Fears have been raised that part of a coastal beauty spot will become a blot on the landscape after councillors voted to market the land to developers.
At a behind closed doors meeting in Gosport, Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors agreed developers should be approached to buy a £3m parcel of land and a car park, pictured, at Fort Road in Stokes Bay.
The borough's Conservatives opposed the pla
n but they were defeated by a vote of 16 to 10 in a full council meeting, much to the fury of local residents who were not allowed in the meeting because the ruling Lib Dems classed the item as confidential because the report contains sensitive financial information.
Lib Dem council leader Dave Smith said: 'We're going to put it to market when we're ready but there's no guarantee we're going to sell it.
'It's land owned by the borough, not just the people of Stokes Bay. It's our right and duty to find out what it's worth.'
But Alan Scard, of the Friends of Stokes Bay group, said the Lib Dem group are ignoring the views of residents in the Alverstoke and Anglesey wards after they collected 280 names opposing the plan with just two in support.
He said: 'It's an unspoilt area that should be kept away from developers.
'But the councillors don't take any notice of residents at all. We've had an overwhelming response but what they're saying with this vote is they don't care.
'This could be the thin edge of the wedge. If they're going to sell off that part of land, will they sell off every piece of land in Gosport just to get some money? I can't wait for the next election so we can kick the Lib Dems out.'
Tory councillor Peter Edgar, who represents the Alverstoke ward, is equally disappointed and said it was the wrong time to try to sell the land.
He said: 'It seems crazy to me to market a prime site when there's such financial problems because of the credit crunch. It's not the right time.'
However, Cllr Edgar has been reported to the standards board of Gosport council for writing a leaflet about the plan, which has been deemed confidential.
But Cllr Edgar said the leaflets were based on an article in The News and that he didn't see any confidential papers at the time of writing the leaflets.
The full article contains 408 words and appears in The News newspaper.
