VILLAGERS worried about Broadway becoming a ‘sprawling would-be town’ have launched a campaign to combat plans for about 350 homes.

Residents say infrastructure is already under strain and the village would struggle to cope with any extra houses should the development get the go-ahead.

They have now decided to fight back by setting up the Save Broadway Campaign.

The action group was launched following a packed meeting called to highlight proposals to allocate land in village for development in the South Worcestershire Development Plan. The plan, which has not yet been approved by Wychavon District Council, earmarks sites in Station Road and Leamington Road for some 350 new homes.

Action group chairman Gordon Franks said: “This is not a case of nimbyism.

The infrastructure in Broadway is already under strain.

Sewage and drainage are a big issue. The village already has a population nearing 3,000. This is an iconic Cotswold village in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

It is a setting people travel from all over the world to visit. It is not a sprawling would-be town.”

Campaigners are now calling for all residents to back a zero-tolerance attitude to plans to build more houses and are in the process of setting up a petition.

For more information, visit savebroadway.co.uk or contact Michael Gordon- Smith on mgs@cimm