Developers and planners clashed this week over plans to build up to 27 homes at Compton, near Winchester.

Drew Smith Homes Ltd is appealing against Winchester City Council's decision to refuse permission to knock down a house at Tilden Road, next to the M3, and build either 27 or 24 "affordable" homes.

The council said motorway noise would make the homes uninhabitable but the developer says the problem can be resolved by putting the dwellings in one block.

The building would be nine metres high and would include a 50-metre concrete wall on the sides facing the M3.

Planners say it would be an eyesore for residents in nearby Highways Road and that the proposed housing density is too high.

At a public inquiry at Shawford Parish Hall, senior planner for the council, Andrew Amery, said: "If you are in one of those properties in Highways Road, you would end up with a 50-metre unbroken wall at the bottom of your garden."

However, project architect, Richard Tear, described the proposals as "appropriate".

A decision is expected on the scheme within a few weeks.