PLANNERS have slapped a stop notice on a field next to Sheet Church after villagers complained it had been bulldozed flat.

Workmen with bulldozers arrived two weeks ago and flattened much of Churchfield behind the church over the weekend. They returned last weekend and continued levelling the land.

Villagers feared developers could be ÒtrashingÓ the land to make it appear more like a brownfield site in a bid to ease the road to planning permission.

Nick Philp was one of the Sheet villagers who formed RADISH (Residents Against Development in Sheet) to fight moves to develop Churchfield.

He told The Herald he watched the bulldozers back in action last weekend.

He feared that a developer was blatantly flouting planning laws.

Villagers contacted East Hampshire District CouncilÕs planning enforcement department and on Tuesday they were told that an enforcement notice was being placed on the land.

The work at Churchfield has been carried out by RS Building Services, a Fareham- based company which told The Herald it was hired by a man called Gary White through a contact at a Cosham plant hire company.

Mr White told The Herald this week ÒI was directed by Westlife Limited to have the work carried out.Ó

He believed the company wanted to level the land and put poly tunnels on it.

Ruth Stevens, solicitor for East Hampshire District Council, told The Herald she had served the notice to stop work and enforcement notices on the owner of the land, NW Holdings, on Westlife and Co Ltd, which had an interest in the land, and on Thelma Anne Mitchell at Rival Moor Road in Petersfield, who also had an interest in the land.

Mrs Stevens added: ÒIt is our practice to try to speak to the owners of the land, and I telephoned the registered offices of NW Holdings at Gosport, where I spoke to Trevor Lazenbury. He said he did not have anything to do with the matter and he would get someone to ring back.Ó

But Mrs StevensÕs call was not returned.

EHDC planning enforcement manager, Lesley Wells, said: ÒWe have served notices on the owner and those interested in the land to stop what they are doing to the site immediately because they do not have planning permission.Ó

ÒWe have also served enforcement notices on them telling them to reinstate the land to how it was before the work.Ó

Villagers in Sheet were furious last year when developers who owned the field tried to have it included in East Hampshire District CouncilÕs local plan for housing.

NW Holdings wanted to build between ten and 20 new homes, together with a church hall, on Churchfeld.

Residents of Sheet told the developer the plan would add to huge parking problems, endanger rare wildlife species, create more flooding problems and cause the largest divide the village had ever seen.

They also criticised the Parochial Church Council for offering its support to the scheme, which meant that if the land was re-zoned for housing, the PCC would get a new church hall.

A later survey carried out in Sheet showed that 70 per cent of villagers were opposed to the development.

Earlier this year the Rev Sarah Chapman warned that it was only a matter of time before NW Holdings or another developer got permission to build homes on Churchfield.

The PCC has now decided to submit its own planning application for a church hall and extension on part of the land close to the church independently of NW Holdings.

At the time of going to press The Herald had been unable to contact the owners of the land.