BASINGSTOKE could be set to take on more overspill housing from the capital as it has emerged council officials have been meeting to discuss “housing needs in London”.

At a council meeting on Thursday night, it came to light that Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has met with Greater London Authority.

Basingstoke rapidly expanded between 1964 and 1978 as part of a major project to rehouse Londoners in post-war Britain.

But the proposals which could see this repeated post-pandemic were met with fierce criticism from both the leader of the council as well as the town’s MP Maria Miller.

Leader Cllr Ken Rhatigan said it “is not happening on [his] watch” while Mrs Miller said that housing should meet the “needs of the local community”.

Read the full story in this week's Basingstoke Gazette.

Also in this week's paper:

  • A new planning application for a controversial storage and distribution centre for online giant Amazon is now open for public consultation.
  • A village coffee shop has been voted Cafe of the Year with staff and customers overjoyed at the news. The Coffee Shop in Sherfieldon-Loddon has been named as The Gazette’s Cafe of the Year 2021 after it received the most votes from our readers.
  • The number of empty shops in Basingstoke has reached an all-time high, a Gazette investigation can reveal. Read the exclusive report in this week's newspaper.
  • A petition has been launched to save the home of a dance school in Kingsclere which is threatened with redevelopment.
  • Plans to transform the former home of Eli Lilly have been revealed. Developers Wrenbridge are consulting on turning Lilly House, off Priestley Road in Rooksdown, into a new net carbon zero warehouse.
  • The nine councillors, and two council officers, tasked with discussing the proposal of flats in Festival Place is revealed.
  • Plus: The latest cases from Basingstoke Magistrates' Court.
  • Two pages of your letters to the editor.
  • The story of how the Camrose ground came to be the home of Basingstoke Town FC, ion the latest installment of our Flashback Thursday feature.
  • Eight pages of puzzles.
  • The latest business news.
  • Three pages of entertainment news.
  • All the latest sport from across the region.
  • And much more!

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