The locations of nearly 8,000 new homes that need to be built in Basingstoke and Deane by 2039 will be debated tonight.

Members of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's economic, planning and housing committee will stage the first of its debates where housing developments should be located.

Tonight, housing in and around Basingstoke will be discussed, with the outerlying villages having a separate debate in November.

It's part of the update process of a document called the local plan - which sets the rules surrounding the development of the borough and can be used by developers as a blueprint on where and how to build houses.

  • The Gazette will be covering tonight's crucial EPH meeting live on our website, starting at 6.30pm.

Council documents reveal that BDBC need to build 7,703 houses more than they currently have in the pipeline.

Government targets show there needs to be 17,820 new homes in the borough by 2039.

Currently, there is supply, through means such as developments already with planning permission, for just over 10,000.

This means councillors need to find almost 8,000 new homes.

Civic chiefs issued a call for sites - where landowners can tell the council they have land available for development - in 2019, and have now shortlisted a number of those in a site selection report.

Around Basingstoke town, the largest development is Manydown South, the rest of the parcel of land owned by BDBC and Hampshire County Council. It could bring 5,000 new homes to land between Oakley and Kempshott.

Council officers are also recommending the shortlisting of 4,500 homes on land known as 'South West Basingstoke'. This stretches from the edge of Manydown South to North Waltham and Oakdown Farm.

There are plans for 3,000 homes in a new garden community at Popham Airfield, plus more than 3,000 units around Chineham and Old Basing.

But among the sites that officers are not recommending is Upper Swallick, which would have provided 2,500 homes around the village of Cliddesden.

Councillors will debate the sites this evening and members of the public are expected to make their feelings known.

A protest is also planned outside the council's offices an hour before the meeting starts, with residents across the town expected to attend.

Because of this, the council has said it will restrict access to the public meeting to those registered to speak, and are encouraging the public to watch on its website.

The Gazette will be live-blogging the meeting, and you can follow updates from 6.30pm.