AN EXTRA 1,300 homes are to be built in Whitehill & Bordon – on top of the 3,000 already built or under construction in the town.

The decision has been made following East Hampshire District Council’s Large Development Sites consultation held in 2019, which put ten sites to public comment.

The site at Prince Philip Park will deliver up to 1,300 additional homes, totalling approximately 4,350 overall, “as part of the town’s transformation into a green, healthy and connected town”, says the council.

The ten sites considered in the recent Local Plan consultation were:

* Northbrook Park

* Whitehill & Bordon

* Chawton Park Farm

* Land East of Horndean (Hazelton Farm)

* Land south east of Liphook

* Neatham Down

* Four Marks south

* Land west of Lymington Bottom Road, South Medstead

* South Medstead

* Land south of Winchester Road, Four Marks.

However, according to EHDC, of these only the land at Whitehill & Bordon is technically ready for allocation.

Therefore, instead of allocating another large development site in the district, the council intends to identify a ‘broad area of search’ along the A31 corridor.

The allocation of a Large Development Site is a major part of EHDC’s Local Plan, a document that sets out the priorities and policies for development in areas of the district outside the South Downs National Park.

An up-to-date Local Plan is a vital tool in the council’s armoury against speculative development.

The further work on sites around the A31 will take time, so identifying a broad area of search, rather than a specific site, allows the council to make progress on the Local Plan.

Cllr Angela Glass, EHDC portfolio holder for planning, said: “To have a completed Local Plan we need to have a clear idea of where future development will go.

“We have been able to do that in Whitehill & Bordon but there is still work to do to identify another site.

“We are confident we will be able to allocate suitable land along the A31 in a future Local Plan and by committing to investigating this further we can get on with working on the rest of the plan.

“Delaying the Local Plan would risk opening our district up to speculative development. Taking this approach means we can move forwards with the plan without a risky delay.”