WITH the Hart Local Housing Plan’s consultation at an end, campaign group FACE IT is aiming to make people aware of just what is being proposed.

They say Fleet and Hook will be swamped by nearly 5,500 houses if a new settlement is not built. And they claim residents are furious that yet more houses will be built on adjacent green fields if further urban extension results from the latest consultation.

The campaign group admits that not all the housing needed can be built on brownfield sites, and that does mean greenfield land will have to be used.

Hart is currently consulting on three options for its housing strategy up to 2032.

Option one is to disperse development through the towns and villages of Hart, option two is ‘strategic’ greenfield expansion on the main settlements - Hook and Fleet, and option three is a new proposed settlement at Winchfield.

Hook and Fleet have already taken 2,345 of the 7,000 new homes, which the governement has demanded of Hart. But if option two was chosen in the consultation it would bring a further 2,173 houses to greenfield sites in both Hook and Fleet.

FACE IT also highlights that option one also has its drawbacks because despite it sounding like the housing would be shared around, 891 houses could yet be built on Hook and Fleet greenfield, adding: “Curiously, in both of the options (one and two) none of the burden is taken by Winchfield, which is not even included in the ‘dispersal’ option’."

The local group worked out that if both options are taken there would be a total figure of 5,499 houses approved for the area, and this - while damaging to potential greenfield sites - would also see an increased strain on local schools.

Planning figures for school places suggest an additional 1,200 junior school places and 860 secondary school places would be needed in local schools.

Despite this, there is no prospect of a new school being built “due to lack of critical mass in any one development and lack of strategic locations.”

Tony Gower-Jones, a FACE IT spokesman, said: “While we appreciate that difficult choices need to be made, we believe the real and cumulative impact of recent multiple developments for the Fleet, Church Crookham and Hook areas has now brought them to breaking point.

“Things will continue to deteriorate as further housing already approved for the area gets built. It is time to look at a sensible strategic option for the district”.