A PARISH council has refused to back a plan to convert a piece of beloved heathland near Rake into a golf course.

But there are signs that opinion might be swinging toward the applicants judging by the reaction of Liss Parish Council and their counterparts.

A new bid by Old Thorns to turn Weavers Down into a heathland golf course is currently doing the rounds with planners and councillors.

Bosses at the country resort want to develop the 72-hectare site north of Langley Lane because their course is becoming too congested.

Dozens of people objected to the bid on ecological, access and aesthetic grounds when the plans were originally submitted last autumn.

For full story, see this week's Petersfield Herald.