The rejected schemes in Worcester being decided by planning inspectors
PLANNED developments across the city are in the hands of a government planning inspector.
These schemes have already been rejected by Worcester City Council but are now going through the appeal process.
Projects including the extension of a HMO, plans for a drive-thru Starbucks and digital signs outside petrol stations will all be decided outside of the city.
HMO: Plans to convert the basement have gone to appeal (Image: Google Maps)
The owner of 179 Henwick Road, St John's, wants to convert the basement into a seventh bedroom for the house of multiple occupation (HMO).
Neighbours had objected to the scheme and city planners said the proposed basement bedroom would suffer from a lack of sunlight.
Plans to install a 2.4-metre tall digital sign outside the Esso petrol station in Bath Road were turned down by the council in January.
Council officers said the sign would not be in keeping with the character of the and would be distracting to drivers.
Residents said signs outside the petrol station were already 'too much, too bright and too big'.
A similar plan for the Northwick Service Station in Ombersley Road has also gone to appeal after being rejected by the council.
PLANS: Northwick Service Station in Ombersley Road (Image: Google Maps)
Another Esso station, the plan is also for the installation of a freestanding digital sign standing 2.4 metres tall.
Neighbour Dean Cutler asked for the 'unique safety of this location' to be taken into account.
He said: 'We wouldn't consider the garage being turned into a KFC, so why would we entertain this garage being turned into an imitation of one?'
Tustin Homes is appealing rejected plans to build up to 28 homes on the former Tolladine Golf Course, with access from Darwin Avenue.
Several similar plans had been turned down by the council before this proposal came forward last year.
A scaled-down plan to build up to nine homes on the same land has since been approved - but the appeal over the 28-home scheme remains in place.
In its appeal statement, Tustin Homes insists the plan 'is not an overdevelopment' of the area.
Plans to turn 2 Green Lane into a four-bedroom HMO were rejected in January by Worcester's planning committee.
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Councillors were concerned about the impact of the development on nearby roads, which include a roundabout known locally as 'crash roundabout'.
In his appeal, applicant Joe Wood says the proposed HMO would result in fewer vehicle movements throughout the day than a family home.
Retrospective plans for a house extension and boundary fencing at 100 Columbia Drive were turned down last year.
Planners said the extension was 'acceptable' but the fencing 'an incongruous feature' not in keeping with the area. As the council can't make a split decision, the plan was refused in its entiriety.
Controversial plans for a drive-thru Starbucks at Elgar Retail Park were turned down at committee last year after campaigning by residents and councillors.
Warndon councillor Jill Desayrah said the committee got it right and that 'safety issues remain', vowing to fight the appeal with 'everything I've got'.
Retrospective plans for six-foot fence around 9 Whitehorse Close were rejected last November.
Planners say the fence, which replaced a hedge, has a 'negative visual impact' on the road.
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