CAMPAIGNERS are fighting the latest application to build a large number of homes on agricultural land beside a Hampshire graveyard.

A proposal for 180 properties on a 20-hectare site next to Crofton Cemetery in Oakcroft Lane, Fareham, has sparked almost 40 objections.

One of the protesters is a woman whose late husband is buried in the cemetery.

In a letter to Fareham Borough Council she refers to the current application and two previous proposals to build 261 and 206 homes on the site.

She says: "I will keep objecting to this as it's ridiculous and very disrespectful of FBC to even consider it.

"My husband's remains are in Crofton cemetery and when I bought this plot I asked about the field and was told categorically that nothing was ever going to be built there - if anything they would extend the cemetery. Makes me so angry and upset."

Objectors say the site is part of the strategic gap between Fareham and Stubbington.

They claim the proposed development will create extra traffic problems in the area as well as adding to the pressure on schools and GP surgeries.

The application, by Charles Church Developments, says: "The site is in a sustainable location adjacent to an existing settlement. The proposal seeks to support growth and will make a significant contribution towards meeting local housing needs.

"The enhanced landscape buffer proposed on the periphery of the site would limit any perceived encroachment into the countryside."

The site is near Cofton Old Church, a Grade II-listed building.

But the application says: "The proposed development would not be visible from the environs of the church and the church is not visible from the site.

"There is a distance in excess of 115m between the church and the nearest proposed dwelling. The majority of the buildings are located significantly further away."