IMAGINE a huge new city with roughly the population of Southampton springing up in Hampshire over the next 20 years.

All those new residents will need jobs - and the means to get to work without putting a massive additional strain on the county's already overcrowded road and rail network.

Every home will need freshwater supplies and a means to dispose of their household waste.

Every resident will need access to fitness facilities, open spaces and parks in their leisure time.

They will need new schools to educate their children, hospitals and doctors to visit when they are sick, and of course, the vast new population for the county will also need to be buried when they die.

The South East Plan, which provides the framework for planning policy for Hampshire over the next two decades, calls for about 120,000 new homes in Hampshire by 2026.

On Tuesday, inspectors begin a four-month inquiry into the plan which will shape the future of the south for years to come.

Most of the new homes planned for Hampshire will be built in the south coast cities of Southampton and Portsmouth on so-called "brown-field" sites, former industrial or commercial land.

However, outside Fareham, just north of the M27, a whole new town of 10,000 homes, is likely to appear over the next two decades with a further small town of 6,000 homes being built north of Hedge End within the same period.

Already, before the inquiry has begun in earnest, building firms are beginning a "land rush" and are calling for local authorities to relax their planning laws so that more homes can be built.

South Hampshire based Pride Homes land and planning manager Mark Hayes said the firm was under constant pressure to find new sites that were suitable for their small-scale schemes.

He said: "While land supply is not currently a major problem, the complicated planning system operated by local authorities can drastically reduce the amount of land that is approved for building.

"This creates a shortage of land that we can develop which is why we are casting the net far and wide to encourage as many opportunities as possible."

The South East Plan has been produced by members of the South East of England Regional Assembly (SEERA).

Its members envisage that about £47 billion of government money will be needed over the next 20 years to pay for vital infrastructure such as new hospitals, roads and schools.

However, at the moment, the government has only promised just over £37 billion - leaving a £10 billion "gap" to pay for projects that will make life worthwhile in the south.

SEERA chairman Councillor Keith Mitchell said that the plan was a "club" with which local authorities in the south could beat the head of government so ministers will agree to more funds to pay for the vital infrastructure work.

He said: "This is the assembly's considered view. Some members don't want any housebuilding at all but that is not realistic.

"The government is already committed to spend quite a lot of the £37 billion to £47 billion that is needed over the next 20 years. We think there is a gap of between around £200m and £400m a year.

"We say that the south-east contributes about £11 billion a year to the Treasury - we put more in than most. We are only saying that we want a little bit more of that investment in infrastructure to enable us to deliver the housing growth."

Catriona Riddell the assembly's planning strategy director added: "Part of delivering the plan is making sure that it is publicly acceptable.

"The bottom line of the plan is about making sure the quality of life in the region goes up for everyone."

The examination in public of the South East Plan will last for four months.

The hearing for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will take place between January 16 and 26 in Chichester where inspectors will hear the views of interested groups such as the Council for the Protection for Rural England and business leaders across the area.

The government will make a final decision on the South East Plan in February 2008.