AROUND 200 people have signed a petition pleading for proposals to build 36 homes on an historic Worcester site to be scrapped.

Your Worcester News can reveal how residents living near land known as the Pratley's Estate in Rose Bank, off London Road, have overwhelmingly backed a campaign by Councillor Jabba Riaz to try and block the development.

Matthews City & Country Homes wants to build on green fields containing a number of historic buildings despite the likes of the Battlefields Trust saying it "undoubtedly saw fighting” during the Battle of Worcester.

As we revealed in June, Historic England says part of the land sits within two Conservation Areas and contains a number heritage assets, including a 19th century cottage and some still-standing boundary walls of the historic, demolished St Catherine Hill house.

Councillor Riaz said today: "Despite planning law policies being relaxed in favour of development, planners and councillors need to be brave enough to take on developers who come up with inconsiderate and inappropriate schemes.

"If Battenhall Farm was described as one of the last green lungs of the city then the Pratley estate is the last green heart of the city."

He added it was "a big fat no from all the residents", calling it the "antithesis" of conservation, saying he worries about the impact on the badger setts, biodiversity and the Conservation Area nearby.

"I hope the planners reject this proposal outright," he added.

"The copse of ancient times should have been more suited to five or six luxury 'eco' homes that blend in to the surroundings and have minimal impact on the environment," he said.

The developer has also told residents it could take six years to build the homes if it gets permission.

The land is earmarked in the emerging South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP), but only for 20 homes.

But the developer insists the site is suitable for more and has produced a report by Bridgehouse Property Consultants saying Worcester's annual housing shortfall is running at 552 properties.

It also says 14 of the 36 will be affordable homes, a mix of one, two and three-bed properties, with the report saying they will be "of no lesser standard" than the private ones.

The land is not within Historic England’s registered battlefield of Worcester, but the Battlefields Trust says it believes Rose Bank saw conflict, and that lead bullets could still be there.

While not formally objecting, the body wants any bullets “systematically recovered”, especially as most of the landscape where the fighting took place has already been long lost to development.

Phil Deeley, from RCA Regeneration, on behalf of the developer, said: "One of the key starting points is that in the SWDP, the site is allocated – the council has been consulting on it as a residential housing site since 2011."

There are around 230 written objections, on top of the petition.

A consultation on the development has now expired and the city council's planning committee is expected to decide upon it by the end of August.