A SCHEME to build up to 30 homes in a tiny Hampshire community has been given the green light by Test Valley councillors.

Bargate Homes proposals for the site at a property known as Baroona, off Cupernham Lane, in Belbins, near Romsey, includes 12 affordable dwellings.

But the borough’s southern area committee has insisted that the developer Bargate Homes should be asked to start building work within one year in a bid to meet a shortfall in housing supplies.

Both Romsey Town Council and Romsey Extra Parish Council support the Bargate Homes scheme, which is close to the controversial Wren’s Corner site, where 16 homes are proposed.

Here the developer grubbed out scrubland before obtaining planning permission, sparking a row over the loss of habitat for Romsey’s last remaining breeding nightingales