A DECISION to go earmark controversial plans for 120 new homes in a Hampshire village has been met with residents' despair.

Winchester City Council has rejected an alternative to the new estate at "Brightlands", a site to the north of Sutton Scotney, near Winchester, choosing instead to adopt the original plans by developer Wates.

The scheme will now go into the new local plan.

Wonston Parish Council held a drop-in event on September 4 to promote an alternative plan for 60 houses drawn up by Pennybar Developments, which it says residents would prefer.

One of the main concerns with Wates' blueprint is the pressure it would put on the sewerage system which is already under strain.

READ MORE: Wates' plans for Sutton Scotney opposed by parish council

The site proposed by Wates at Brightlands (Image: Wates)

However, the city council had previously determined the need for just 60 new homes in their local plan for the village. Wates has planned for double that number, and now parish council members fear they could build even more.

The increase is a result of the new Labour Government telling local authorities that many more houses need to be built. The number of houses required per year has gone up from 676 to 1,099, an increase of 62 per cent.

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In addition, considering Brightlands is a greenfield site, questions have been raised as to why the council has waved through Wates' plans when brownfield could potentially be allocated for housing.

Members of Wonston Parish Council are also perplexed as to why the city council did not include Pennybar's alternative plan for 60 homes in its local plan.

On behalf of Wates, the estate agent Carter Jones has released a document responding to the council's assessment of its plans. It says: "The vision should explicitly recognise the need to meet locally assessed housing need."

In an email to a Wonston Parish Councillor, a Carter Jonas representative said: "I appreciate [this] is more than the proposed allocation, but it gives you an idea of the potential on the site."

He adds that there is additional work planned for the sewerage system, however, these are only on the site itself. The issue with the village's sewers is due to its linkage with the wider drainage system in the area, raising the question whether Wates' plans for "sustainable drainage solutions" at Brightlands might not just make the problem worse.