Three new homes could be built on land in a Hampshire village which has been owned by the same family for more than three decades.

The site is on the east side of Rectory Road in Bentley, between Winchester and Aldershot, and is historically connected to The Old Rectory to the north and to the south of London Road that runs through the village.

The plans for the three new homes have now cleared the first hurdle after being granted permission in principle (PIP) by East Hampshire District Council, but the planning committee was left confused by the concept on Wednesday, May 8.

PIP came into force in June 2018 and is similar to outline planning applications with a two-stage process. It considers sites for developments for up to nine homes, if the total site area is under 1,000 square metres.

Stage one establishes whether a site is suitable in principle by looking at three things: the location of the site, the type of land use proposed and the amount of development.

If approved, the project moves to the second stage considering ‘technical details of consent’ which is similar to the more familiar ‘reserved matters’ part of the planning process. 

Applicant and site owner Nicholas Walters, of NTAM Developments Ltd, said the land has been owned by his family for 35 years and is a logical site for building. He considered the site sustainable because it is 100 metres from the shops, recreation ground, school and pub.  

The proposal for four houses was reduced to three during this initial application process.

A total of 18 comments were received with 16 objections and two letters of support which could not be considered at this PIP stage as the only things for consideration were land use, location and the amount of development.

Councillor Philip Davies for Binsted, Bentley and Selborne (Con) sent a letter of objection which also touched on issues that were not considered. It was read out at the meeting with eight points of objection including one of access via Rectory Lane, not being in keeping with Bentley’s character and the impact on ecological habitats.

Planning committee councillors David Ashcroft (Con, Binsted, Bentley and Selborne) and Elaine Woodard (Lib Dem, Horndean Murray) quizzed officers about how location can be considered without including access.

Cllr Woodard asked the planning officer: “What do you mean by location? What exactly can we consider and not consider tonight because I am confused about what that means in practice.”

Cllr Ashcroft asked about the width of Rectory Lane. The planning officer confirmed Rectory Lane was a single carriageway which again was not under consideration at this stage. 

Tilted balance also applied to this application as East Hampshire District Council does not have enough building stock lined up, falling short of the target.

The officer said unless ‘serious and demonstrable harm’ is shown which is not at this stage and because of ‘tilted balance’, the application should be approved. 

Objectors will have to make their objections at the next stage again, to the detailed plans once they are presented, which must be within the next three years.