A PLAN to transform a former school in Tadley into more than 30 homes is recommended for refusal by planning officers at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

As previously reported by The Gazette, Hampshire County Council, which owns the land, applied to the borough council in August last year for outline planning permission to build new homes on the site of Burnham Copse Infant School, in Newchurch Road, Tadley.

Burnham Copse Infant and Junior schools were merged into a one-form primary school, based in the building of the junior school, also in Newchurch Road, in September 2008 and the infant school has been left unoccupied since.

As part of the outline planning application, the local authority originally proposed 40 new homes at the site with a housing mix of four one-bedroom flats, five two-bedroom flats, eight two-bedroom houses, 12 three-bedroom houses and 10 four-bedroom houses.

However, the county council submitted amended plans reducing the final number of properties to 36.

The application has been recommended for refusal by borough planning officers but councillors on the development control committee will make the final decision at a meeting on Wednesday.

Planning officers at the borough council have recommended the application be refused because the site is located within a three kilometre detailed emergency planning zone surrounding the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Aldermaston, and a section 106 agreement for funds to contribute to community facilities has not been agreed.

In addition, Councillor Stephen West, UKIP member for Tadley Central, raised his objection to the plan and called for the development control committee to make the final decision on the application.

In a report to the committee, Cllr West said: “I am of the view that the numbers of additional people and cards that would be drawn to the area as a result of this development would put too much strain on the already stretched amenities and infrastructure and that such a proposed development would be unsustainable.”

Cllr Michael Bound, Liberal Democrats member for Baughurst and Tadley North, said in the report that he supported the plan, but added: “The other thing is that I believe that these dwellings should be very much for the older residents of Tadley to down size to because the positioning of them is so close to the local facilities and there is that need in the Tadley area so that some of the bigger properties can be released for families.”

Hampshire County Council declined to provide a comment on the recommendation.