Plans to build 99 houses on a 19-acre site right next to Ackender Woods on the edge of Alton have been submitted by Croudace Homes.

This land is currently a field used for equestrian and agricultural purposes and lies south of Pertuis Avenue at its junction with the B3349 Basingstoke Road.

Access to the site, proposed for housing in East Hampshire District Council’s Draft Local Plan 2021-2040, would be from the A339 Basingstoke Road.

Croudace Homes claims its proposal would “form a main gateway to Alton”. The site is in the strategic settlement gap between Alton and Beech, but the developer added: “Consideration is made to respecting the gap while meeting the housing needs of Alton.”

The plans involve three zones of housing across the site - a “main street” comprising a straight line of homes along Pertuis Avenue, an area of “village housing” surrounding a park and playground, and a “green edge” of slightly lower density housing facing Ackender Woods and Beech.

Private homes for sale would form the majority of the development, but there would also be affordable homes for rent and shared ownership homes.

There would be one-storey, one-and-a-half-storey and two-storey houses. The majority would be larger family homes, with 35 per cent having four bedrooms and 30 per cent three bedrooms. Six per cent would have five bedrooms, 16 per cent two bedrooms and 12 per cent one bedroom.

In a six-page comment submitted to East Hampshire District Council, Beech Parish Council said it “strongly objects” to the scheme for the site - which lies within Beech parish and the Beech Neighbourhood Development Plan area.

It cited three reasons - that the site was wholly inside the agreed formal strategic gap between Beech and Alton in the Beech Neighbourhood Development Plan, that the proposal did not address a “significant” local need for 30 two-bedroom detached starter homes and 38 three-bedroom bungalows for downsizing expressed in the plan, and that as the plan was adopted as recently as June 2021 it should not be overridden by a presumption in favour of sustainable development if East Hampshire District Council could not demonstrate a five-year housing land supply.

The NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board said Croudace Homes would need to make a contribution of £58,253 towards increasing patient capacity at Chawton Park Surgery and the Wilson Practice to make the plans acceptable to it.

The Hampshire Historic Environment Record showed evidence of a Roman building had been found around 65 yards north of the site.

County archaeologist David Hopkins said: “In my opinion any development at this site has the potential to encounter archaeological remains, particularly in those parts closest to the existing record of a Roman building.”

One member of the public said the scheme would “spread an urban sprawl on pristine land and woods” while another commented that “the continued over-development in the Alton area is having a significant detrimental impact on the town”.

East Hampshire District Council’s Liberal Democrat deputy group leader Cllr Ginny Boxall - who represents Alton Whitedown, the ward in Alton closest to the development site - said she could not comment specifically on the application as her party had councillors on the planning committee.

But she expressed her party’s annoyance at how the planning system in general was affecting Alton.

She said: “As Liberal Democrats we know there is a real need for more housing in East Hampshire. These new developments need to come with the right infrastructure, be sustainable and sensitive to the local area.

“East Hampshire has a need for smaller homes to house key workers, homes suitable for those wishing to downsize close to where they currently live, and a need for social rented homes for those who want or need to rent.

“Housing development should always be plan-led to ensure the right housing is built in the most sustainable areas, with infrastructure at the heart of this.

“We share the frustrations of residents that without an up to date Local Plan, most places outside the South Downs National Park are subject to the ‘tilted balance’ in favour of development.

“Unfortunately, due to the doubling in housing numbers recently announced by the Labour government, this position is only likely to continue.”

The Herald also approached Conservatives Cllr Tony Costigan, the Bentworth and Froyle district councillor in whose ward the application falls, and Hampshire county councillor Andrew Joy, who represents the Alton Town division, for comment, but is still awaiting their replies.

The planning application can be viewed on the East Hampshire District Council website under the reference EHDC-24-0027-FUL.