A CONTROVERSIAL development on a narrow strip of land along the main London to Portsmouth railway line was scrutinised by Bramshott and Liphook parish councillors at Monday’s planning meeting.

The application on the site adjacent to the Beaver Industrial Estate for more than 20 homes was extended by East Hampshire District Council in September 2012, after the original application was made back in October 2008 – sparking outrage among residents in the adjacent award-winning development before it was withdrawn.

They feared loss of privacy and light, and under the latest proposals, said that houses near the railway line on Canada Way, Quebec Close, Huron Drive and Hudson Close would be affected.

The railway line development – made up of five three-bedroom and 15 two-bedroom properties, as well as an undeclared number of affordable homes, will have to be accessed via the newly built Taylor Wimpey estate, off Canada Way.

The district council’s planning committee, which first granted permission in 2009, has now received substitute plans for the approved site layout and elevations by the new applicant – Aquinna Homes.

The applicant stated the reasons for the change in site layout, are borne out of the fact the consented hand drawn layout does not actually work when drawn to scale, for the size of the road, car parking spaces and the size of the plots.

In addition, a change relating to the elevation to the houses is sought, to substitute the modern look for a more traditional feel, to fit in with the surroundings and adjacent development.

Hampshire County Council’s transport department states the revised layout changes the design concept “significantly in highway terms”. Its officers said that with parts of the roadway reduced from 4.8m to 3.7m it would be necessary to introduce measures to ensure roadside parking does not occur as two cars cannot pass below a width of 4.1m.

The highway authority officers also insisted the layout must include a continuous service margin of 2m width on the side of the development and a one metre margin on the other side of the roadway

They concluded that at this stage, they are not in a position to recommend approval for the substitution of the new plans.

Residents in Hudson Close have shown their concern over the new plans as they show houses to have marginally increased in size and raised elevations overlooking existing properties.

Objectors point out attention should be brought to the increase in parked cars in Canada Way – both residential – but mostly from commuters using the nearby railway station.

The spread and effect of those cars on free and safe movement to, and from, Hudson Drive – as well as Quebec Close – has deteriorated, they claimed.

Residents also say the new drawings fail to provide side elevations in regard to boundaries and are therefore very vague on elevation changes – as well as moving plots closer to each boundary to make sure the access road is wide enough.

Parish councillors, who objected to the original planning application, feel there would be an unacceptable loss of amenities as well as an unacceptable increase in roof height resulting in loss of light, an insufficient gap between the proposed houses.

They also criticised the lack of an available area for landscaping to lessen the impact and raised concerns about the reduction in road width.

Overall, the parish council strongly objected to the substitutite plans, which will now be considered by EHDC.

The parish council previously stated the application represented an unacceptable over-development in a narrow railway siding, and warned their counterparts on EHDC the narrow access road and length of the cul-de-sac would prohibit access for emergency vehicles, especially as no parking spaces were provided for visitors.

They also objected to any street-light spillage for surrounding houses and the close proximity of the railway line on noise and vibration grounds as well as additional traffic and inadequate parking in Canada Way, the access road to the proposed development.

EHDC laid down conditions when granting extended permission in 2012 which included using obscure glass glazing in all second floor windows to protect the privacy of occupants in the adjacent development.

They also insisted on a written report outlining risk assessment designed to assess the nature and extend of any contamination after a site investigation.

And in the event contamination not previously found was present on the site, no further development would be allowed to be carried out.

In addition, the provision of affordable social housing were included as part of the development.

Three years ago, the district council felt the proposed development would not result in the loss of employment land, the layout and relationship with neighbouring properties was considered to be acceptable, as were parking access arrangements, and stated that issues regarding noise, vibration and contaminated land had been adequately assessed.

The site is on the south-eastern side of the former OSU site, which is currently being developed by Taylor Wimpey, and was the former railway sidings for the army, lacking any direct road frontage to Canada Way.

The land has been used for open storage with some containers at its western end with access from the industrial estate.

The western part of the site stands approximately one metre above the eastern end of the industrial site, but level with the former OSU site. The remainder of the land lies below the level of existing houses off Canada Way, Quebec Close, Huron Drive and Hudson Close.

The eastern end returns to being level with the new houses, where the site is approximately two metres above the railway line.