A NEW campaign group will stage a demonstration today (Friday) against controversial plans for a huge supermarket depot at the gateway to the New Forest.

Waving placards and wearing specially designed T-shirts, protesters will rally against moves to build a 42,000 square metre Lidl warehouse near Ower.

The German retail giant claims 200 jobs could be created if the building, at Wade Park Farm near Junction 2 of the M27, eventually gets the go-ahead.

But members of the newly-formed “Keep Ower Rural” group have described the scheme as a “monstrosity” and fear it would have a devastating impact on the area.

Up to 30 of them are converging on Lymington Town Hall this morning in a show of opposition.

They have organised the protest to coincide with an examination of New Forest District Council’s Core Strategy, a blueprint for future development in the area.

The authority is set to oppose moves to include Wade Park Farm as a potential site for development when the matter comes up for discussion during the examination in Lymington in the coming weeks.

Keep Ower Rural chairman, Mark Barley, said: “We’re talking about a monstrosity at the gateway to the New Forest – a big blot on a beautiful landscape.

“There are all sorts of implications to the environment. It would be overwhelmingly intrusive visually, there would be noise, air quality and potentially flooding issues – and think of the effects of a constant flow of the largest articulated lorries.

“This will affect people across the Romsey, Wellow and Cadnam areas, as well as visitors to the Forest and Paulton’s Park.”

Mr Barley added that the group had been barred from speaking to the government inspector presiding over the examination because of inquiry rules.

He added: “It is extremely frustrating that ordinary people’s views cannot be heard on a matter that could affect thousands of lives.”

A spokesman for Lidl confirmed the company would have a representative at the examination and added that consultation was ongoing.

He said: “We are still working on the information we got from the public open days we staged. It is a two way process.

“We have put a lot in to it and have noted what people said.” .