MORE than 100 villagers are celebrating after plans for a mixed housing development were narrowly voted out by district planners. It appeared as though the 109 angry residents might have lost the battle when council officers recommended that outline planning permission - agreement in principle - be granted for the 12 new homes in Medstead. But at the 11th hour, East Hampshire District Council's parking and highways manager Ian Ayres objected to the plans and urged case officer Paul Bowman to advise councillors to reject the proposals. When villagers arrived at Amery Hill School last Thursday for the council's north planning committee meeting, they found that Mr Bowman had, in fact, done a U-turn and was recommending that the plans be refused for highways and drainage reasons. Mr Ayres said: "This length of Lymington Bottom Road is covered by a 40 mile per hour speed limit and the visibility requirement is 2.4 metres by 120 metres not the 2.4 metres by 90 metres suggested. This combined with the incorrect measuring of the splay out into the road would mean that the splay to the north would only be just over 50 per cent of the requirement. "Traffic speed passing at the time of my site visit varied from 36-53 mph. Any reduction in the visibility splays would be detrimental to highway safety. In addition the layout and construction of the road does not meet Hampshire County Council standards. There are no public sewers and the applicants have failed to show how these items will be dealt with without the loss of a dwelling." This is the second time that the developer, McEvoy Lewis, has put forward plans to develop the site at 68 to 70 Lymington Bottom Road. The previous plans for 17 homes were withdrawn in March this year. Under the latest plans, the two existing homes on the 0.46 hectare site would be demolished and replaced with a cul-de-sac of 12 homes. But residents together with the parish council had wide-ranging concerns about the proposals. The parish council felt that a cul-de-sac would create a precedent in the road that comprised of individual homes fronting on to the road and expressed concerns about traffic and drainage. Residents said that the development would be out of character and contrary to the Medstead Village Design Statement and set a precedent and increase traffic. They also said there was insufficient infrastructure in the village and raised concerns about drainage. Villager Mike Smith told councillors: "This application does not meet the planning requirements. Buses are few and far between and go few places. There are no services going along Lymington Bottom Road. Once a precedent has been set, we will end up with a series of cul-de-sacs and not a village." A spokeswoman for McEvoy Lewis said substantial changes had been made to the design, layout and number of units proposed since the previous application was withdrawn. She added that the number of homes proposed would only result in a small percentage increase in traffic. Maurice Johnson, who represents Four Marks and Medstead, said: "It is difficult for me to see how this development can be seen as sustainable. I accept that the site is within the settlement policy boundary. Notwithstanding this, I believe the application is out of character with the area and it is also unsustainable." Pat Seward, ward member for Four Marks and Medstead, added: "I am extremely pleased to see that the officers have seen a bit of sense and recommended refusal." Mr Bowman advised members that because the site was within the SPB in the local plan - development blueprint for the area - it would not be suitable to refuse the application on sustainability grounds as this contradicted its inclusion in the SPB. Members narrowly agreed to throw out the plans, by eight votes to seven, for highways and drainage reasons.
