THE Ministry of Defence has appealed over the district councilÕs verdict that it was trying to beat the system with its planning applications for St Lucia Lodge and RE Lines.

A public inquiry will decide the future of the two sites which the district council has earmarked for a hotel, business units or a college.

The MoD has appealed to the planning Inspectorate after East Hampshire District Council threw out two planning applications in July to place around 60 homes on the two sites Ð keeping alive the dream of a hotel, business park or college on site.

The government department was hoping to secure permission to convert the redundant St Lucia Lodge into 18 residential apartments, and to develop the neighbouring RE Lines site into a housing development of around 42 homes.

But planners were appalled by the scheme which endangered EHDCÕs own proposals in the local plan Ð the development blueprint for the district Ð which is still undergoing consultation.

Under the latest version of the local plan the sites are allocated for business, hotel and educational use, but the MoD has objected to this arguing that the allocations are just a pipe dream and will not be realised.

In July councillors accused the MoD of trying to beat the system by submitting the plans for housing, which is more profitable, before the new allocations can be adopted.

They pointed out that the MoD had not published a development brief for the two sites for public consultation before submitting the two applications.

Councillors said that the adopted local plan stated the need for a development brief and that the MoD had not done this because it was trying to rush the two applications through.

The north planning committee agreed that, until the MoD abide by the planning rules, it is not in a position to discuss the application for the site.

The committee also said that it would hate to see the site lost to housing when so many other facilities were needed in the town.

It rejected both applications on the grounds that a development brief had not been published and that, in the case of the St Lucia Lodge application, it would mean that loss of an existing commercial site.

District and town councillor Zoya Faddy told The Herald that the MoDÕs decision to lodge an appeal came as Òno surprise.

ÒI was expecting them to do thatÓ, she said.

Mrs Faddy said that she hoped the planning inspector at the inquiry will agree with the district and town councilÕs view that sites such as RE Lines and St Lucia Lodge need to be protected from housing development and utilised for the development of commercial and leisure facilities.

She said: ÒWhat I really find a matter of great concern is that because of the pressure for housing and finding land for housing, developers are trying to maximise the amount of money that they make by putting housing on what land becomes available.

ÒHowever there is a great need for more facilities in Bordon and Whitehill and we need to use primary sites such as the RE Lines site for these needs.

ÒTesco is a prime example of what new businesses want. They want a high visibility location and these high visibility primary sites must be utilised and not just lost to housing.Ó

Mrs Faddy said that local councils had to keep fighting otherwise sites such as Whitehill Chase on the High Street, which developers won permission to build homes on after an appeal, will all be snapped up by the housing market.

She said: ÒRecently we lost the site at Whitehill Chase to housing which would have been ideal for some new facilities because, again, it is a high profile site.

ÒBut we must look to the future and ensure that as precious sites come up, which are few and far between, houses are not just built on them.

ÒI am not opposed to housing but we also need everything else that goes with it. We need to have the jobs here and we have got to protect the land that will provide these jobs.Ó

The public inquiry is expected to take place before Christmas and Mrs Faddy is urging residents to put pen to paper and write to the Planning Inspectorate to fight the applications for housing.

She said: ÒPeople often donÕt realise that they can actually comment. Anybody who has views on the appeal can write in.Ó

l Comments on the two applications must be sent to the Planning Inspectorate at 3/08B Kite Wing, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol by October 1.