A PROPOSED multi-million pound soil treatment facility in a Hampshire village has caused anger and frustration among residents.

Minerals and Materials Ltd has submitted a planning application to Hampshire County Council for a new soil screening and washing facility on Laveys Lane in Funtley near Fareham.

Under the plans, the development – creating between six and ten jobs – would treat approximately 100,000 tonnes per annum of waste soils arising from construction, demolition, excavation and waste operations to produce soils and aggregates.

But Sam Dockerill, who lives on Laveys Lane, fears that the village will be a “grand central station for lorries” if the application gets approved.

She said: “Titchfield Lane and Funtley Road is an already treacherous route, and there are many horse riders, pedestrians and cyclists that use it. The addition of more HGVs is a recipe for disaster.

“Given the additional 6,000 plus homes that are part of the Welborne development and the extra traffic this will create, there is no way we should be even contemplating adding even more HGVs.”

The Funtley Village Society fears the proposal would be detrimental to the village.

In a statement, the group said: “If the council was to allow the development then they are effectively trapping us in our village, and therefore we strongly object.

“Titchfield Lane is very narrow in places and many of us have either lost wing mirrors or been driven off that road by lorries, so to add another 40 a day carrying concrete from what has to be considered a major industrial plant, is simply not acceptable.

“The traffic assessment that supports the application notes that Titchfield Lane has a high instance of traffic related incidents, 36 in the last five years, 10 of them serious.”

In response to the concerns, a statement from developers Minerals and Materials said: “The site benefits from being remote from potentially sensitive receptors (residential properties) and is well-screened so will not result in adverse impacts on amenity of residents or occupants of the industrial estate.”

Plans will be decided by Hampshire County Council later this year.