A CONCERNED resident has voiced concern about sewage overflow seeping onto a popular green area.

Colin Edwards, aged 56, said he noticed large areas of Crown Meadow, in Evesham, were covered in used toilet paper and human faeces while walking his dog before Christmas.

The Victoria Avenue resident believes the mess was washed onto the meadow - which is home to a children's play area - could be coming from overflowing sewers.

And he is worried a proposal by Hallam Land Management to build 220 new homes on land off Abbey Road will increase demand on the town's sewage system - making the situation worse.

"Anyone who walks on the meadow knows from the smell alone that sewage overflow like this is regular and it is getting worse," he said.

"Evesham's housing density is high and is going up and the sewerage system, like the rest of the town’s infrastructure can not cope.

"I think that a field full of poo is pretty much evidence (if common sense and simply looking at a map was not enough) that building more 'dwellings' in the area bounded by the Avon’s meander is clearly unsustainable."

Wychavon District Council, which leases the meadow, said it would contact Severn Trent Water to investigate his report.

A spokesman for Severn Trent said: "Our waste teams are currently unaware of any issues with sewer pipes under Crown Meadow, Evesham.

"However, we’d be more than happy to fully investigate if residents share their concerns.

"It is possible that this issue is being caused by groundwater or rainwater as, when this pools, it can cause an unpleasant smell.

"We are informed of plans for new housing schemes and will work with developers to ensure that the new sewers they build are fit for purpose while also ensuring that our network and facilities can cope with increased demand."

Andy Birch, of Hallam Land Management, said: "For any development proposals, we understand that residents are interested in matters of technical detail, usually relating to impacts on the road network and drainage matters such as flooding and sewerage.

"The submitted application includes detailed technical reports which carefully assess the impacts of development and in turn suggests mitigation measures for each technical element.

"As the application progresses we will work with statutory consultees to address the impacts of development and thus ensure local conditions are not adversely affected."

Members of the public with issues like this can report them to Wychavon, by calling 01386 565018 or e-mailing client.services@wychavon.gov.uk