Plans for a significant new town located just 45 minutes from Birmingham have been officially unveiled, marking a major step in addressing housing and community needs in the region.
A First Look at Wychavon Town
A newly launched website, www.wychavontown.co.uk, has provided the first public glimpse of the proposed development centred around Worcestershire Parkway Railway Station. The community will be known as Wychavon Town initially, a name chosen to distinguish it from the existing Wychavon District Council while honouring the area's shared identity.
The site features new CGI visuals illustrating the potential appearance of the future town centre and its surrounding neighbourhoods. The masterplan outlines the creation of 10,000 high-quality, energy-efficient homes, with a target of completing 5,000 of them by 2041.
Blueprint for a Modern, Sustainable Community
The vision for Wychavon Town is comprehensive. It promises a new town centre with retail, leisure, and business space, supported by four parks, primary schools in each neighbourhood, and up to two secondary schools.
Residents will have access to a sports hub with pitches, a GP and healthcare centre, flexible community spaces, and 50 hectares of employment land. A core principle of the design is sustainable travel, with the goal of placing key services within a 10 to 15 minute walk of every home.
The neighbourhoods are planned to be attractive, tree-lined, and low-traffic, supported by a wide network of active travel routes. A commitment has been made to ensure that at least 40 percent of the town will consist of green and blue spaces, drawing inspiration from the historic local landscape.
An Infrastructure-Led Approach to Development
A key pledge from developers is that Wychavon Town will be infrastructure-led. This means roads, schools, shops, and other essential facilities are intended to be delivered alongside the new homes, not as an afterthought.
To facilitate this, Wychavon District Council officers are preparing an Infrastructure Planning Application for submission by December 2026. If approved, this will unlock crucial funding to install major infrastructure before large-scale construction begins.
Councillor Emma Kearsey, Wychavon’s executive board member for planning, infrastructure and urban design, emphasised the importance of this approach. She stated that being infrastructure-led puts responsibility and long-term thinking at the heart of the project, ensuring vital services are available when residents need them.
Guidance for developers, set out in a new Supplementary Planning Document, is scheduled to go out for public consultation in January. Residents will be invited to share their views on the plans, with more information available through the project's official website.
