CAMPAIGNERS are kicking up a stink over plans to build another 22 homes on former military land at the centre of a sewage row.

People living near the old RAF Sopley say the proposed new houses will put too much pressure on a drainage system that is already failing to cope.

Problems with a nearby pumping station result in gardens being flooded with sewage after exceptionally heavy rain.

Campaigners say the redevelopment of the former RAF base, used to house some of the Vietnamese boat people after they arrived in the UK in the late 1970s, will make the situation worse.

One of the objectors condemned what she described as the area’s “antiquated” sewage system in a hard-hitting letter to New Forest District Council.

Another protester told the council’s planning committee: “This is the 21st century. Sewage in our gardens is unacceptable.”

But Bellway Homes was given the go-ahead to build more than 20 homes on what is now known as Merryfield Park.

It comes two years after the authority approved proposals for 80 homes on another part of the 28-acre site in Derritt Lane, Sopley.

Council officers said Wessex Water was drawing up proposals to upgrade the pumping station. However, they warned that industry regulator Ofwat would need to be satisfied that the sewage issue was sufficiently serious to justify any increase in water bills.

Cllr Sue Bennison, pictured, said: “I don’t feel comfortable allowing this application to go through in the hope that Wessex Water might do something.”

But Chris Elliott, the council’s head of development control, said the Bellway Homes scheme included tanks that could store sewage until the rainfall stopped.

Dismissing suggestions that the application should be deferred or rejected he added: “That wouldn’t put any pressure on Wessex Water but it would force Bellway Homes to lodge an appeal - and I don’t believe a planning inspector would withhold permission.”

A report to councillors said Wessex Water was “fully aware” of the current problems and has launched an investigation.

It added: “The investigation is due to report by the end of next March, with recommendations and cost estimates for scheme options.”

Speaking after the meeting a Wessex Water spokesman said: “We had a pump failure at the station a couple of years ago.

“Improvements have since been made and, as with any new housing development, a robust flood risk assessment forms part of the planning process.”