NEW plans in the pipeline for a controversial site at Ramshill could be welcome news for residents.
East Hampshire District Council has received planning applications from Breamore Developments to change the use of buildings at the former Diametric site from industrial to office use.
This would mean the end of a four-year battle for neighbours of 38 Ramshill, who fought to stop the daily noise and vibration which came from the toolmaking company before it went into liquidation in l999.
Problems began for the Ramshill and Hoggarth Close homeowners in May l997 when Diametric began working in its new £750,000 extension on Ramshill.
A total of 29 planning conditions had been imposed on the company when planning permission was granted, including one requiring Diametric to obtain retrospective permission to keep the machinery which was causing the noise and vibration problem.
In August l997, after a series of complaints from neighbours, East Hampshire District Council began an 18-month period of extended monitoring and agreed to take legal action if necessary to make Diametric keep to the planning conditions.
But in April l999 Diametric went into liquidation and was taken over by Tooling Products, a firm based at Langrish.
Residents said Tooling Products was keen to help with the noise problem when it took over. In any case staff were cut dramatically and there was little noise to annoy the neighbours.
Last year Tooling Products was taken over by the French firm Sermo after announcing that many staff had had to be made redundant.
But a question mark still hung over the future of the former Diametric factory on Ramshill which was part of Tooling Products.
Bryant Homes, which was still planning its massive housing development on Ramshill, was believed to be interested in buying the site.
At one time it was thought that Diametric could provide an entrance to the 276-home development.
But the planning application which has now been submitted to East Hampshire District Council shows that this was not taken up.
In June last year the Ombudsman forced East Hampshire District Council to apologise to Petersfield home-owners for its failure to control noise and vibration at the engineering company.
And the council also handed out a total of £2,500 to two neighbours on Ramshill for their loss of "residential amenity, their time, trouble and stress".
The Ombudsman's action came following an investigation triggered by residents contacting him in November l998.