PLANS for a small development of housing alongside the picturesque River Wey, in Liphook, are moving along swiftly.

A planning application is expected to be submitted by Green Construct to East Hamsphire District Council to build a totlal of nine new homes along the river which eventually feeds into the River Thames within the next few months.

Following a presentation and public consultation two years ago, Roger Hayes and Simon Levine, of Green Construct, gave an update to Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council’s planning committee on the planned homes off London Road.

The site is currently privately owned and lies outside the settlement policy boundary as well as within a conservation area.

The nine houses – if approved – would include a five-bedroom property and a detached four-bed home at either end, along wiht four semi-detached dwellings and a small terrace made up of three more homes.

According to Mr Hayes, the layout, which will be located along a private road, takes into consideration neighbouring houses, will not encroach on their views significantly – due to a slope in the land.

They would also be built as ecologically compatible zero carbon homes.

Japanese cladding, Scandinavian energy-efficient walls plus solar panels would feature in all nine dwellings overlooking communal meadow land.

Green Construct claims the scale of the proposed new homes would be entirely sympathetic to the village character and adjacent homes, and the highly sustainable specifications would contribute towards aspirations for an environmentally-friendly development.

Part of the proposal is to gift a substantial parcel of the land ownership to the River Wey Trust, which will bring under its permanent protection two further stretches of countryside along either bank of the river.

That will enable the charity to further protect and restore another area of countryside helping to connect the environmental heritage work the trust has done with Allee’s Meadow and the parish council with the Radford Park land.

The proposals also promise to

lEncourage access to the land for the benefit of the local community

lOffer an opportunity for easy pedestrian access to Allee’s Meadow and Tunbridge Lane in Bramshott

lPrevent any further threat of development north of Radford Bridge by removing land from private ownership

lProvide a clear and distinct edge to the settlement boundary along London Road.

Green Construct director Roger Hayes said: “This site provides a great opportunity to build a small development of highly sustainable, zero-carbon homes that will enable us to gift a substantial parcel of land to the River Wey Trust for the benefit of the environment, the community and the countryside that can be enjoyed by all and no longer held in private ownership.

“It is only the small area, next to 71 London Road, we want to develop.

“This will generate sufficient funds for Green Construct to then gift the rest of the land to the River Wey Trust to restore, enhance and manage, and permanently open to the public.

The area Green Construct want to gift to the trust is around 7.25 acres and runs north from London Road along both banks of the River Wey.

On the western bank it joins up with Allee’s Meadow in the north, an area already owned and managed by the trust. To the east the land is bounded by the public footpath running from London Road to St Mary’s church, in Bramshott. The area that would be developed to pay for the transfer is about 1.5 acres.

River Wey Trust chairman Adrian Bird, supports the proposals, calling it a ‘real breakthrough’ which would create a corridor for wildlife as well as open up a continuous route for walkers and cyclists.

He has already prepared a draft management programme for the area to cover the next 40 years.