PARISH councillors in Chineham fear "social ghettos" will be created if detailed plans for a huge new 336-home development get the go-ahead.

Borough councillors will today consider applications from Belwinch Homes Ltd for two phases of the Binfields development.

Site one for 95 houses and flats on a four-and-a-quarter-acre site to the north of Long Lane, Chineham, includes 22 affordable homes whereas site four, with only 43 dwellings on five-and-a-quarter acres south of Long Lane, has no affordable housing. Site one includes four-storey blocks of flats while almost half of site four is woodland.

In a letter to the development control committee, Chineham Parish Council says: "In comparison with site one we feel the density in this proposal for site four is less and we feel that the spread of housing should be of a better mix.

"There is obvious imbalance in density of housing between site one and site four as now structured. This will have the effect of generating social 'ghettos' and will not allow for the social harmonisation which we feel is desirable and in keeping with the current practice in Chineham."

The parish council also says of site one: "We feel the design lacks imagination", adding it believes there will be "serious parking congestion" on the site. They suggest basement parking and a shared-car community car scheme be considered. The parish councillors also ask that all roads apart from the main distributor road Long Lane should be classed as "home zones" and restricted to a 20mph limit.

Old Basing Parish Council, next-door to the two developments, has objected to the four-storey blocks of flats on site one - but not to the three-storey "statement mews blocks" at the entrance to site four which is nearer to their area.

Recommending approval of both phases, planning officers say that although at more than 20 dwellings per acre, the development would be at the upper end of the density range recommended by Government. It is located in an area where it was considered this could be accommodated.

With more than two-thirds of the properties on site four planned to be three and four bedrooms, the officers say: "The housing mix of the development is weighted more towards medium properties than the current council policy requires.

"However, given the proximity of the Old Basing conservation area and the proposed mix of the overall development - compared with site one for example - it is considered that this is acceptable.

"As noted from the development design brief, it was not envisaged that this phase of the development would include affordable housing. The Binfields development will provide 20 per cent for this tenure, split within the other phases."

Site one has 22 affordable houses and flats - 23 per cent of the homes on that site.