A planning application for a new nursery near Romsey will be decided in the coming weeks.

The proposal for the former Ashfield Bakery site, on the A3057 Southampton Road, has support from Hampshire Education, the MP and many residents.

The two-storey building would provide space for up to 96 nursery places for children aged one to five years old.

Bird's eye view of what the nursery site could look like (Image: Stratland Estates) Romsey-based Stratland Estates, the company behind the plans, says it will have "best in class" facilities, including a large outdoor space and will create more than 20 jobs.

The application was previously refused in October 2023 on the grounds that the proposed location was unsustainable in terms of accessibility.

Since then, Stratland Estates has collected further evidence to demonstrate that the planning balance exercise undertaken in the consideration of the original application did not give appropriate weight to the benefits of the scheme.

In particular, the level of need for the facility and the convenience of the location for commuters.

Stratland Estates collected 156 signatures across three areas around the town.

Planner Paul Airey, who is supporting Stratland Estates, said: "The purpose of the survey was to gauge support for the scheme.

"It is not suggested that the poll is representative of the population of Romsey or is necessarily impartial, but it does represent an interesting snapshot of the public view of the need for this type of facility as all but two respondents were supportive of the proposal."

The application was previously refused in October 2023The application was previously refused in October 2023 (Image: Stratland Estates) Stratland Estates has argued that the demand for a new nursery in this location is high.

It commissioned a report by a specialist education consultancy that looked at the current situation of government intervention with respect to nursery provision.

It also looked at the newly implemented payments for working parents to allow for 30 hours of funded childcare for all children between the ages of nine months and five years.

The report, which preceded the government announcement on additional funding, estimated that in the Romsey area there will be a shortfall of at least 169 places by 2026.

The most recent response by Hampshire County Council suggests there will be a 208-space increase in demand for nursery places in the Romsey area based on the increase in population projection.