CAMPAIGNERS against major proposals to build a distribution hub on farmland in Dummer have begun to argue their case, claiming that if plans were approved they would dramatically change the landscape. 

This week a planning appeal hearing has begun for warehouses on land at Oakdown Farm, which includes a distribution centre for supermarket chain Lidl. 

In May members of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s development control committee refused the application by Newlands Developments for the industrial scheme. 

It came just seven months after, in October 2021, members of the same committee refused a previous application by Newlands - understood to be earmarked for Amazon.

Earlier this year the company appealed the council’s decision against the Lidl scheme and on Tuesday, October 18, an appeal hearing began. 

Protesters gathered outside the borough council’s offices ahead of the first day to demonstrate their opposition to the proposals. 

Read the full story in this week's edition.

SEE ALSO: Man, 31, arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following serious assault

Also inside: 

  • Popular rags to riches fairytale Cinderella will take to The Anvil stage for this year’s magical Christmas pantomime
  • A Grandson is taking Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to tribunal, claiming that his granddad has not received council tax support for ‘many years’
  • Councillors have been left angry and confused after it has been revealed the borough council needs to pay extra funding before work can start on the Manydown development
  • Residents who live in a rat-infested block of flats have become increasingly angry as they have been left to live in the “nightmare” for at least a year
  • A housebuilder is preparing to submit a planning application to build 250 homes on a Basingstoke golf course
  • Street parking in Basingstoke and Deane has increased and become “more of a problem”, a borough councillor has said
  • Police in Basingstoke seized more than £3,400 in cash and arrested five people during County Lines Intensification Week
  • Photos: Hindu festival of celebration 
  • PLUS: All the latest from Basingstoke Magistrates' Court
  • Two pages of your letters to the editor
  • Two pages of news from our communities
  • An eight-page puzzle special
  • Two pages of business news
  • Three pages of entertainment news
  • Two pages of sports news. And much more!

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