A CURRENT seed merchants and garden store at Chandler's Ford could disappear and be replaced by a block of 62 two-bedroom retirement apartments if Eastleigh councillors give a planning application the all-clear.

Banner Homes has lodged a revised scheme for 24-28 Hursley Road which proposes the demolition of the existing shop, F H Deans.

Plans envisage 62 two-bedroom apartments in two blocks over three and four storeys.

Vehicular access to the 1.5-acre site would be from Hursley Road and there would be parking for 47 cars.

A borough council spokesman said Banner Homes had lodged a previous application for 74 homes on the site.

He added: "The new application seeks to address informal concerns that had been expressed by the council's planning officers about the bulk of the original proposals and its impact on the locality.

"The revised design also includes new architectural features and a reduction in the ridge height of the building."

The applicants, he added, had also increased the number of parking slots from 42 to 47.

The earliest possible date that the application could be considered by the borough council's Chandler's Ford and Hiltingbury local area committee is March 12.