Worcestershire
A county in the West Midlands, famous for its orchards, the Malvern Hills AONB, and the cathedral and porcelain heritage of Worcester.
Self build in Worcestershire
Worcestershire is an inland county of considerable landscape quality and historical depth, encompassing the Malvern Hills AONB, the Severn and Teme river valleys, the Vale of Evesham and the rolling farmland of the Wyre Forest. The county's market towns - Worcester, Malvern, Pershore, Upton upon Severn, Bromsgrove and Redditch - offer a range of self-build settings from the cathedral city on the Severn to the spa town at the foot of the Malvern Hills.
Worcestershire is a two-tier county with Worcestershire County Council and six district and borough councils: Bromsgrove, Malvern Hills, Redditch, Worcester City, Wychavon and Wyre Forest. Each district maintains its own self-build register and planning service.
The Malvern Hills AONB is one of England's most distinctive protected landscapes. The dramatic ridge of ancient Precambrian rock rises steeply from the Severn Plain, reaching a maximum height of 425 metres at the Worcestershire Beacon, and provides a landscape of extraordinary visual quality and ecological richness. The Malvern Hills Trust manages the common land of the hills, and the AONB Conservation Board oversees landscape management planning. Self-build proposals within the AONB must engage with the AONB Management Plan and its design guidance for buildings in the Malvern Hills landscape.
Malvern Hills District Council covers the most scenically significant planning area in the county. The district's planning policies reflect the dominance of the AONB and the setting of the Malvern Hills in the visual character of virtually all the district's settlements. Great Malvern itself - a Victorian spa town of exceptional architectural quality, known for its hotels, its Festival Theatre and its extraordinary collection of Morgan Motor cars - creates a planning environment where design standards are correspondingly exacting.
The Severn Valley, running through Worcester and Worcestershire's lowland heartland, is both the county's greatest natural asset and its primary flood risk corridor. The River Severn, which experiences some of the most significant flooding of any English river, creates major planning constraints for self-build proposals on the valley floor. Flood events in 2000, 2007 and 2019-20 inundated properties across a wide arc of Worcestershire's valley settlements, and the Environment Agency's flood risk maps designate large areas as Flood Zone 2 or 3.
The Vale of Evesham, in the south of the county, is one of England's most productive horticultural landscapes. The fertile soils and mild climate of the vale have supported market gardening and orcharding for centuries, and the hedgerow landscape of the vale's villages - built in the distinctive blue lias limestone of the Cotswold fringe - creates a particular character that planning policy seeks to preserve.
Worcestershire is a two-tier county with Worcestershire County Council and six district and borough councils: Bromsgrove, Malvern Hills, Redditch, Worcester City, Wychavon and Wyre Forest. Each district maintains its own self-build register and planning service.
The Malvern Hills AONB is one of England's most distinctive protected landscapes. The dramatic ridge of ancient Precambrian rock rises steeply from the Severn Plain, reaching a maximum height of 425 metres at the Worcestershire Beacon, and provides a landscape of extraordinary visual quality and ecological richness. The Malvern Hills Trust manages the common land of the hills, and the AONB Conservation Board oversees landscape management planning. Self-build proposals within the AONB must engage with the AONB Management Plan and its design guidance for buildings in the Malvern Hills landscape.
Malvern Hills District Council covers the most scenically significant planning area in the county. The district's planning policies reflect the dominance of the AONB and the setting of the Malvern Hills in the visual character of virtually all the district's settlements. Great Malvern itself - a Victorian spa town of exceptional architectural quality, known for its hotels, its Festival Theatre and its extraordinary collection of Morgan Motor cars - creates a planning environment where design standards are correspondingly exacting.
The Severn Valley, running through Worcester and Worcestershire's lowland heartland, is both the county's greatest natural asset and its primary flood risk corridor. The River Severn, which experiences some of the most significant flooding of any English river, creates major planning constraints for self-build proposals on the valley floor. Flood events in 2000, 2007 and 2019-20 inundated properties across a wide arc of Worcestershire's valley settlements, and the Environment Agency's flood risk maps designate large areas as Flood Zone 2 or 3.
The Vale of Evesham, in the south of the county, is one of England's most productive horticultural landscapes. The fertile soils and mild climate of the vale have supported market gardening and orcharding for centuries, and the hedgerow landscape of the vale's villages - built in the distinctive blue lias limestone of the Cotswold fringe - creates a particular character that planning policy seeks to preserve.
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