Natural England has objected to a two-flat extension at a block in Southampton concerned it will cause ‘increasing visitor numbers’ in the New Forest.

The extension, which is planned for Archers Road, would see a fourth floor added to a block of six flats, creating two more two-bedroom flats.

The application will be decided by Southampton City Council’s planning panel next Tuesday and is recommended for approval.

It is an ‘almost identical’ application by the applicant, Donald Wilson, to one that was approved in 2017, but was not built.

The plans have seen 10 objections from residents regarding concerns such as parking and privacy.

Natural England, the national environmental public body, has raised concerns that the two extra flats will have an ‘adverse effect’ on the New Forest conservation area.

They said: “We consider it will have an adverse effect on the integrity of the New Forest Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar site through increasing visitor numbers.”

The SAC, SPA and Ramsar site include the Solent coastline within their area of protection – and the national body feels as though the extra occupants in the two flats will increase visitor numbers to the protected areas.

Protection organisations such as Natural England want reasonable levels of tourism to protected places such as national parks to mitigate the human damage of the area.