Plans for a new seven-bedroom 'modernist' home in Bursledon have been refused by councillors amid concerns over its size and style. 

Councillors rejected proposals for the new home at Cherry Court on Salterns Lane, Old Bursledon at a meeting on Thursday.

The applicant, listed as P Reilly, said that the current building on the site has a dangerous roof, condemned electrics and rising damp. 

The proposals set out how the structure would be cleared to make room for a new three-storey property boasting a kitchen/bar, dining room, utility bathroom, games room and toilets.

But at a meeting of the Bursledon, Hamble-le-Rice and Hound Local Area Committee, councillors went against officers' recommendations and turned down the application. 

Speaking to the Echo afterwards, Cllr Steve Holes said the home is in a "much-valued conservation area which benefits from extra protection".

He added: "We have to satisfy ourselves that any development would improve and enhance the conservation area.

"In this case, we refused it for mass, size, and design within the conservation area and we felt there was not enough evidence to approve demolition.

"It did not enhance the street scene as viewed from Salterns Lane and it would dominate the hillside looking over the river."

He said there was no "clear plan" for landscaping to soften the home's impact on the community.

The plans set out how there would be four bedrooms, as well as a guest suite on the first floor including a master suite, all with access to a balcony. 

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The ground floor would have also included a dining room, family space, two more bedrooms and a garden with a patio. 

The application said Mr Reilly’s family has six school-aged children, two of whom have special needs, and that grandparents regularly stay with the family.

The plot was thought to provide the opportunity for a lifetime home for the large family and for carers and visitors to be “sufficiently comfortable” with room for six car parking spaces.

But 12 residents objected, raising concerns over its size and style, its impact on views from the river and Salterns Lane and its 'boxy' design. 

The Old Bursledon Action Group responded saying: "Its size, scale and design are not in keeping with the objectives of the conservation and special policy areas and would allow an unacceptable precedent for similar future proposals."

Artist impression for the planned home in Bursledon. Image: Eastleigh Borough Council/Wessex Planning

Other concerns raised include the flat roof not being characteristic of the area, the urbanisation of the conservation area, a loss of privacy to neighbouring properties and its impact on trees.

But one immediate neighbour said the existing home, which was built in the 1960s, is in a "poor condition and does little to enhance the conservation area".

The applicant can appeal the decision.