HOMES could be built on the site of a tennis club.

Margaret Winnett, chairman of Andover Lawn Tennis Club, has applied for outline planning permission for 14 dwellings on the tennis courts in Eardley Avenue, Andover.

Planning permission has already been granted for the relocation of the club at Balksbury Hill, in Upper Clatford, which will accommodate six outdoor tennis courts, two indoor courts, a new clubhouse, changing facilities and floodlighting.

The latest application will be considered by Test Valley Borough Council at a planning meeting on Thursday.

The current site has five tennis courts, a parking area and a clubhouse, with vehicular and pedestrian access from Brackenbury.

All 14 dwellings would be threebedroom homes.

Andover Town Council has raised no objection. However, letters of objection have been received from 12 residents in Blendon Drive, Brackenbury, and Eardley Avenue, saying that it would not be suitable for housing and that the character of the area would be adversely affected, with local roads becoming busier.

In recommending the proposal for permission, a Northern Area Planning Committee report said: “The principle of housing development within the built-up area of Andover is acceptable.

“Alternative provision of tennis courts is to be made elsewhere, and work has progressed to deliver that provision. It is considered that the proposal would have no significant detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the area, highway safety, any protected species, archaeology, or the residential amenities of the occupants of dwellings in the vicinity.”