“WE’RE about to be given a lame duck facility” – those were the words of a town councillor made during a discussion about plans to build 100 new homes in Whitchurch.

Cllr Andy Jordan expressed concerns over a missing section in the developers’ contributions agreement from David Wilson Homes’ bid to build the homes in Winchester Road.

The outline planning application was approved by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council subject to legal agreement in May.

But specific details of the application were not included, including the appearance, landscaping, layout and scale of the site.

Whitchurch Town Council held an extraordinary committee meeting on August 8 to discuss the plans.

Cllr Jordan expressed concerns over a missing section in the application’s Section 106 (S106) agreement, which states how contributions from the developer will be spent in the town.

He pointed out that a sum of about £316,000 was no longer within the documentation, which was meant to be put towards the maintenance of a new sports facility over 25 years.

“To my mind we’re about to be given a lame duck facility which we don’t have the ability to run or manage,” he said.

But Stuart Goodwill, of GKA, agents for David Wilson Homes, said it was not in the firm’s best interest to build a facility for it to then become run down.

The development will include a mix of eight one-bedroom, 30 two-bedroom, 36 three-bedroom, 15 four-bedroom and 12 four-bedroom houses (including four chalet bungalows), along with 40 affordable homes and open space for recreational facilities.

Despite the concerns, Cllr John Buckley, chairman of the development committee, proposed that the council raise no objection to the application, subject to conditions.

These include housing complying with the Whitchurch Design Statement; inclusion of some four-bedroom affordable homes; the sports facility changing provision meeting FA guidelines; the creation of a suitable landscape buffer between the sports pitches and existing houses in Micheldever Close; reinstatement of the school’s parent drop-off point; priority being given to non-motorised traffic; and a suitable S106 agreement agreed by the borough and town councils, to include a sum for maintaining the sports facility.

All but one councillor voted in favour for the plans, with one abstention.