A COUNCILLOR says he will quit at the next election because of his frustration over the handling of a controversial 6,000-home development.

Independent Fareham councillor Nick Gregory told the Daily Echo he will not stand for re-election in 2016 – saying he does not want to be part of a council that pushes through plans for Welborne while ‘whitewashing over’ objections.

As previously reported, plans for the site include four schools, 100,000 square metres of shops and major infrastructure developments, including a new junction 10 on the M27.

But the proposal has sparked fierce opposition from residents.

Cllr Gregory also raised fears the plan puts pressure on existing infrastructure and its implications for future housing in the borough – points strongly refuted by the Conservative leadership.

Speaking about his intention to stand down, he said: “It’s out of frustration.

"I feel in my current position it’s a pointless exercise being a councillor for the residents of my ward because I can’t do anything to help.

"I don’t want to be around or involved with the council trying to sort out the chaos that it’s going to cause.”

Cllr Gregory said he would only reconsider if the political make-up would change at the next election.

But since news of his planned resignation he claimed he had been contacted by three Conservative councillors who planned to run as Independents at the next election, asking him to stay on.

He said according to the Welborne timeline, 4,000 houses could be built before any secondary school meaning large numbers of children at other schools in Fareham creating congestion.

Cllr Gregory questioned how the plan would ensure doctors and dentist surgeries were on site before there were sufficient numbers to attract them, putting pressure on existing facilities that are already full.

He voted against the 50m settlement boundary and said, if Welborne is declared sound, it could set a precedent for other developers, particularly the hundreds of homes planned at Newlands Farm.

Council leader Sean Woodward rubbished the suggestion that members of his party would defect and insisted that not a brick of Welborne would be built until infrastructure had been arranged and funding was in place.