Eastleigh civic chiefs are being recommended to give the green light to plans to turn Netley's former village police station into homes.

Hampshire Constabulary is asking the borough council for permission to change the use and extend the building in New Road to provide five two-bedroom homes.

The scheme also involves providing eight parking spaces and a front access drive plus demolition of an existing rear extension and garages.

Eastleigh's Bursledon, Hamble and Hound local area committee was due to consider the planning application today with a recommendation from planning officers to give the go-ahead.

The station was closed early last year in a shake-up of policing in Eastleigh's southern parishes.

Villagers staged a long-running campaign to keep the station open after a question mark was placed against its future and the campaign was backed by Hound Parish Council and the borough council's local area committee.

But its fate was sealed in March 2001 after police said it was uneconomic to refurbish the building and the public rarely visited the station.

The police also argued that combining personnel from Hedge End and Netley had been shown to provide better cover for the southern parishes.

In a report to tomorrow's meeting, councillors will be told there appears to be no justification for objecting to the application purely on the basis of the loss of the police station as a community facility.

But councillors are also being recommended to seek developers' contributions towards the provision of social and recreational facilities.