Plans have been approved for 166 homes at farmland in Bursledon despite initial refusal by Eastleigh Borough Council and resident opposition

Eastleigh Borough Council refused plans for 166 homes at farmland in Bursledon a year ago, but now they have been approved despite residents’ concerns about traffic and the lack of facilities to support it.

Developer Barratt Homes’ plans for Berry Farm, off Hamble Lane, are for a mixture of two and three-storey homes, with 40 per cent affordable housing.

There will also be areas of open space, a new roundabout on the junction of Portsmouth Road and Hamble Lane and new footpaths and cycle paths.

When refused back in June last year councillors decided it was an inappropriate and unjustified scheme, which would diminish the countryside gap between Bursledon, Hamble and Netley.

But around 40 residents saw members of Bursledon, Hamble-le-Rice local area committee this time voted in favour of the project at a meeting at the Lowford Centre in Bursledon.

An artist's impression of the new development

The plans had prompted objections from the parish council and 110 residents along with Bursledon and Hamble-le-Rice Parish Council and a number of people spoke against the plans at the meeting.

The council officer’s report recommended approval, but with 36 conditions – concluding that although the proposal will affect the countryside, the council needs to deliver short-term and long-term housing.