AN upheld planning appeal which will see 13 new homes built in Sheet has provoked an outcry. Villagers fear that Sheet could become a "suburb" of Petersfield, opening the floodgates for further development by "greedy and cynical" developers. With concerns for the Sunnymeade development lingering, people fear losing the village's identity and character, while question marks remain over increased traffic and congestion. The decision to allow the new homes to be built, made by planning inspector Alan Boyland, will see the existing home at 28 London Road demolished and the new block built on a paddock at the back. The site currently houses ducks and geese, and is popular with many of village's children. All houses will have dormer windows, garages and associated car parking, with the net density of development exceeding national guidelines. The result of the appeal, made by Michael Shanley Homes, was made public on Tuesday, and villager Simon Lawrence expressed his ire. "This decision goes against the planning directives of East Hampshire District Council, and goes to show that neither Sheet village nor EHDC has any power over planning within the area," he said. "I, and I suspect the vast majority of Sheet village, am extremely disappointed with this decision. "The appeal inspector seems to have ignored the planning conditions and steamrollered an unsustainable development into a wonderful open space, something the inspector acknowledges himself." He added: "I am extremely disappointed that he seems to think Sheet is part of Petersfield, as we believe it is a much more rural, special place." In a seven-page decision document, Mr Boyland makes several telling remarks. He claims that Sheet is "effectively part of Petersfield", adding that the location "is not highly sustainable" and that "it contributes little to the character of the village". Such statements are like a red rag to a bull to Sheet man Will Glancy, who branded the decision "a disgrace". "In saying that Sheet is part of Petersfield, the inspector has hit upon our major problem. "We are fighting to try to retain the village's independence from Petersfield, but with the Ramshill development falling into part of Sheet it has eaten up our strategic gap." Mr Glancy issued a rallying cry to local people, saying: "Basically, this is a disaster for Sheet. We really need people to stand up and realise we are threatened – not only here, but all the way around Sheet with development. "We are under threat by greedy and cynical developers who want to over-develop everything for their profits. It's nothing to do with social housing. "We are fighting another development at Sunnymeade, but we are not nimbys (not in my backyard). We can see some form of sustainable development happening in Sheet. "But people have to recognise the threat posed by greedy developers, and we need to start taking action, or we will become a suburb of Petersfield," he heeded. Petersfield mayor Vaughan Clarke, who lives in Sheet and is an active village member, added: "Some parts of that area of the village are 1,000 years old and it seems a travesty to put 13 houses there, which are totally out of character to the village. "They are all two-and-a-half storeys high with dormer windows. There is nothing that high in the village, and very few houses, if any, have dormer windows." A condition of the development will see the bus stop moved further along London Road, with Mr Clarke adding: "At the moment when people wait for the bus they are sheltered, and when the bus stop is moved, it will be near a dangerous bend and bus users will have further to walk." Sheet Village Association is expected to meet quickly to discuss the matter.