PLANS to replace five former police homes in Whitehill with 25 houses and flats is to be decided by appeal.

The applicant, Sentinel Housing Group, has already notified EHDC of its plans to demolish the Petersfield Road homes Ð proposals which were opposed by Whitehill Town Council and residents who sent in four letters of objection to the district council.

But planning officer Chris Murray said the district councilÕs hands were tied as the applicant owned the homes it could axe them if it wanted.

The demolition was deemed necessary by the applicant to avoid squatting, vandalism or other risks associated with leaving vacant buildings unattended.

And the only part of the demolition which EHDC could have a say in was the way the demolition work was conducted.

Therefore when the district council gave the green light to pull down the homes it asked that surrounding trees were protected, while the demolition work is taking place, and also asked that access to the site was from Petersfield Road and not Sutton Field.

And the applicant was given a five year deadline from May this year Ð the date on which district planners received notification, to start demolition work on the site.

But around six months after its second application, to build a number of houses and flats on the site, was turned down by district councillors the applicant has decided to appeal against the decision.

It submitted its first application to build 18 flats and houses in January last year but later withdrew it in July after concerns about the site layout and the implications for the tree screen and Petersfield Road lay-bys, which proved difficult to resolve.

A second application followed in October last year proposing 21 two and three-bedroom terraced and semi-detached houses, and four flats which

was given the thumbs-down by EHDCÕs north planning committee in February this year.

But the applicant has refused to give up and has now lodged an appeal against the decision to refuse its proposal for 25 homes on the site.

Mr Murray told The Herald that the applicant had requested a local hearing to determine the outcome of the appeal.

And letters to inform local residents and other interested parties of the appeal were expected to go out at the beginning of the week (September 23-24).

ÒThere will be an opportunity for local residents to attend that hearing, which will probably be held sometime in the new year,Ó Mr Murray said.

However, if the appeal is won it would confirm Whitehill Town CouncilÕs worst fears.

For the council has been against the plans from the word ÒgoÓ for a number of reasons.

One of its major grounds for objecting was because the size of the proposed homes are contrary to local need, which as stated in the local plan first review are for Òlower density, larger homesÓ.

And it feels that the site should be available to meet that need.

It has also raised concerns about the increase in traffic which the development would cause and the proposed access, which was through Sutton Field.

But as previously reported by The Herald, the applicant has now put together amended plans, which if submitted and passed, would see access to the site from both the A325 and Sutton Field.

And although the proposals have not yet been submitted to EHDC planners, the district council has sought informal comments from the town council on the plans.

But the town council is still not happy with the plans, which would see six of the homes with access from the A325 and 19 homes with access from Sutton Field, as it believes that the slight amendment would not overcome their considerable objections.