THEY have been digging for victory in Eastleigh where the town's allotment wars could have a sizeable impact on the result of some seats in the borough council elections when voters go to the polls this Thursday.

But feedback from local politicians indicates that even though voters will be selecting local candidates, national and international issues could also hold sway.

Canvassers report that the war in Iraq has been a major issue before candidates bring the focus back to local matters.

Parties fighting to bite into the massive majority currently held by the ruling Liberal Democrats point to the current administration's plans to piece together a massive town centre redevelopment which would threaten allotment land at Woodside Avenue, South Street and Monks Way.

Proposals involve developing allotment sites and moving plot holders to alternative land in what the Lib Dems see as a move to help meet the desperate need for affordable homes as well as protect countryside areas.

But in one of the biggest shows of protest ever seen in the town, angry allotment gardeners have been conducting a long-running campaign to stop more than 500 new homes being built on their plots.

Yet the issue goes further than merely building on allotments - it's a matter which is likely to shape how and where future development takes place.

Liberal Democrat leader Keith House said he believed preserving the countryside and protecting green fields from development was one of the main issues - certainly across the borough's southern parishes and, increasingly, in Chandler's Ford.

"We want to see development on brownfield, town centre sites rather than out in the countryside creating traffic problems."

He pointed to proposed health cuts linked to the closure of Bishopstoke's Mount Hospital plus the threatened closure of two local doctors' surgeries in Netley and Hamble as main issues.

But he said the Lib Dems were not finding that developing the town's allotments was an issue on the doorstep and added: "As with any development site, people living next to them have strong views.

"The vast majority of allotment holders have now signed up on to new short-term tenancies which is part of the transition to moving to new sites."

But Conservative group leader Godfrey Olson said he believed the allotment issue was of concern - not only to allotment holders but also to people who wanted to see fair play.

He said: "I'm sure the people realise that the dictatorial policy of the Liberal Democrats can't go on. The allotments is an issue where they haven't listened to people."

He said Conservatives wanted to see a "proper" planning policy for the whole of the borough which did not include building on allotment land plus improved replacement health facilities before the Mount Hospital was closed.

They also wanted to see improved refuse and recycling collections, street cleaning and grounds maintenance, the abolition of charges for pest control, plus closer work with the police and other agencies to reduce crime and the fear of crime.

The town centre, he said, needed an uplift and Conservatives wanted the council to invest in housing units to combat the "greatest housing crisis in recent history" and help first-time buyers with a shared ownership scheme.

Labour leader Peter Luffman acknowledged: "The major issues are the Iraq War and what the government is doing. There seems to be an awful lot of that on the doorstep."

But he said when people were reminded about the local elections, development of the allotments, infill development, increased traffic and parking problems came to the fore.

"There is great concern about the policies that are being implemented where allotments, greens and spare bits of land are being built on."

He said people were worried about roads and the town's creaking sewerage system, while people living in high-density estates that had already been built had expressed "major concerns" about the lack of recreation areas for young people.

"There is nothing for children and young teenagers to do and all the council is doing is developing the areas that they are likely to utilise."

The United Kingdom Independence Party is making no secret of the fact that it is not campaigning on local issues - purely on the big European question.

Campaign manager Chris Murphy said: "The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats are reeling with not only the intensity of the UKIP campaign but its acceptance by voters across all political affiliations.

It has been many decades since such a powerful campaign has been launched for both European and local elections and the message is very simple.

"Are we grown up enough to govern ourselves? Or should we allow Brussels to treat us as children, handing out rules and regulations, taking £50m of British money a day and then handing back pocket money in a way reminiscent of a young person who would hand over a wage packet unopened to mum."

He added UKIP was pledging to speak on behalf of people who were not represented by the mainstream parties.

Meanwhile, Eastleigh's lone Independent candidate Alan Sneddon is fighting on local issues. He says he does not want to see allotments or green spaces in the town being built on, would like to see a more comprehensive network of cycleways established to reduce car use plus more facilities provided for young people.