CAMELSDALE campaigners have vowed to do everything in their power to prevent a housing development that they claim will make traffic and flooding problems worse in the village.
Janice Hopwood and Angela Boyle claim that developers SC Properties are buying up buildings and strips of land in Camelsdale Road and Sturt Avenue to build a housing estate.
Although to date no planning applications have been submitted, Mrs Hopwood feels that something is imminent.
"I know of a number of people who have now signed contracts to sell in Camelsdale Road and Sturt Avenue, and we have seen surveyors looking around the area very recently," she said.
"We also know a resident in Moorfield Road who has been approached to sell a strip of road, that we think they will use for wider access," said Mrs Boyle.
Mrs Hopwood said Chichester District Community Housing had confirmed that they were in negotiation with the developers, despite previous assurances that they were not.
The campaigners have objected to the potential development because they feel it will make existing problems in Camelsdale much worse.
"A recent survey said that the level of traffic going through the village has gone up by 40 per cent," said Mrs Hopwood. "This is a situation that can only get worse with the increase in traffic which is likely to result from other ongoing property development both in Hammer and Liphook."
"We want to wake people up, to let them know that this will happen soon and they should get ready to start writing letters," she said. "As soon as a planning application is submitted we will really go for it as hard as we can."
The protesters intend to lobby councils, the highways department and environmental organisations, and will attend planning meetings to voice their objections.
In the meantime, three tree preservation orders have been secured within the garden of Camelsdale House.
Mrs Hopwood said: "We have been told by Chichester District Council that in the event of a development going ahead it would be usual practice not to allow development within a distance defined by the crown spread of the preserved trees."
Mrs Boyle has also been critical of Chichester District Council's planning policy, which she argues infringes her human rights and is loaded in favour of the developer.
"The government advises that where there is doubt, the balance should favour the applicants, who should get their planning permission," she said. "This statement is clearly incompatible with the notion of a fair trial or equitable process."
Mrs Boyle added that although developers may appeal a decision, local people do not have that right.
Richard Cooke, managing director of SC Properties reiterated his earlier position to The Herald that no planning applications had been submitted.
"We are a property company that buys and sells a number of properties all over the country," he said. "Camelsdale is neither at the top of our agenda or at the bottom."
Mr Cooke said that it was the company's intention to develop vacant land when it can, but could not confirm whether any properties in the area had been purchased.
"I think the residents are all aware of the situation - now all parties just have to wait."