MEMEBERS of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council granted planning permission for the development of a long disputed piece of land.

The council’ s development control committee made the decision to allow the building of 70 new homes on land near Worting Farm at a meeting on Wednesday, August 10.

Planning had previously already been granted for work on the land by the committee back in January, before current developers Redrow Homes took over the development, opting to make some slight amendments and re-apply to the council.

Despite being given the green light, the application has not been without its critics, one of which is chairman of the Worting Area Residents’ Association, Gary Sumner, who spoke at the meeting of his concerns that the new builds would not be in keeping with the area.

Mr Sumner said: “We are now presented with a plan of generic homes, which are out of place with the conservation area and the village style.

“With a rise in residents it will cause more traffic to the area, and we ask that measures are put in place for the on-going preservation of wildlife in the area.”

The new development, which comprises four one-bedroom flats, four two-bedroom flats , two two-bedroom bungalows, eight two-bedroom terraced houses , seven three bedroom terraced houses , two four-bedroom semi-detached houses and one four-bedroom terraced house will act within the council’ s planning policy with 28 of the homes classed as being for affordable housing.

Speaking on behalf of developers Redrow Homes, David Hutchinson said the small number of objections it had received from the public were “not substantial” and the planning inspector was happy with the amendments proposed.

Mr Hutchinson said: “This is a site that has an extant planning application, what this proposal intends is to simply stick to changing the detailed designs of the site layout and to be an improvement to what was already there.”