffic while the town is being built.

We accept a development of this scale will inevitably bring additional traffic to the area including heavy vehicles during construction work.

We will make every effort to minimise this through the planning process. Every planning application will be required to be accompanied by a construction and environmental management plan (CEMP). This will set out measures developers will have to put in place to minimise the impact of development as much as possible on existing residents. Highways and regulatory officers will need to be satisfied with these conditions and may impose additional ones if necessary.

We’ve committed to making this an infrastructure-led development, meaning key elements of the new town – like new roads – will go in either ahead or at least alongside development. Once built, this will also help divert construction traffic away from existing communities and minimise the impact on them.

The town itself is designed to reduce the need for residents to travel by car with an aim for at least 40% of journeys to be carried out within the boundaries of the town. We also want to encourage a considerable number of these journeys to be on foot or wheels. This will be achieved by investment in a comprehensive bus network, extensive active travel routes and new road links.

There will though be a need for some journeys to take place outside of the town for work, leisure and other activities and this will inevitably add extra traffic to already bus routes. The ability of those routes to deal with this traffic will be accessed by highways officers as part of the planning application process.

We expect these impacts to be more obviously felt in the short-term while key infrastructure is being put in place. Long-term, as Wychavon Town develops, we expect services will be provided closer to existing and future communities, further reducing the need for longer journeys.

We understand existing residents are sceptical of any assurances given at this stage without the detail. That detail will come in time as we get into the detailed planning application process. We remain absolutely focused on ensuring we develop Wychavon Town in a way that minimises any negative impacts as much as we can, while accepting we can’t remove all disruption and inconvenience when creating a development of this size.

The SWDPR is expected to be adopted in spring 2026. Building is likely to be phased over many years, with the first homes and facilities estimated to appear by 2028/29.

Construction traffic will be dealt with in detail at the planning application stage and developers will be required to submit something called a CEMP (Construction Environmental Management Plan) which demonstrate how they will effectively mitigate against noise, dust, pollution. The CEMP will be available publicly to comment on as part of the planning application process.

The important thing to know is that infrastructure will be built in phases, so roads and transport improvements come in alongside new homes and not after them.

Worcestershire County Council is the Highway Authority for all roads in the development area. Through the planning application process, Wychavon District Councill will ensure good quality and safe streets that are well maintained long-term through the design of new developments, including roads which will become publicly adopted by the Highway Authority once they have been built.

Wychavon Town has been designed to reduce car dependency, however we are working with the Worcestershire County Council to ensure that key roads are monitored for potential increases in traffic. A re-aligned B4084 to the west of Stoulton and the reprioritisation of junctions will provide an alternative route through the new settlement avoiding the existing village. This will help divert traffic away from villages and ease pressure on the B4084 Pershore Road.

Yes. The development itself includes a comprehensive network of walking and cycling paths linking homes to schools, shops, health facilities, and the station, designed to reduce car dependency.

No problem. A new bus loop and mobility hub will connect all parts of the settlement to the station, town centre, and Worcester City, reducing road traffic.

The plan requires schools, health services, and local centres to be delivered alongside housing, so new residents are not left without essential services.

We provide developers a set of triggers that will determine when a new school is needed, amongst other essential requirements. It forms part of what’s called a section 106 agreement. Essentially this is a legal agreement between a developer and the local council where the developer gets permission to build houses (or other things), and in return they must provide money, land, or facilities to help the local community cope with the extra demand that the new development creates. In the case of Wychavon Town, additional primary schools will be built as each neighbourhood is developed.

The two secondary schools will also be built within local centres, near to primary schools, and served by regular public transport and close to active travel networks.

Long-term plans include a post-16 education centre and a special educational needs school, creating local opportunities from early years to adult learning.

Worcestershire County Council is responsible for monitoring capacity at primary, secondary and SEN schools, and reporting to Wychavon District Council on this. Triggers will be used to indicate when this infrastructure is needed.

The NHS Trust leads on assessing healthcare provision for Wychavon Town and the surrounding area. They will advise on the existing capacity of nearby GP surgeries and determine the level of additional healthcare facilities needed to support the new community. Their guidance will ensure that local residents have access to appropriate and high-quality primary care services as the area grows.

Community spaces, parks, and sports pitches are being built to promote mental and physical wellbeing. We will also look to facilitate events as the town grows, working with residents of existing communities to ensure people who move in feel at home and integrated.

As part of the planning application process developers will need to engage with Severn Trent to ensure a suitable foul drainage plan is in place

We will ensure there will be no net increase in surface water. This will be managed through the assessment of planning applications. We have prepared a comprehensive guide for developers which requires them to include sustainable drainage solutions, or SuDS, in their proposals. This might be things like ponds, tree planting, rain gardens or permeable paving.

Designs will be harmonious with the existing environment, with hedgerows, mature trees, orchards, watercourses and ponds, to be kept and incorporated into new developments, where practically possible.