PLANS for a new village to be constructed near Odiham are set to be discussed at a parish council meeting next week.

Members of Odiham Parish Council (OPC) will scrutinise proposals, pictured, that would see more than 1,600 dwellings built at Rye Common, submitted to Hart District Council (HDC) by Hook-based development consultants Bell Cornwell.

At present, Bell Cornwell is consulting members of the public to gauge opinions of plans which would see between 1,600 and 1,900 new homes on a site of land at Rye Common, just off the A287.

New facilities and infrastructure will also be built.

Chairman of OPC, Cllr Jon Hale, said: “The parish council are well aware of the consultation being undertaken for a large development at Rye Common, located within the parish of Odiham.

“This has of course created significant interest and indeed concern within our community.”

He added: “While the parish council are required to review all proposals with an open mind, I have heard no local enthusiasm for the scheme and would want to understand how this volume of houses proposed works against HDC’s revised Strategic Housing Market Assessment.”

“It is hard to see any value to our existing community and in my view would significantly impact the character of Odiham and the surrounding of communities.”
The total site area for the application is 140 hectares and is earmarked for land between Odiham and Crondall.

On Bell Cornwell’s website it states: “The proposal for a new village at Rye Common is for a high quality, well contained village within a relatively unconstrained part of the district. A single land ownership results in a limited land-take being required in order to deliver a sustainable level of housing, reducing the impact of this new settlement proposal on Hart’s landscape.”

“Importantly, direct access onto the A287 would also ensure that traffic resulting from a new settlement would not be reliant on dispersing through existing settlements within Hart District, exacerbating problems at existing settlements, as is likely to be the case with other proposals put forward to the emerging Local Plan.”

OPC has placed talks on the development on the agenda for the next full council meeting on November 7.
The public consultation will run until Friday November 18.

Although outlined to HDC, the plans have been slammed by We Heart Hart, a group campaigning to protect the rural nature of the district

David Turver from the group said: “The Rye Common development is simply not required because our housing targets are reducing and there are plenty of brownfield sites available that can meet our housing needs for decades to come.”

For more information visit bell-cornwell.co.uk.