VILLAGERS from Broadway have spoken out against plans for two new housing developments saying they impose on areas of natural beauty.

Residents from the Cotswold village turned out to oppose the eighteen new homes at Wychavon District Council's planning committee on Thursday, which were eventually both given the green light.

Broadway Parish Council clerk Kevin Beasley spoke against both the first application by One Property Group for 13 homes on land off Kingsdale Court, which had in the past already been given approval in November last year but was not officially adopted as a S106 agreement was not agreed. It was brought back before the committee following a High Court judgement.

Mr Beasley said the plans for the 13 homes were within the AONB (area of natural beauty) and raised concerns about the safety of the site.

"The access road is through an existing housing estate where the roads are narrow and have on street parking, which gives grave concerns for the access of emergency vehicles, refuse collection, etc."

Local campaigner Gordon Franks and ward member Cllr Liz Eyre also called for the refusal of the plans based on the exclusion of them from the emerging South Worcestershire Development Plan due to the fact the land is within the AONB.

But Cllr's Margaret Rowley and Judy Pearce said they felt it was quite possible to build in an AONB.

The second application for five homes on land adjacent to Springfield Cottage, Springfield Lane, submitted by the Style and Codrington families, which was deferred at a committee meeting in December last year, was also controversial requiring three votes by council before being approved.

Mr Beasley spoke again saying the plans were this time in a conservation area.

Cllr Barrie Parmenter also spoke passionately against the plans saying they would cause problems with flooding and sewage and also raised concerns about the plot being within the conservation area.

Cllr Reg Jakeman added: "It does harm the AONB. This area does flood. The other one is highways. It is highly dangerous."

Despite this Cllr Judy Pearce said a previous case meant they must show the development would cause "demonstrable harm" to the conservation area.

"The harm that's caused by building in a conservation area has to be so harmful that its trumps building. I don't think anything is going to harm this area."