A COUNCIL scheme for scores of new homes and flats in a Hampshire estate has been given the green light.

Winchester City Council want to build 76 new homes at The Valley in Stanmore which includes the construction of seven blocks of flats which are three and four storeys high.

Residents in the area have written more than 20 letters of objection and some councillors have previously questioned whether the plans are “value for money”.

The plans consist of 62 flats and 14 homes, of which 30 are one-bedroom flats, 29 are two-bedroom flats, 11 two-bedroom homes, two three-bedroom homes and two three-bedroom shared homes for people under the age of 35.

There would also be a wheelchair friendly bungalow, and a three-bedroom wheelchair friendly home.

The plans form part of Winchester City Council’s strategy to provide 4000 new homes by 2031.

Portfolio holder for housing and leader of Winchester City Council councillor Caroline Horrill explained that the council has a waiting list of more than 2000 people.

She added that the scheme is a key part of the council’s aim to build 300 new homes in the next three years.

Cllr Horrill said: “This is an important step forward in meeting our aspirations to build 300 council homes in the next three years across the district.

“We are already building 100 homes, and want to offer local people better options and shorten the council house waiting list. The community of Stanmore has been very active in developing the plans and we are really pleased to see that the scheme has got the green light from all members of the Planning Committee today.”

Questions were raised about storage for families, and councillor Ian Tait said: “You can’t store anything in the public space – the council will come along and remove that.

“These blocks have no lifts and it is stairs all the way up and in practical terms I do not know how that storage is going to work. Why are we not making adequate provision for storage of prams on the ground floor?”.

However, architect Paul Bulkeley said that as the scheme progresses these concerns will be addressed.

The city council says they aim to provide 100 per cent affordable housing on the site – but councillors heard the authority may not be able to meet this figure, depending on what happens when tenders return.

The council has placed a condition on the scheme which states that the scheme delivers “maximum” affordable housing, which means there is a minimum of 70 per cent affordable homes.

During debate, councillors spoke in support of the scheme but some said that certain issues need to be addressed.

Councillor Kim Gottlieb said: “If we use exception sites we need to make sure that they are 100 per cent affordable, if potential changes need to be made to the scheme that would be a great shame.”

Councillor Ian Tait said: “Overall the delivery of more affordable housing is a excellent thing.”

Councillor Ernie Jeffs said: “I am very impressed with what I have seen and what I have heard, the team have worked very hard to get schemes up and running.”