VILLAGERS are celebrating after plans for a lorry park and industrial site at an illegal waste site were thrown out by planners following widespread opposition.
The controversial proposal was to expand the business centre at Stone Arrow Farm in Peopleton near the junction with the A44 Evesham Road – but the scheme has been rejected by planners, leaving villagers ‘over the moon’.
The 90-acre site remains at the centre of an illegal waste investigation by the Environment Agency and other partners after it was used to store HGVs without planning permission and for dumping waste material.
However, the retrospective application by Carl Powell, which sought to extend the class B8 open storage yard, was rejected by Wychavon District Council on Thursday after a raft of objections.
Mr Powell, who previously said villagers had told him he was ‘the most hated man in Peopleton’, blamed some of the issues at his farm on a tenant and installed a ‘no tipping’ sign outside his compound.
PROPOSAL: Carl Powell, the owner of Stone Arrow Farm in Peopleton, had the planning application rejected (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)
Planners decided the proposal was inappropriate, unjustified, and harmful across several policy areas and raised concerns about the location in open countryside.
Other concerns focused on the impact on neighbouring amenities, major highway safety issues and obstruction of a public footpath.
Additional failures included the absence of noise, air‑quality and lighting assessments, inadequate drainage information, and no contamination investigation despite a history of potentially polluting uses.
It was also deemed to be in conflict with multiple South Worcestershire Development Plan Review policies.
“Furthermore, the proposal has not been demonstrated to represent an acceptable form of rural employment development or farm diversification,” a council spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the Peopleton Residents Action Group (PRAG) said: “Residents in Peopleton are elated about the decision, which will stop all illegal waste activities taking place at the farm, and stop associated waste HGV traffic from accessing the village and reversing into driveways both during the day and late at night/early morning.
“This is massive news for our community. Well done to everyone who objected. Wychavon District Council said that the level of objection was unprecedented.
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“They have taken longer than initially expected to get their case for refusal together to negate any possible future appeal. Wychavon District Council and Worcestershire County Council will now start getting the site cleared up as much as possible. This, however, will be lengthy and complicated.
“The landowner will be told to remedy the groundwork that has already begun on the site of the ‘lorry park’. There is little doubt that there will be a challenge to this decision.
“Again, this may be a lengthy process. The likelihood of a successful appeal, however, is slim. As PRAG, (Peopleton Residents Action Group), we will continue to engage with all agencies, as the investigations into the illegal waste activity continue. Again, well done to all. It has been a monumental effort.”
We have approached landowner Carl Powell for comment.
