EAST Hampshire District Council has ruled out, behind closed doors, more than 20 possible sites , in its quest to find a short-stay traveller base. The Herald applied for the list of sites under the Freedom of Information Act, after being refused the names on the council's "long list" at the start of September. This week, the council has released the locations of 21 sites which have been ruled out of dciscussions because they do not meet the criteria set out by councillors. But three sites are still being considered and EHDC has refused to reveal their locations, on the grounds that this would be harmful to the landowner and the council. The head of communications and policy for EHDC, Tom Horwood, said: "I am presently withholding information on these because disclosure would be likely to harm the commercial interests of the landowner and the council. "For example, if a transaction were to take place, the negotiations would need to take place on a level playing field and be fair to all parties involved. Harming these negotiations would not be in the public interest, if it meant that a transaction could not proceed or if the terms were unfair." In January this year, the council's cabinet agreed on a list of 12 criteria for selecting a site. A special working party has since been working behind closed doors to match the sites to the criteria and, during this process, the vast majority have fallen by the wayside. Among those that have been rejected are four sites close to EHDC's headquarters at Penns Place in Petersfield, all rejected because they fall within half a mile of the settlement boundary. These sites include a field next to Penns Place, a sewerage site and an EHDC depot area close by. Also rejected are two sites close to Butser Quarry, south of Petersfield, one owned by the Highways Agency, on a slip road next to the A3. These have been ruled out because they are both in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The EHDC-owned Bedford Road lorry park in Petersfield has been ruled out on the grounds that it is within half a mile of the settlement boundary. A field between the A3 dual carriageway and Petersfield's Causeway has been ruled out due its siting in the AONB and possible national park designation. MoD land next to the A3 at Bramshott has been abandoned because one side is next to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the other side has poor access. In Liphook, MoD land at Longmoor Road has also been rejected because of its proximity to an SSSI. In Bordon, an MoD site adjacent to the A325 has fallen short because it does not fulfill the settlement boundary criteria. A Hampshire county council layby on the A31, between Chawton and Four Marks, has been eliminated because it is within half a mile of a settlement boundary And a county council road depot adjacent to the A31 in Ropley also fails under the settlement boundary rule. EHDC-owned land at Worldham was abandoned because it is not on an A or B road .

Other East Hampshire sites rejected: (Land: Reason for exclusion)

• Bentley: No obvious suitable site, some steeply sloping areas • Land south of Highway House, Lower Froyle: Too narrow • West Tisted Common: No obvious site or facilities • Oil facility land on Havant Road near Rowlands Castle: Within half a mile of settlement boundary • Havant Thicket: Well-established woodland, no access • EHDC land, Picketts Hill, Sleaford: Adjacent to Special rotected Area (SPA) • Portsmouth City Council land, Prospect Lane, Rowlands Castle: Within strategic gap and not on A or B road