A NEW scrutiny committee has been formed to debate future plans for the Manydown development.

Councillors from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council agreed to set up a Manydown overview and scrutiny committee at their latest full council meeting.

The new committee will work in conjunction with the existing Manydown executive committee – a committee of the borough’s cabinet who have the power to make decisions in relations to the council’s ownership, development and disposal of the land.

In addition to the Manydown executive committee, an informal joint group of planning officers from the borough council and Hampshire County Council work together to manage the project, including work on the draft plan allocation and planning applications.

The new committee will scrutinise issues of the Manydown development and will provide comments to the Manydown executive committee on future plans for the site.

Eight councillors have been chosen to sit on the new committee after 46 borough councillors voted to create the group. Councillors Robert Donnell and Hayley Eachus decided to vote against the creation of the new committee with eight abstentions at the 56-strong council meeting.

Conservative councillors Terri Reid, John Leek, Diane Taylor and Marilyn Tucker were chosen to represent the Tory part on the committee.

The Labour group will be represented by Cllr David Potter and Cllr Sean Keating, and Liberal Democrat councillor Paula Baker and Independent membe Cllr, Ian Tilbury, are also included in the committee.

The eight councillors voted to appoint Cllr Reid as the chairman of the committee, and Cllr Baker will serve as the vice-chairman.

Cllr Reid told The Gazette: “It is extremely important that if we have a meeting, the public can come along and have the chance to make comments.

“Up to this point, there has been scoping work done but it has not been done in the public forum, whereas this will be a public forum meeting.”

She added: “Manydown is going to affect a huge amount of people and it covers such a wide area. There are so many settled communities that will be affected, who will want to have a say in how it develops.”