The completion of the review of the South Worcestershire Development Plan has been delayed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was hoped the document would be ready for public examination in early 2021. But lockdown restrictions have made it impossible to complete a number of technical assessments and evidence gathering need...

Malvern Hills, Worcester and Wychavon District Councils are joining forces to launch a new scheme to allocate social housing across the three districts. The South Worcestershire Partnership will move away from Home Choice Plus, the current allocation system, and is seeking views from local people on its proposed new allocations policy. The policy h...

Housing First, a new approach to helping rough sleepers back into permanent accommodation, is being launched in Worcestershire this month. Worcester City Council, working with each of the five district councils across Worcestershire, led a successful bid for funding from the Government to trial the service for one year. Additional money from the Ci...

A bid by Worcester City Council has secured Government funding of more than £670,000 to help rough sleepers come off the streets. The grant from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government guarantees the continuation and development of services that support rough sleepers across Worcestershire and help them to get back into accommodat...

Worcester City Council is seeking feedback from local people on an existing scheme introduced to help raise standards in the city's Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). An HMO is a house that has been split into separate living areas so that several different households can live in it. The council is particularly keen to hear the views from tenant...

Worcester City Council and its partner agencies that support rough sleepers have worked together to successfully implement all the recommendations made in an independent review into the death of a rough sleeper in the city. The independent review into the death of 74-year-old rough sleeper Cardon Banfield, who died in 2016, was published in May las...

Ensuring businesses and residents benefit from new housing developments is a key priority for Worcester City Council. The authority is now applying economic benefit conditions to major planning applications - such as job creation and provision of apprenticeship opportunities. As a result, the City Council has reached a unique agreement with Bloor H...

A proposal to consult on plans to build three major new settlements across South Worcestershire, to meet future demand for new housing, is set to go before councillors. The Preferred Options document, produced as part of the review of the South Worcestershire Development Plan, sets out how a Government requirement to build another 14,000 new homes ...

A Worcester resident has been praised by the Mayor for his innovative conversion of the Old Infirmary building on Silver Street in to six luxury studio apartments. The building, which dates to circa 1676, was bought in 1745 and opened as Worcester Infirmary on 11 January 1746, becoming only the seventh charitable hospital outside of London. It was ...

A new homelessness centre is set to open in Worcester's city centre, following a successful bid for Government funding. The £242,601 grant will support the opening in September of a "Somewhere Safe to Stay" hub at the Salvation Army's base in The Trinity. The scheme will be a major boost to support for people across the county who are already sleep...

Proposals for the demolition of the old swimming pool in Sansome Walk are set to be considered by Worcester city councillors. Work at the site was delayed after surveys showed a greater level of asbestos was present than had previously been revealed. Council officers have worked with specialists to reappraise the process for demolishing the buildin...

Worcester City Council is considering long term proposals to purchase or lease 62 flats and houses, in a bid to provide more temporary accommodation for people who are at risk of homelessness. The City Council has seen a 40% increase in demand from people in need of housing assistance since the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 came in to force last ...