BOTLEY Parish Council last night set aside a £5,000 war chest to fight the plan for 1,400 homes at nearby Boorley Green.

Members of the council were applauded when they voted unanimously to inject the cash into an investigation to see whether there were grounds for a judicial review of Monday night’s Eastleigh Borough Council decision to back the proposal.

Chairman Colin Mercer told the packed meeting at the Diamond Jubilee Hall last night: “We’re on the back foot but the fight isn’t finished.”

He added that the council had to raise a further £45,000 which he had been advised would be needed for a judicial review.

He said: “We want to go for a quashing of the result, which is not going to be easy for us to do.
“There’s nothing more we can do but live to fight another day.”

Two working parties have now been set up by the council – one to sort out the administrative details of a challenge, the other to raise the cash needed if the process goes any further.

A report will be presented at the council’s March meeting, where members will decide if they want to mount a judicial review.