CAMPAIGNERS opposed to a 46-home estate in Greatham say they are closing in on a target of 50 objections.

After an extraordinary Greatham Parish Council meeting in St John the Baptist Church Hall on Monday night, campaign group Greatham Voice said 29 objections had been sent to South Downs National Park Authority planners.

Greatham Voice spokesman Elly Butler said: “The village hall meeting was attended by about 80 people, and we are now well on the way to reaching our target of 50 objections.”

Residents feel the estate proposed by Cove Construction for the six-acre former Liss Forest Nursery site off Petersfield Road is too big and will create traffic problems.

Chris Morris, of Bakers Field, said: “Forty-six houses is double what a reasonable application should be.”

Louise Thompson, of Silver Birch Mews, said: “It is too close to the primary school and would be a hazard to parents and pupils walking to it.”

Cove Construction said half the homes would be ‘affordable’, and that its proposal also included building a village shop on the estate.

In its developer’s statement to the planners, it added: “It will deliver housing in a sustainable location on a site proposed for allocation within the South Downs National Park Local Plan.

“The shop will enhance the sustainability of the development and of Greatham, providing a major benefit.”

The estate would increase the size of Greatham by about ten per cent. In the 2011 census it had a population of 795, living in around 400 houses. Some 200 pupils attend Greatham Primary School.

To view or comment on the plans, visit planningpublicaccess.southdowns.gov.uk, quoting reference SDNP/18/06111/FUL.