PLANS to build 14 homes in a rural area near Basingstoke have been rejected by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council despite claims plans would be "keeping with the rural setting".

During a meeting held on Wednesday, July 6 councillors on the development control committee rejected plans to build the homes on Inhurst Lane in Baughurst, despite it currently being used as a commercial yard.

Cllr Frost strongly disagreed with the plans and said "this is not the site to do it on”.

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He said: “We have objections from a tree officer, we have objections from an urban design officer and also the historic environment officer. I am just really struggling to see how we could overturn this application against advice to refuse the application.”

Other councillors supported the application including Cllr Angie Freeman.

She added: “I happen to think that a small housing development on the site would be far more in keeping with the rural setting than a walloping great construction yard with all the noise, the dust and all the shipping containers which are not the prettiest things."

Cllr Ken Rhatigan took a similar view and said, “brownfields sites should be the first to be developed” and there is a need for more social housing.

A brownfield site is an area that has been used before and tends to be disused or derelict land.

Cllr Paul Harvey said there were questions marks over which properties would be affordable housing.

He added: “The point about affordable housing is worth making because we don’t have enough, but we don’t have the clarity on which are going to be rented and which are going to be shared ownership."

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The plans was refused, eight votes to five.

Speaking on behalf of the applicant Steven Cottrell added: “The site is very well contained and will only allow for small glimpses of houses where right now you are seeing shipping containers, which are stacked two to three metres high and therefore we are of the view that a high-quality residential development will have less impact on the area than the commercial yard does right now especially if it was to be expanded.”

He said the plans would have retained trees and vegetation around the site.

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