MORE than 200 people have signed a petition calling on planners to leave a corridor through a new Pershore housing estate so a new road could be built in the future.

Pershore residents living in and around the Station Road area of the town are crossing their fingers that the second stage of a planning application by Persimmon for 86 homes will be put off on Thursday (March 5), when it is considered by planners at Wychavon District Council.

They want space to be left for a relief road, which would stretch from Station Road, at its junction with the Wyre Road, run through the 86 home new estate, behind Pershore Hall coming out to the north of the town on the B4084 Worcester Road.

Those in favour of this future plan see the road as a continuation of the proposed northern link road, which if built will bypass the busy Pinvin junction.

Now the campaigners, who say Pershore is heading towards a "nightmare" situation with its traffic should the corridor not be left are hoping a condition can be placed on the planning application, which has already received initial approval, to leave this corridor free of houses.

Councillor Charles Tucker, who is leading the campaign, said they had received more than 200 signatures of support.

"That's from the immediate area and the people who will be directly effected by it," said Cllr Tucker.

"I know there is a lot of local concern about it. I don't know whether we have got a chance or not but we have to do the best we can and take it all the way."

So far 678 homes have received the first stages of planning permission in the area of Pershore and around 120 more are in the pipeline.

Cllr Tucker said this makes it essential to allow for a relief road in the future.

"It's vitally important that we do fight this as far as we can because once the decision has been made to grant planning it shuts off the option for the relief road," he said.

"I can only see a nightmare for residents along there. People will be sitting in their cars, in fumes, unable to get out their road.

"We are not against the development but we need Wychavon to defer this to look at it again.

"We will battle all the way to the end."

The decision will be made at Wychavon District Council's planning committee on Thursday (March 5).