A planning exercise in Winchester branded a waste of public money may not cost the local taxpayer anything.

The city council is set to spend £185,000 on a still current "community planning" exercise in Highcliffe and Stanmore to identify new sites for social housing.

A series of public meetings in the summer attracted fewer than 200 people, with the consultation costing about £1,000 per person.

The council defended the cost, saying that if housing was built then, the money would be repaid from future developers at £1,000 per home.

At a meeting of the full council on Wednesday, councillors heard that draft reports from independent consultants had identified six hectares (15 acres) of land in Stanmore for potential development and three hectares in Highcliffe A maximum of 270 homes could be fitted onto these sites.

Some councillors were sceptical. Patrick Davies, whose ward includes Stanmore, asked: "Could we be raising hopes that cannot be fulfilled?"