CONTROVERSIAL plans to redevelop Andover’s almshouses have been recommended for refusal by council planning chiefs.

Members of Test Valley Borough Council’s (TVBC) Northern Area Planning Committee will discuss the £1.5million proposal to replace the current building in Adelaide Road at a meeting tonight.

Case officer Laura McKay has recommended that the project be refused, but councillors could go against her suggestion and agree to allow it to go ahead.

If the panel did, it would see the demolition of the four existing flats to be replaced with an extended three floor building containing 12 flats.

The plans also include a guest room and a meeting room as well two “first floor balcony gardens” which will be open for communal use.

The project was stalled in 2016 due to complications over land ownership between Andover Charity Trustees, the group behind the scheme, and Hampshire County Council, but these have since been resolved.

Mrs McKay’s report, which will be presented to the committee, states: “The proposal would result in public benefits through the provision of affordable housing for people on very low incomes.

“It would however result in substantial harm to a non-designated heritage asset through the loss of the existing building, for which there is no clear or convincing justification.”

She added that the public benefits of the proposed redevelopment would not outweigh the harm it would bring to the “conservation of heritage assets”.

The report goes on to say that the proposal would result in a loss of parking to the “detriment of the shop, local residents and would be likely to result in parking on the local roads”.

The public meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday, November 15 in Conference Room 1 of TVBC’s Beech Hurst offices in Weyhill Road, from 5.30pm until 8pm.