LIPHOOK doesn't have the infrastructure to cope with more large housing developments, according to a local resident who is opposed to plans to replace two homes in Longmoor Road with 18 new ones.

The comments came at a Liphook Parish Council's planning meeting on Monday when more than a dozen villagers turned out to air their views on the outline planning application.

"Liphook is getting bigger and bigger," said Norman Blight from Chalcraft Close.

"This village has no police station, a retained fire service, and the schools are at bursting point; Bohunt is certainly very popular. It's a case of enough is enough."

Mr Bright was also concerned about children's safety.

"The cars in that road are double or treble parked, certainly at weekends, and these are properties with garages" he said.

"It will be absolutely lethal through there because there's no play area, so children play in the road."

He also felt that the new homes weren't in keeping with the surrounding properties, and the proposed gardens would be extremely small.

Mr Davies, another Chalcraft Close resident, spoke out against the plans, referring to an application for Longmoor Road 15 years ago.

"That was refused on grounds of dangerous access and I don't see what's changed," he said. "If anything it's got worse, traffic is heavier."

Mr Davies also raised concerns about privacy for neighbouring properties, flooding problems and the effect on wildlife.

"Birdlife will be affected dramatically by this development," he said. "The wildlife is enormously important and I know there are bats' nests there. We can't afford to destroy them."

Councillor Jim Walters said that it was important to point out that the proposed access route also leads to a reserve site that could be used for up to 40 additional houses.

"Anyone who drives from Griggs Green to Liphook would consider that access to be inadequate," he said. "It's almost a blind corner."

Mr Walters was also worried about drainage issues on the site.

"It's a Longmoor Road problem, there isn't sufficient drainage," he said.

"I was told how water runs through that site, through the garden into the road. It comes up every time we have a Longmoor Road application because the drainage is quite a headache."

Mr Baxter, one of the agents for the applicants, Strathmoor Developments and Codex Holdings, gave a brief presentation to councillors and residents.

He explained that as it was an outline application, they were only asking to the council to consider means of access.

He said that there had been lengthy and detailed discussions with East Hampshire District Council planning officers about the application.

"It is within the settlement boundary, and we're governed by government guidance to provide a minimum density of 30 houses per hectare," he said.

"This application is exactly that, so we can't get any less on the site even if we wanted to do."

Mr Baxter added that highways consultants had agreed in principle to the proposal, and that the developers' wildlife expert had not found any bats on the site.

The council agreed to object to the application, on grounds of potentially unsafe highways access, the water table in Longmoor Road being extremely high, and because the houses would be out of keeping with the surrounding properties.

The proposal will next be discussed by EHDC's south planning committee.