A NEW proposal to build homes on land once occupied by a historic Hampshire pub is likely to be rejected next week.

Members of the New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) are being urged to refuse the latest application to transform the former Flying Boat Inn site at Calshot Road, Calshot.

A plan by F B Estates to build seven houses on the land was rejected by the NPA in January last year.

A report to members said new housing was normally allowed only in what it described as the “four defined villages” - Ashurst, Brockenhurst, Lyndhurst and Sway.

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Now a similar proposal submitted by the same applicant looks set to be turned by the NPA's planning committee next Tuesday.

A report to members says: "The applicant has argued that the site comprises a brownfield site and therefore would be suitable for residential development.

"At the time of the assessment work for the brownfield land register, the site was overgrown and was assessed as having reverted to a greenfield site.

"Since then the applicant has cleared the site of vegetation to reveal areas of hardstanding.

"Irrespective of whether the site is defined as brownfield or greenfield, the proposal is clearly contrary to recently adopted policies relating to new residential development. To grant planning permission would set a dangerous precedent."

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The report confirms that changes have been made to the original scheme.

But it adds: "The overall proposal would still include a number of dwellings that would be contrary to policy and would introduce large dwellings on the site which does not reflect the housing need in the national park."

Fawley Parish Council is urging the NPA to approve the application.

The NPA has received a letter from a Calshot resident who says she has no objection in principle to the proposed development. However, she claims that seven two-storey properties would "dominate" the village because they would be on higher ground than nearby homes.

A design statement which forms part of the planning application says the farmyard-style layout aims to reflect the site's semi-rural setting.

It adds: "Overall the proposals present a smaller footprint and a less dominant development than the Flying Boat Inn and a reduction in scale compared to the previous proposals."

The pub was once the officers' mess for RAF Calshot - now Calshot Activities Centre. It closed in the late 1990s and was demolished in 2001.