RESIDENTS in three tranquil cottages on the edge of Basingstoke could be plunged into the middle of an industrial estate if a proposed warehouse development gets the go ahead.

The owners of Ganderdown Cottages have spoken out about how the development would impact them.

They say it will make their gardens unusable, increase pollution and cause safety concerns with increased traffic on the roads.

As previously reported, four warehouses are being planned at land close to Junction 7 of the M3, with Amazon set to use the largest.

The area is set to be transformed in the near future, with plans for a hospital, mass rapid transit system and two new housing estates also revealed for the immediate vicinity.

The three families have been told their once peaceful rural homes are now "totally unsellable" because of the threat of development.

Up to 800 lorries will pass by just metres from their bedroom windows.

"We are not nimbys," Mr Gill, one of the homeowners said, "we accept that there are 2,000 homes being built here and I would not be bothered if there was a science park over there. It is just that the warehouses turn this rural area to a business park.

"It is going to make this side of Basingstoke very urban."

Mrs Farnham, who lives at one of the adjoining cottages, added: "This isn't a frustration against any development, but our lives matter too.

"We wouldn't really be able to use our gardens in the summer. How do you let anyone play in the garden when you are risking their health?"

The homeowners say that they are not against development in the area - they accept Hounsome Fields and Basingstoke Golf Course will be built, but according to Mrs Farnham, it is the type of development they are against.

"We completely agree that the area needs jobs and that things will be developed," she continued. "We have homes coming right up to us and we are not worried about that at all."

But, she said, the increased traffic running 24/7 would make sleeping very hard.

"The main issue is that it is 24/7," Mr Suttey added. "You can hear a pin drop here at night. To go from that to eight hundred lorries would be horrendous.

"It is going to affect our health, and our mental health."

The group vented their frustrations that they are getting very little say in plans that will transform their lives. They added that two meetings with the developers behind the project saw them boasting how it would be the biggest warehouse in the country, apparently adding that "there are always winners and losers in planning".

Additionally, one of the mitigating measures involves building a 'sound proof fence' across the front of the properties, decreasing visibility when pulling out of their driveways and causing concerns over accessibility.

"It is the fact they expect us to live with it," Mr Suttey continued. "It is a little bit depressing at the moment because you are constantly looking up what is happened and being told what you are getting."

Currently, no date has been set for a decision on the planning applications, which were submitted in summer 2020.