Plan for huge new housing estate off Newgate Lane between Fareham and Gosport set to be turned down by Fareham Borough Council

COUNCIL officers have suggested refusing a widely-contested housing development between Fareham and Gosport.
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Fareham Borough Council will decide on June 15 whether to approve 375 homes on land east of Newgate lane where 99 homes have already been approved on appeal.

The development, submitted by Bargate and Miller homes, has seen strong opposition from council leaders, residents, airport bosses and even a local MP.

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Conservative MP for Gosport Caroline Dinenage, who previously spoke out against the scheme, said: ‘This proposal threatens the strategic gap and I believe it is vital that we protect this land as a stretch of countryside that keeps communities distinct and prevents urban sprawl, whilst providing valuable green space to the local community.’

The Bargate and Miller Homes plan for 375 homes on land east of Newgate laneThe Bargate and Miller Homes plan for 375 homes on land east of Newgate lane
The Bargate and Miller Homes plan for 375 homes on land east of Newgate lane

Council officers have recommended refusal on the grounds that development would be contrary to local plan policies which prevent building on designated countryside.

Other reasons include protecting the integrity of the strategic gap and the impact it would have on habitat sites and protected species.

Local residents have also made their views known. Of the 148 public responses to the application, only one was in favour.

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The manager of Solent Airport Daedalus lodged an objection to the proposal, stating that the development will result in more noise and overflight complaints.

'The airport authority works hard to avoid such impact on our neighbouring residential areas, and this area would be unavoidable and unsuitable for a housing development.'

In the developer’s design and access statement, the build is described as being designed with ‘sensitivity’ to the site’s landscape character.

‘The resulting development will be extremely well integrated with the existing and approved residential development to the east and south, and will deliver a sustainable development in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework and in a location which has already recently been confirmed as a suitable location for housing development by an appeal Inspector.’

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Over the years there have been several attempts to build homes in the area, which has long been seen as the buffer zone between Gosport and Fareham, and politicians in Gosport have been united against the idea of any development there.