CONTROVERSIAL proposals to build a new Co-op store on the car park of a village pub have been thrown out by planning chiefs.

Wyre Forest District Council’s planning committee voted unanimously against the plan submitted by property firm NewRiver Retail for the convenience store to be created on the car park of The Swan in Birmingham Road, Blakedown.

In a report to the committee, which met on Tuesday (April 14), planning officer Julia Mellor had recommended the proposal be refused due to concerns about the loss of parking spaces, the impact on traffic on the busy road and the loss of a protected yew tree.

Councillors agreed with this recommendation and added a further reason that the development was not a conversion or extension of the existing facilities and therefore against policy.

In February, The Shuttle revealed how the proposal had prompted anger in the community with pub bosses Chris and Tracy Lowe raising fears over the future of their business.

Residents said they were also concerned about the negative impact the store would have on the village, potentially causing the closure of the existing convenience store Crumbs, the possible loss of a protected yew tree, noise pollution and the impact on traffic.

Chris Lowe said: “This is very good news and we are happy with the decision. It’s business as usual for us and we can carry on as we have done for the past eight years.

“We are also extremely grateful for all the support we have had from the whole of the village. We have seen more than 300 letters of objection and almost 1,000 people sign a petition which shows the strength of feeling against these plans.

“I would be surprised if NewRiver appeal the decision due to the reasons given for refusal and I hope they will now respect the findings and the wishes of the whole village.”

NewRiver had insisted the pub would not have closed as a result of the new Co-op being built on site and added that, elsewhere in the country, convenience stores and public houses had worked well next to each other.

A spokesman for the developer added that 20 new jobs would have been created had the plans been given the go-ahead while the new store would have served the local community, with customers likely to visit on foot rather than in a car, therefore not leading to increases in traffic.

A spokesman for NewRiver Retail said: "We are disappointed by the decision of the Council and will take some time to consider our options."