THE Manydown land could be taken out of a major planning document that lists sites in the borough that could take more homes.

At a meeting of last Wednesday’s planning and infrastructure committee, borough opposition councillors voted through a motion requesting officers take the 820-hectare site out of the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA), which is undergoing an annual review.

They claim this is because the land has been made “unavailable” by its owners – Basingstoke and Deane and Hampshire County councils.

Labour group leader Councillor Laura James told the meeting every other site that had been made unavailable by owners in the last 12 months had been taken out of the SHLAA. She said if Manydown was treated any differently, the borough’s entire planning blueprint for the next 15 years could be blown apart.

She told The Gazette: “The legal advice given to us was that Manydown is not available. We do not agree with that interpretation, but if that truly is the administration’s view, then Manydown should not be in this document.

“As an opposition, we are not saying Manydown should be developed, but we want the council to be honest with its intentions for the land.

“This is all about how robust our process is. It must stand up to a planning inspector who will see we are treating sites differently”.

Labour, Liberal Democrat and Independent councillors voted for the motion. It is up to borough council officers to decide if Manydown is to be taken out of the SHLAA – though they do not have to act on the councillors’ recommendations.

Senior Conservative councillors Robert Donnell and Stephen Reid did not take part in the vote due to potential conflicts of interest. Both have sat on the Joint Manydown Committee, a body that helps oversee the management of the land. Their absence allowed the opposition to win by five votes to four.

Cllr Donnell said that as the borough council’s legal adviser Chris Guy was not at the meeting, it was not possible to seek his opinion.

He told The Gazette: “This is the first time we have actually voted on Manydown. It has never been on the agenda before and we have never been talking about it. Even when the site selection process came through, Manydown wasn’t on it.

“I was told beforehand that I might have a conflict of interest. I don’t agree with that decision, but it was better to be safe than sorry.”