DELIGHTED campaigners who opposed plans to convert Stourport farm land into stables have been given a major boost after planners threw out the proposal.

Wyre Forest District Council’s planning committee unanimously refused the application by consultants firm Planning Prospects for the 16 hectares of land off Areley Common at a meeting on Tuesday (November 15).

The plan had proposed to change the current use of land for the keeping of horses and the construction of stables on the area, which falls under both Stourport and Malvern Hills.

But the proposal sparked fury when it was put forward with councillors and residents in the town branding the application a “sham” that was being done to establish a change of use principle to pave the way for a large scale housing development – tactics that they said had been used elsewhere.

Vi Higgs, who is on Stourport Town Council, spoke out against the plan at the meeting and said the area was too large for three horses and added that heavy machinery had already been seen working on the site.

Councillors on the committee were told they could only judge the application that had been presented in front of them.

But planning officers said the proposal in its current form failed to satisfy a host of policy conditions including the ecological impact on wildlife such as protected bird species, the detrimental effect on the character and appearance of the land and concerns about highways access to the area.

The proposal for the site has also been submitted to planners at Malvern Hill District Council who have yet to make a decision.

Ward councillor and planning committee member Jamie Shaw did not vote on the application as he has publicly spoken out and opposed it from the start.

He said: “I’m very pleased that the application was unanimously voted against by everyone else on the committee.

“The substance of this particular proposal was looked at closely and there were a number of grounds to refuse it. When I first opposed this, I wasn’t aware that there were so many solid planning reasons to refuse it so I was extremely pleased when they came along.

“Of course, the applicant has got the right to appeal. As far as that is concerned it is a case of wait and see what they do but we obviously hope they do not.

“However, if the refusal is examined and the reasons are found to have been made on solid planning grounds – it would be thrown out too.”