MORE homes could be built in and around Romsey as part of government plans to force councils to increase their housing targets, it has been revealed.

Westminster housing chiefs are demanding more homes be built in wealthy rural areas to tackle the housing crisis.

This could mean more houses being built in and around the market town, which has already seen a number of new estates constructed – including the 800-home Abbotswood Estate.

Now, community leaders are backing the call from Communities Secretary Sajid Javid who is spearheading soon-to-be-published law changes.

“It is crucial to get the balance right between protecting our countryside and providing homes for people to live in,” said Romsey and Southampton North MP Caroline Nokes.

“We all know there is pressure on village schools, shops and pubs and in some areas rural populations are actually declining.

“In working with rural communities to put together initiatives such as Neighbourhood Plans, Local Planning Authorities can develop sustainable plans to ensure they thrive for decades to come.

“I encourage the rural communities in my constituency to consider the potential benefits of such schemes, which often result in small-scale development with the support of local communities, rather than large, unsustainable estates.”

Currently Test Valley Borough Council is working on its next local plan, which is used to allocate areas of land in the region for housing development.

The consultation for this plan is to take place in September.

Deputy leader and planning cabinet member Nick Adams-King says the local plan needs to find the balance between location of houses and the types the region needs.

“The change in the kind of relationships we have with our families, coupled with people wanting to live independently for longer is creating a pressure on the housing market,” he added.

“Thus, we need to give people as much say as we can (on the type of properties that should be built).

“What is most important for us at the moment is that we are starting on the process of looking at the next local plan.

“This will give us the opportunity of looking at what sites we could identify for housing.

“However, we need to find the right mix between towns and countryside and make sure the allocation is spread as evenly across the borough as is possible.”

The revised local plan, which is currently being used by the council, was adopted in January 2016.