BEWDLEY’S deputy mayor has warned the town could be dragged back to the 1970s if a proposed housing development is given the go-ahead.

Councillor Phil Edmundson said the Gladman Developments’ plan to build 195 properties on land off The Lakes Road would gridlock the town reminiscent of problems suffered in the pre-Bewdley Bypass days of the early 1970s.

He urged Wyre Forest District Council to throw out the application when it finally goes before planning committee in the coming months.

Land speculator Gladman have submitted additional information to its current outline application to address the impact the development would have on factors such as traffic congestion and increased pollution levels.

Proposals include installing a roundabout in Welch Gate near its junction with Load Street and Dog Lane, changing the traffic priority in Welch Gate and putting a bus stop in Dowles Road.

But opponents branded the submissions as “arrogant” and added that the company’s own data showed traffic had risen from 15,000 in 1972 prior to the by-pass being built to more than 20,000 in 2015.

Councillor Edmundson said: “This is typical of what we expect of Gladman and their insidious proposal; no real consideration of the issues that surround Bewdley and no real interest.

“What they are proposing is a return to the 1970s traffic issues of pre bypass Bewdley. A huge swelling of motorists, gridlocking the town at all times of the day, obviously creating real air quality management issues for Welch gate and the rest of town.

“Let us not forget that this is all about lining pockets, carving away at rural England and being able to add to the various situations we are working on with county about making Bewdley better for its residents.

“I hope WFDC treat this application with the contempt it deserves and with the contempt it has been created. “

Rod Stanczyszyn, chairman of the Bewdley Says No to Gladman group, said: “These submissions are an astounding combination of arrogance and assumptions which show no understanding of the wishes of the local community.

“The idea of a change to traffic priority at Welch Gate, rejected by Worcestershire Highways in 2010, could not possibly result in being ‘significantly beneficial’ for concentrations of NO2” as they suggest would be the case in 2021.

“After all, their own figures for traffic flows through Bewdley show that there has been an increase despite the existence of the A456 bypass.

“They have also put forward ideas which are dangerous and ridiculous in equal measure. For instance, the proposal for a bus stop on the Dowles Road, in a position where there is minimal forward visibility, is an accident waiting to happen.

“Likewise, the idea of a comfortable walkway against a road where HGV wheels are three inches from the kerb is an absolute joke.”

Gladman say there is a need for more housing in Bewdley and 59 of the properties built would be affordable homes.