A new website has been launched offering more details into plans to develop a new town around Worcestershire Parkway Railway Station.
The official name of the town has also been confirmed as Wychavon, as a way of ensuring the district’s identity continues after Local Government Reorganisation. It will initially be called Wychavon Town to avoid confusion with the district and the district council.
CGI visuals have also been released on www.wychavontown.co.uk offering people a glimpse of what the new town will look like in the future for the first time,
Some 10,000 high quality, energy-efficient homes will be built on the site, with 5,000 of them delivered by 2041. Wychavon Town will also feature a new town centre with retail, leisure and business opportunities. There will be four parks, primary schools in each neighbourhood, up to two new secondary schools, a sports hub and sports pitches, a GP and healthcare centre, flexible community spaces and 50h of employment land.
Neighbourhoods will be attractive, tree-lined, low-traffic, accessible places where people can live, play and work. Sustainable travel will be at the heart of Wychavon Town with the aim of keeping key services within a 10-to-15-minute walk of each neighbourhood, supported by a network of active travel routes. The town’s design is inspired by the area’s historic landscape with at least 40% of the place covered by green and blue spaces.
Crucially, the development will be infrastructure-led meaning the roads, schools, shops, community buildings and other infrastructure needed to support the new housing will be delivered alongside housing, not after. Officers at Wychavon District Council are currently preparing an Infrastructure Planning Application to be submitted by December 2026 which, once approved, will allow funding to be sought to put in key infrastructure before major development starts.
A set of guidance for developers involved with Wychavon Town, known as a Supplementary Planning Document, will go out for consultation in January and the public will be asked for their views. Visit www.wychavontown.co.uk to find out more or use the link on the contact us page to sign up to our e-newsletter.
Cllr Emma Kearsey, Wychavon’s Executive Board Member for Planning, Infrastructure and Urban Design, said: “Calling the town Wychavon will ensure the shared identity, heritage and strong sense of community that defines our district will be preserved for future generations.
“The launch of the new website means, for the first time, people can see what Wychavon Town will look like and explore our vision in detail. It will also be a vital tool to help keep existing communities updated and a way to continuously engage with the council as the town develops over time.
“Wychavon Town being infrastructure-led means we’re putting responsibility and long-term thinking at the heart of this project. The Infrastructure Planning Application we’re preparing is a critical step in ensuring the schools, transport links, health facilities and community buildings are in place to support development as they are needed and not following on afterwards, or as we see in some places, never at all.”