Do we honestly need all these houses in Malvern Wells?

You appreciate the rural setting, green fields, scattered farms and views across open countryside to the glorious Malvern Hills beyond.

From there, take a drive into Malvern up the straight B4209 towards Malvern Wells and the hills.

In May, apple trees may be in blossom. Just now, on the left, you pass a field of ewes and tiny lambs – sheer delight.

Next on the left, just before the old red telephone box and blind bend at the foot of Green Lane and Rothwell Road, lies a wild and overgrown field, a haven for wildlife.

Beech hedgerows studded with oak and ash are a feeding corridoor for bats. Buzzards and barn owls frequent the site, and last week a muntjac deer wandered through.

A footpath runs its length, a link for walkers to explore the Malvern foothills.

Fast forward to next year. A large chunk of that hedge could be missing from Hanley Road. Instead a wide entrance leads into a CALA Homes housing estate of 46 houses.

Trees, grasses and flowers replaced by tarmac, bricks and mortar. Pastoral turned urban sprawl.

It is a real possibility if Malvern Hills district councillors vote to pass this plan next month.

Justification? To provide much-needed starter homes for young first-time buyers. Fact: Out of 46 homes, only five two-bedroom affordable homes for sale and 13 social rent. The rest will be costly three, four and five-bedroom homes.

Do we honestly need all these houses in Malvern Wells?

Help prevent it by writing to the council, ref: 14/00262/FUL.

Oh, and I nearly forgot, it's all in an area of outstanding natural beauty!

Victoria Walter

Malvern Wells