PRESSURE to build hundreds of new homes on Barton Farm in Winchester has eased - at least for now - according to county chiefs.

Hampshire County Council said enough land was found last year to meet house-building targets.

It was confident that more would come forward during the next four years to ensure that large greenfield areas like Barton Farm are not needed.

Reserve sites with space for 14,000 homes across the county have been placed on standby if targets are not met.

One seventh of those properties, around 2,000, could be provided at Barton Farm. A further 2,500 have been earmarked for sites in the Eastleigh district.

In the South East Plan, which is due to be finalised later this year, it is likely that 6,000 new homes will be needed in Hampshire each year until 2026.

The county council said the demand could be met, at least for now, chiefly by using previously developed land.

It added that it hopes that the arrangement, where major sites would only be released if targets are not met, will continue.

Executive member for environment, Cllr Mel Kendal, said: "It's good news that Hampshire is meeting the Government's target while also avoiding unnecessary greenfield development.

"We're urging ministers to incorporate a similar reserve site approach into the South East Plan which they will finalise later this year."

Gavin Blackman, who chairs the Save Barton Farm Group, welcomed the news from the county council.

He said: "This is one of the things that we've always argued, that any discussion about developing Barton Farm is totally premature.

"The reason we believe that it's premature is because year on year we are managing to meet, or exceed, the housing targets across Hampshire."

Chris Slattery, another member of the Save Barton Farm Group, who is a Campaign to Protect Rural England volunteer as well, also welcomed the news.

Speaking in her CPRE role, she said: "CPRE applauds the leadership, integrity and vision that councils across Hampshire have all shown over the past decade in protecting its countryside from unnecessary development through the reserve site concept.

"The county council has prioritised urban generation and insisted reserve greenfield sites should not be triggered because Hampshire could meet and exceed the housing targets on predominantly brownfield land."

Barton Farm campaigners took their message to the streets of Winchester four months ago.

A few weeks earlier, Steve Tilbury, corporate director ofWinchester City Council, had warned that its development might be inevitable in the long-term.

Developer Cala Homes has already applied to build 2,000 homes on the site.

Its application was rejected by the city council, then by a public inquiry, and eventually thrown out by the High Court last December.

The firm is now drawing up fresh plans, which could be submitted in a few months' time.